The Books of Lamentations and Baruch.

Lamentations - The subject-matter of this short book certainly reflects the lifetime of Jeremiah to whom the Lamentations have traditionally been ascribed. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 take the form of a dirge for the dead and were written in Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.
However, the conscious literary forms seem foreign to the direct sincerity of Jeremiah in his prophecies and the poems contain judgments which contradict some of his decided views. The book remains a classic of repentance with a striking pathos.

This short collection testifies to the enduring reputation of Jeremiah Commended under the name of Baruch. It actually contains a prayer, a 'wisdom' poem, a prophetic passage and a letter setting out the argument against idolatry. The letter is of the Greek period; the other sections are difficult to date and may be as late as the 2nd or 1st century B.C.

BARUCH - (1) Baruch and the Jews in Babylon - Chapter 1 - (2) The Prayer of the Exiles - Confession of sins - The prayer - Chapter 2 to 3 - (3) Wisdom. The Prerogative of Israel - Chapter 3 to 4 - The Complaints and Hopes of Jerusalem - Chapter 4 to 5 - (4) The Letter of Jeremiah - Chapter 6 -

In summary : Jeremiah's five poems of lament over fallen Jerusalem.

                                                                          Page 16

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Prophet Jeremiah, a man of peace was called to prophesy strife and disaster. In the years which saw the ruin and the end of the kingdom of Judah. He contended against kings, priests, false prophets and the nation itself maintaining that resistance to the Chaldean invader was vain resistance to the inexorable will of Yahweh. As the biographical anecdotes included in the book show he was not a popular figure in his own time and barely escaped the death penalty.

The prophet's own inner conflicts were as dramatic as the events in which he played a part. Of an affectionate and gentle disposition he was nevertheless called 'to tear up and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow', and disaster was the keynote of his message. All this suffering purified his soul of everything unworthy and made it open to God. Before expressing it in his prophecy of the new covenant, Jeremiah practiced a really inward and heartfelt religion; this is what makes him near and dear to Christians.

However the prophecies collected by his secretary Baruch continued to be studied, meditated and interpreted; during his lifetime Jeremiah was a failure and after his death he grew steadily in stature. The truth of his message was eventually proved by history; his book reflects a warm personal religion and a confidence that there will be a covenant written in the heart; and by the Maccabean period, we find Jeremiah considered a protector of the nation.

JEREMIAH - (1) Oracles Against Judah and Jerusalem - The call of Jeremiah - The earliest preaching of Jeremiah: the apostasy of Israel - The Northern Kingdom urged to repent - Zion in the messianic age - Continuation of the poem on the conversion - Invasion from the North - The invasion that well deserved - In a time of famine (?) - Resumption of the theme of the invasion - More about the invasion - Chapter 1 to 6 -

(2) Oracles Mainly in the Reign of Jehoiakim - True worship : Against the Temple, Alien gods, Worship without sincerity and more about idolatrous worship - Threats, lamentations, advice. The perversity of Israel - The Law as administered by the priests - Repetition of an earlier threat - Threats against Judah the Vine - A lamentation of the prophet during a famine - The moral corruption of Judah - Lamentation in Zion - True wisdom - Circumcision, a false guarantee - Idols and the true God - Panic in the country - A prayer of Jeremiah and observance of the covenant - Rebuke to the frequenters of the Temple - Jeremiah persecuted in his own town - The prosperity of the wicked -

Yahweh laments his ravaged inheritance - The neighbouring peoples: their judgment and salvation - The symbol of the loincloth and of the shattered wine jugs - A vision of exile - Jehoiachin threatened - An admonition to impenitent Jerusalem - The great drought - The horrors of war - The call of Jeremiah renewed - The prophet's life is itself symbolic - The return of the scattered Israelites - The invasion foretold - The conversion of the nations - Judah's contaminated worship - A group of wisdom sayings - Confidence in the Temple and in Yahweh - A prayer for vengeance - Observance of the sabbath - Jeremiah visits the potter - Israel repudiates Yahweh - A plot against Jeremiah - The broken jug and the alteration with Pashhur - Selections from the 'Confession' of Jeremiah - Chapter 7 to 20 -

(3) Oracles Mainly Later than the Reign of Jehoiakim- Jeremiah answers the envoys of Zedekiah - Address to the royal family of Judah - Oracles against various kings: against Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin - Messianic oracles. The future king - The two baskets of figs - Chapter 21 to 24 - (4) Babylon the Scourge of Yahweh - The vision of the cup - Chapter 25 -

(5) Prophecies of Happiness - Jeremiah's discourse against the Temple: his arrest and condemnation - the symbolic yoke and the message to the kings of the west - The dispute with Hananiah - The letter to the exiles - An exile objects to Jeremiah's letter - Promise of recovery for the northern kingdom of Israel - Promise of restoration to Judah - Israel and Judah - Individual retribution - The new covenant - Israel will endure - Jerusalem magnificently rebuilt - Jeremiah buys a field in token of his confidence in the future of Judah - Another promise of recovery for Jerusalem and Judah - The institutions of the future - The fate of Zedekiah - The episode of the liberated slaves - the example of the Rechabites - Chapter 26 to 35 -

(6) The Sufferings of Jeremiah - The scroll written in 605-604 - A verdict on Zedekiah - Zedekiah consults Jeremiah during the respite of 588 - The arrest of Jeremiah. Improvement in his treatment - Jeremiah is thrown into the cistern. Ebed-melech intervenes - The last conversation between Jeremiah and Zedekiah - The fall of Jerusalem; the treatment Jeremiah received - An oracle assuring the safety of Ebed-melech - Further details about the treatment of Jeremiah - Gedaliah the governor; his assassination - The flight to Egypt - Jeremiah foretells the invasion of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar - The last episode of Jeremiah's ministry; the Jews and the Queen of Heaven - An oracle of comfort for Baruch - Chapter 36 to 45 -

(7) The Oracles in Detail - Oracles against Egypt. The defeat at Carchemish - The invasion of Egypt - Oracle against the Philistines - Oracles against Moab, Ammon, Edom, the towns of Syria, the Arab tribes, Elam and Babylon - The fall of Babylon and the liberation of Israel - The fall of Babylon proclaimed to Jerusalem - The sin of arrogance - Yahweh the redeemer of Israel - The enemy from the north and the lion of Jordan - Yahweh makes war on Babylon - the hammer of Yahweh and the giant mountain - The end of Babylon is imminent - The vengeance of Yahweh - An elegy for Babylon - Yahweh punishes the idols - Babylon razed to the ground - The written oracle thrown into the Euphrates - Chapter 46 to 51 - (8) Appendix - The destruction of Jerusalem and the pardon of Jehoiachin - Chapter 52 -

In summary : we are able to identify two sections of the book: one containing threats against Judah and Jerusalem, the other containing prophecies against the nations. A message of judgment against Judah's moral and spiritual decay.

                                                                         Page 15

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The prophet Isaiah belongs to the last years of the kingdom of Judah. His vocation to prophecy came in the year that King Uzziah died, 740 B.C. and it was his mission to announce the fall of Israel and of Judah as the due punishment for the whole nation's unfaithfulness or infidelity - 6:1-13 - At this time, the kingdom of Judah, living under the threat of Assyrian invasion was looking for military alliances to preserve its independence; Isaiah resisted all such human expedients as showing a lack of faith in God and his purposes. When eventually the armies under Sennacherib reached the walls of Jerusalem and called for the surrender of the city, Isaiah advised the king not to capitulate and in fact the city was saved without a battle.

This is the background to the prophecies in the first part of the book which ends with a history of the period written by his disciples at chapter 39. The prophecies show Isaiah as a man of lofty vision with a strong sense of the transcendence of God; beyond the destined fall of his nation he sees a coming age in which a remnant of the people will survive to rebuild peace and justice under a future descendant of David.

In the same part of the book some prophecies from the time of the Exile about a hundred years later have been included. These include oracles against Babylon - chapter 13 to 14 - an apocalypse - chapter 24 to 27 - and some poems - chapter 33 to 35 -

The prominent part played by Isaiah in his country's affairs made him a national figure but he was a poet of genius. Brilliance of style and freshness of imagery make his work preeminent in the literature of the Bible; he wrote a concise, majestic and harmonious prose unsurpassed by any of the biblical writers who were to follow him. But his greatness lies above all in the religious order. The vision in the Temple at the time of his vocation, a revelation of the transcendence of God and the unworthiness of man, left a lasting mark on the prophet. His monotheism has a note of exultation in it but also of awe: God is Holy, the Strong, the Mighty One, the King. Man is a creature defiled by sin for which God demands reparation.

For God insists on justice between men and sincerity in divine worship. God looks for faithfulness and Isaiah is the proper of faith; in times of crisis all he prescribes is trust in God and in no one else; by this alone will salvation be won. He knows clearly how hard the test will be but his hope is that a 'remnant' will be spared with the Messiah for its king. Isaiah is the greatest of the messianic prophets.

ISAIAH - (1) Oracles before the Syro-Ephraimite War - Against a thoughtless people - The punishment of Judah - Against religious hypocrisy - Lament for Jerusalem - Against tree worship - Everlasting peace - The coming of Yahweh - Anarchy in Jerusalem - A warning to the women and widows of Jerusalem - The remnant of Jerusalem - The future restoration - The song of the vineyard - Curses - The anger of Yahweh - The Assyrian invasion - Chapter 1 to 5 -

(2) The Book of Immanuel - The call of Isaiah - The first and second warning to Ahaz. The sign of Immanuel - The birth of a son to Isaiah - Terror for the invaders - Yahweh a stone in the way - Isaiah addresses his disciples - Wandering in the night - Epiphany - The vengeance of Yahweh - Against a king of Assyria - The name Shear-jashub - A prophecy of destruction - Oracle - The invader - The coming of the virtuous king - The return of the exiles - Two hymns of thanksgiving - Chapter 6 to 12 -

(3) Oracles on Foreign Nations - Against Babylon - The return from the Exile - A satire on the death of a tyrant - Oracle against Babylon - Assyria will be destroyed - A warning to the Philistines - Lament for Moab - The Moabites take refuge in Judah - Lament for Moab - Oracle on Moab and Damascus - An end to idolatry - Against the gardens of Adonis - The upsurge of the nations - Oracle against Cush and Egypt - The conversion of Egypt and Assyria - Prophecy of the capture of Ashdod - The fall of Babylon - Answer to the Edomites - Oracle on the Arabs - Against Kedar, untimely rejoicing in Jerusalem, military preparations and Shebna - Another oracle against Shabna - The calamity of the family of Eliakim - On Tyre and Sidon - The subjection of Tyre - The sentence - The city in ruins - Continuation of the poem on the sentence - A prayer of thanksgiving - The messianic banquet - Song of victory - A psalm - Oracle - The vineyard of Yahweh - Pardon for Jacob; punishment for the oppressor - Oracle - Chapter 13 to 27 -

(4) Poems on Israel and Judah - A warning to Samaria - Against the priests and the false prophets - Against evil counsellors - Oracle - Continuation of the poem against evil counsellors - The parable of the farmer - Oracle on Ariel - Secrecy of the revelation - Oracle - Against evil counsellors and the embassy to Egypt - A second oracle against the embassy - The testament of Isaiah - The coming prosperity - Assyria will be sacrificed - Against Egypt - Yahweh wages war against Assyria - The integrity of the king - Contrasts between fool and noble - A warning to idle women - Salvation from Yahweh - Psalm of hope in Yahweh - The intervention of Yahweh - The glorious future - The end of Edom - The judgment of God - Chapter 28 to 35 -

(5) Appendix - Sennacherib's invasion - The prophet Isaiah is consulted - The cup bearer returns to his master - Second account of Sennacherib's activities - Isaiah intervenes - A sign for Hezekiah - An oracle on Assyria - Sennacherib is punished - The illness and cure of Hezekiah - The canticle of Hezekiah - The Babylonian embassy - Chapter 36 to 39 -

(6) The Book of the Consolation of Israel - The calling of the prophet - Prophecy of the theophany - The majesty of God - The might of Providence - The calling of Cyrus - God is with Israel - Miracles of the new Exodus - Yahweh is the only God - Yahweh foretells victory for Cyrus - First song of the servant of Yahweh: part one and two - Hymn of triumph - The blinding of the people - The liberation of Israel - Yahweh alone is God - Babylon will be destroyed - Miracles of the new Exodus - The ingratitude of Israel - The blessing for Israel - Monotheism without compromise - A satire on idolatry - Oracle - Song of joy - The might of Yahweh - Oracle in favour of Cyrus - Oracle of salvation - The supreme power of Yahweh - The heathen will rally to Yahweh - Evidence of the work of Yahweh - Yahweh is the God of all - The fall of Bel -

Yahweh is without equal - Yahweh is lord of the future - Lament for Babylon - Yahweh acts alone and is sole master of the future - Cyrus is the beloved of Yahweh - What Yahweh had intended for Israel - A song of departure from Babylon - Second song of the servant of Yahweh - The marvellous epic of the return - The offer of salvation remains open - Third song of the Yahweh - The salvation of the sons of Abraham - Yahweh will soon judge the world - The awakening of Yahweh - Yahweh is all powerful consoler - Salvation - The awakening of Jerusalem - The nation in captivity - The awakening of Yahweh and of Jerusalem - Fourth song of the servant of Yahweh - The fertility of Jerusalem - The love of Yahweh - The new Jerusalem - The food of the poor - The covenant - The nearest and remoteness of Yahweh - The word of Yahweh cannot fail - Conclusion of the Book of Consolation - Chapter 40 to 55 -

(7) Yahweh welcomes converts from paganism - The unworthiness of the leaders of Judah - Prophetic elegy against idolatry - A poem of consolation - Fasting - The sabbath - A psalm - Fragments of an apocalypse - Oracle - The glorious resurrection of Jerusalem - The mission of the prophet - Second poem on the glorious resurrection of Jerusalem - Conclusion - An apocalyptic poem on the vengeance of Yahweh - A psalm - A diatribe against idolatry; eschatological discourse - Oracle - Against the intrusion of idolatrous practice - An apocalyptic poem - A fragment condemning pagan mysteries - An eschatological discourse - Chapter 56 to 66 -

In summary : The outstanding prophet of condemnation and Messianic consolation.

                                                                          Page 14

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETS.

The prophets in Israel is a mouthpiece; he has no doubt that 'the word of God' has come to him and that he must pass it on to others. In whatever way the divine message comes to him and whatever method he uses to convey it, he is a man to whom the holiness and the will of God have been revealed. He contemplates present and future through the eyes of God and is a man sent to remind the nation of its duty to God and to bring them back to obedience and love.

Moses is accounted the father of them all and prophets play a part in the whole history of the nation whether in confraternities or singly as influential persons. At times the prophet may be powerful enough to reprove a king or direct national policy; at other times he may be in lonely opposition and his message takes the form of a tissue of menaces and reproaches against the ruling powers.

Great prophets can be found in the historical books but the men of whom we know most are those whose prophecies were collected into separate books bearing their names and sometimes including biographical incidents and these books are grouped together in the Hebrew scriptures. Traditionally, they are arranged without regard for chronological order: the four 'Major Prophets'(distinguished only for the great length of their books) - Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel - coming before the rest who are called "Minor Prophets'. With Jeremiah, the Greek Bible added Lamentations and Baruch as associated works though the Hebrew Bible put Lamentations with 'the Writings' and did not include Baruch; it is the order of the Greek which is followed here.

The great age of prophecy lasted less than two centuries from the mid-8th century to the Exile; it is dominated by the figures of Isaiah and Jeremiah though it also saw the works of Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, Joel, Jonah - 'the Minor Prophets' - In later prophets, we find a greater literary freedom: there is apocalyptic writing and the parabolic teaching style known as mid-rash; there is also a growing note of messianic hope. In Daniel, images of past and future come together in one great vision and at this point it seems that the high inspiration of the prophets is exhausted and Israel must await a new outpouring of the Spirit.

This is the last expression of messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. The coming of the kingdom will be the central theme of the Synoptic Gospels and Jesus, king of the kingdom, will call himself "Son of Man' thus clearly asserting that he has come to fulfill the prophecies of the Book of Daniel. This 'sealed book', 12:4 with its revelation of a divine secret, its angelic commentators, its message for generations to come, its deliberately enigmatic style, is the first mature apocalypse, a literary form found already developing in Ezekiel and later to flower in Jewish literature.

The New Testament counter-part to the Book of Daniel is the Book of Revelation, but in this the seals of the closed book are broken - Rev. chapter 5 to 6 - its words are secret no longer since 'the time is at hand' - Rev. 22:10 - and the coming of the Lord is expected - Rev. 22:20 - 1Cor. 16: 22 -

                                                                          Page 13

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

ECCLESIASTICUS / SIRACH - This book forms part of the Greek Bible though it does not appear in the Jewish Canon; it is therefore one of the deuterocanonical books accepted by the Church. It was written in Hebrew; The Church recognises the canonize only of the Greek text and from this our translation is made, though the Hebrew variants will be found in the footnotes.

The Latin title Ecclesiasticus (liber) is relatively recent (St. Cyprian); it probably calls attention to the fact that the Church adopted it for her official use although the Synagogue did not. In Greek, cf, the subscription of 51:30, the book was called 'Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach' and the author is again named in 50:27. Nowadays he is referred to as Ben Sira or Siracides (following the Greek form: Sirach)

Ben Sira's original contribution is to identify wisdom with the Law of Moses, 24:23-24 (the wisdom poem in Baruch 3:9-4; 4 does the same) Unlike his predecessors, he integrates wisdom with the observance of the Law. Ben Sira meditates on the history of salvation and reviews the great personalities of the Old Testament from Enoch to Nehemiah. On three of them, Solomon, (even though he was the model of sages) Rehoboam and Jeroboam, his verdict is a severe as that passed by deuteronomic historians and like them he condemns all the kings en bloc except David, Hezekiah and Josiah. But he dwells principally on the saintly figures of the Old Testament and on the wonders God worked through them.

He tells how God made a covenant with Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas and David, embracing the whole nation but especially ensuring lasting privileges to certain families and the priestly families in particular. For the author holds the deepest respect for the priesthood: Aaron and Phinehas take leading places in this gallery of ancestors and his eulogy concludes with a long and enthusiastic tribute to Simon the reigning high priest. He looks back on the departed glories with a certain sadness, as he thinks of the present, and he prays as he thinks of judges and prophets 'that their bones may flower again from the tomb' - 46:12, 49:10 - and they may have successors. He wrote on the eve of the Maccabaean revolt; he may perhaps have lived to see it end and to think that his prayer had been heard.

ECCLESIASTICUS/SIRACH - (1) Collections of Sayings - The mystery of wisdom - The fear of God - Patience and self-control - Wisdom and uprightness - The fear of God in time of ordeal - Duties towards parents - Humility - Pride - Charity to the poor - Wisdom as educator - Shame and human respect - Wealth and presumption - Straightforwardness and self-possession - Friendship - Apprenticeship to wisdom - Miscellaneous advice - Children - Parents - Priests - The poor and afflicted - Prudence and commonsense - Tradition - Prudence - Women - Relations with men - Government - Against pride - Persons deserving honour - Frankness and humility - Do not go by appearances - Deliberation and reflection - Trust in God alone - Distrust the wicked - Rules for doing good - True and false friends - Mix with your equals - True happiness - Envy and greed - The happiness of the sage - Man is free - Curses reaped by the wicked - Certainty of retribution - Man in creation - The divine judge - Exhortation to repentance - The greatness of God - The nothingness of man - The art of giving - Reflection and foresight - Self-control - Against loose talk - Silence and speech - Paradoxes - Inappropriate talk - The wise man: his dignity and his dangers - Various sins - The wise man and the fool - The idler - Wisdom and folly - Friendship - Vigilance - Swearing - Foul talk - The adulteress - Discourse of Wisdom - Wisdom and the Law - Proverbs - Old men - Numerical proverbs - Women - Depressing things - Commerce - Speech - Virtue - Secrets - Hypocrisy - Resentment - Quarrels - The tongue - Loans - Generosity - Securities - Home and hospitality - Bringing up children - Health - Happiness - Riches - Dinner parties - Wine - Banquets - The fear of God - Inequality - Independence - Slaves - Dreams - Travelling - Sacrifices - The Law and sacrifices - The justice of God - Prayer for the deliverance and restoration of Israel - Discrimination - Choosing - False friends - Advisers - true and false wisdom - Moderation - Medicine and illness - Mourning - Trades and crafts -The scholar - Invitation to praise God - The wretchedness of man - Various maxims - Comparisons - On begging - Death - The fate of the wicked - A sense of shame - The cares of a father over his daughter - Women - Chapter 1 to 42 -

(2) The Glory of God - In Nature - The sun, moon, stars, rainbow and the wonders of nature - Chapter 42 to 43 - (3) The Glory of God - In History - Eulogy of the ancestors - Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, Joshua, Caleb - The judges - Samuel, Nathan, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jeroboam, Elijah, Elisha - Infidelity and punishment - Hezekiah, Isaiah, Josiah - The last kings and prophets - Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Nehemiah - Retrospect - Simon the high priest - Exhortation - Numerical proverb - Conclusion - Chapter 44 to 50 - (4) Appendices - A hymn of thanksgiving - A poem on the quest for wisdom - Chapter 51 -

In summary : Though in this history of salvation Ben Sira gives prominence to the doctrine of the covenant, it is fairly correct to say that he does not look forward to a messianic deliverance. From start to finish the teaching of the sages, being concerned with the problems of the individual, remain clearly distinguished from the preaching of the prophets though sometimes not far removed.

                                                                            Page 12

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Book of Wisdom, like Ecclesiastes, is attributed inside the book to King Solomon; but it is a late book written in the last century B.C. in the expressive Greek of a well-educated hellenised Jew.

The three main divisions in this well constructed book are distinguished in the present translation by headings:
1.) Wisdom and Man's Destiny - Chapter 1 to 5 -
2.) The Origin, Nature and Effects of Wisdom - Chapter 6 to 9 -
3.) Wisdom and God in History - Chapter 10 to 19 -

The last section concentrates attention on the Exodus from Egypt as the supreme work of God's provident wisdom and it includes a long digression on idolatry.

The author is writing for his fellow Jews whose faith is shaken by the attraction of the cultural life of Alexandria, its imposing philosophical systems, its advance in the physical sciences, its fascinating mystery religions, astrology, Hermetic doctrines, its seductive popular cults. Nevertheless, he has the pagans in mind too, hoping to lead them to God the lover of all men.

The author is neither a philosopher nor a theologian; he is a typical sage of Israel. Like the wisdom writers before him he commends wisdom, born of God, obtained by prayer, mainspring of all the virtues, source of every good. But he outstrips his predecessors, adding to the sum of this wisdom the most recent achievements of human knowledge - 7:17-21; 8:8 - The problem of retribution for so long the study of the sages, cf, Introduction to Wisdom Books, finds its solution in this book.

The author makes use of the Platonic distinction of body from soul, cf, - 9:15 - and of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul to proclaim that God has made man imperishable - 2:23 - and that incorruption is the reward of wisdom and the way to God, - 6:18-19 - This life is only a preparation for another in which the virtuous live with God and the wicked are punished.

His doctrine of God's attribute, Wisdom, is tradition. Wisdom was active in the whole work of creation and Wisdom carries history to its goal. The qualities assigned to Wisdom are from chapter 11 onward attributed to God himself but this because Wisdom and God in his function of world ruler are the same thing. Wisdom, however, is 'an emanation' of the glory of the Almighty...a reflection of the eternal light... an image of his goodness - 7:25-26 - and is therefore distinguished from God.

The author it seems, goes no further than the other wisdom writers here, cf, Introduction to Wisdom Books; it does not appear that he gives Wisdom an existence of its own but the whole passage on the nature of Wisdom, - 7:22-28 - is a step forward in the expression of the traditional ideas and a deeper perception of them. It is not surprising that the New Testament draws upon this passage for its theology of the Word - Col. 1:15-16 - Heb. 1:3 - and especially Saint John - John chapter 1; 3:16-17; 5:20 -

                                                                          Page 11

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The book of the Song of Songs is a series of love poems in which the two lovers are now united, now divided, now sought, now found. In places the man is called 'king' and 'Solomon' and the whole work is ascribed to Solomon by Hebrew tradition; however, the vocabulary and style of the writing tell us that it is a later composition and dates from after the Exile.

It has been accepted as an elaborate allegory of the love-story of God and his people Israel; and indeed, it is possible to find many correspondences between the changing fortunes of the bride in the poems and the sequence in Israel's history of conversion, hope, disillusion and hope renewed. On the other hand the book has been explained as a collection of poems about true love and marriage in which any apparent allusions to Israel's history are accidental.

People has found it surprising that a book that makes no mention of God and whose vocabulary is so passionate should figure in the sacred canon. The doubts in Jewish circles of the 1st century A.D. were, however, settled by an appeal to tradition. On these same grounds the Christian Church has always accepted the Song as part of holy scripture.

Whatever theory of interpretation, are adopted and justified in applying the Song to the mutual love of Christ and his Church or to the union of the individual soul with God.

                                                                         Page 10

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

ECCLESIASTES - The title of this short book reads: 'The Words of Qoheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem'. The most likely explanation is that Qoheleth indicates the function of one who speaks in the assembly (qahal; in Greek the ekklesia, hence the book's Latin and English title transliterated from the Greek Bible); it could therefore be rendered: 'the Preacher'. In the first chapter, the Preacher is called 'son of David and king of Jerusalem', and there is no doubt that he is identified with Solomon to whom the text makes clear reference - 1:16 (cf, 1Kg 3:12; 5:10-11; 10:7) 2:7-9 (cf, 1Kg 3:13; 10:23) though the name is not mentioned.

As with the other Wisdom Books such as Job and Ecclesiasticus, not to mention the composite Book of Proverbs, the theme progresses fitfully: the idea is stated, repeated, amended. There is no defined plan here rather variations on a single theme, the emptiness of things human which is enunciated at the beginning of the book and at the end. Knowledge, wealth, love, life itself, all these things are illusory. Life is no more than a succession of unrelated and meaningless events, ending in senility and death befalling wise and foolish, rich and poor, man and beast alike. Qoheleth's problem is the same as Job's: do virtue and vice get their deserts on this earth? Both Qoheleth and Job answer: No,
Experience gives the lie to the conventional answer.

But unlike Job who seeks a meaning for his sufferings, Qoheleth enjoys good health yet discovers that happiness itself is an empty thing and consoles himself with the limited joys that life has to offer or rather he tries to console himself, for indeed his failure is as evident at the end as at the beginning. He taxes his brain over the problem of a future life but in vain. And yet he has faith in God: the ways of God to man may dismay him but God, he says, does not need to justify them while man for his part must resign himself to accepting the sorrows and joys that God sends, in bad times and good, keeping the commandments and obeying a God who reads the human heart.

Ecclesiastes represents only one stage in the religious development of Israel; it cannot be assessed in isolation from what has gone before and what will follow. By underlining the inadequacies of earlier notions and by compelling reconsideration of the human enigma, it exposes the need of a new revelation. It warns against attachment to the goods of this world and by denying that the rich are happy, prepares the world for hearing that 'blessed are the poor', - Luke 6:20 -

In short, it is a philosophical description of the emptiness of life without God.

                                                                        Page 9

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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Book of Proverbs' is a compilation that includes works representing several centuries of thought. The main body of the book consists of a collection of short aphorisms introduced as 'Proverbs of Solomon' with an appendix of 'sayings' of other wise men and a second collection of 'Further Proverbs of Solomon'. This part of the book can safely be dated before the Exile; much of it may well go back to Solomon's time and it may include some of the three thousand proverbs which the king is said to have invented.

Since then, the book represents several centuries of thought on the part of the sages, developments of doctrine are discernible in it. In the two primitive collections the dominant tone is that of human, worldly wisdom, disconcerting to the Christian reader though even here one proverb in every seven is religious in theme. This religious teaching is not speculative but practical; God rewards truth, charity, purity of heart, humility and punishes their contrary vices. The source and the sun of all these virtues is wisdom that is to say the fear of God, in whom alone people must put their trust.

The opening chapters offer the same principles of human and sacred wisdom; they emphasise vices of which the earlier sages do not speak such as adultery. The epilogue, too, bears witness to a greater respect for women. More important still, the prologue offers the first example of a logically ordered doctrine of wisdom, its worth and its function as guide and controller of behaviour. The speaker is Wisdom herself; she sings her own praise and explains her relationship with God in whom she has been from all eternity and whom she assisted when he made the world. This is the earliest of all the texts (listed in Introduction to Wisdom Books) to deal with Wisdom personified.

The teaching of the Book of Proverbs has undoubtedly been far transcended by that of Christ, the Wisdom of God; even so, several maxims anticipate the moral teaching of the gospel. It should also be remembered that true religion can only develop on the foundations of human decency; while the frequent use of the book (fourteen quotations and about twenty allusions) made by the New Testament, commands the respect of Christians for these thoughts of the ancient sages of Israel.

                                                                        Page 8

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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
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Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Psalter or Book of Psalms is a collection of hymns used in the liturgical worship of the Temple; it is arranged in five 'books' or parts. The 150 psalms represent the work of several centuries. These are some which can be dated from the Exile and some after the return to Jerusalem and others which are clearly allied to the wisdom writings of later times; but there are also psalms which belong to the period of the kings and among these there may be some psalms as early as David himself, traditionally the writer and singer of songs. Although the inscriptions appear to ascribe many of the psalms to David, it should be noted that these inscriptions actually refer to different collections of the hymns made at different times or places; it is the existence of these separate collections which explains the duplication of a few Psalms in the Psalter.

The 150 psalms have for so long been used in Christian worship that their early origins are often overlooked; like all lyrical poetry, they express passion - and in their own time there was nothing improper about violent curses against enemies and oppressors or against the unfaithful nor about a frank longing for revenge and massacre. These are notes which can be found in the psalms and like the name Yahweh, must be accepted as a part of the world of the psalmists.

But the principal kinds of psalms which can be distinguished by their subjects include: hymns of praise often recalling the mighty works of God in the past history of the nation; prayers of entreaty or penitence either personal or collective; thanksgiving; wisdom psalms and praise of the Law; prophetic oracles; royal psalms. The royal psalms are addressed to kings the successors of David and often include prophecies of their future glory; after the of the monarchy, these oracles together with the prophecies of the renewal of Zion became a focus of the messianic hope and they are commonly accepted as such by the writers of the New Testament.

The spiritual riches of the Psalter need no commendation. The psalms were the prayers of the Old Testament in which God inspired the feeling that his children ought to have towards him and the words they ought to use when speaking to him. They were recited by Jesus himself, by Virgin Mary, the apostles and the early martyrs.

The Christian Church has adopted them unchanged for her official prayer. Unchanged as regards the words but with a great enrichment of the sense: in the New Covenant, the faithful person praises and thanks God for unveiling the secret of His inmost nature for redeeming him by the blood of his Son, for filling him with his Spirit, hence each psalm ends with the trinitarian doxology: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. The ancient entreaties have become more ardent since the last supper, the cross and the resurrection have taught mankind the infinite quality of the love of God, the universality and gravity of sin, the glory promised to the faithful. The hopes sung by the psalmists have been fulfilled, the Messiah has come, he reigns and all nations are summoned to praise him.
                                                                   Page 7
If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The Book of Job is the literary masterpiece of the wisdom movement. The main character, Job, is a famous figure from ancient history, traditionally regarded as a model of virtue; he is use by the author to exemplify the problem of the good man who is punished by misfortune and sickness.
The form of the book is that of a long dialogue poem with a prose prologue and epilogue. In the course of the dialogue, Job's friends offer him all the answers that piety and wisdom can suggest; Job is not reconciled and the final word is with Yahweh whose speeches assert a majesty that may not be questioned.

Job protests against this rigorous theory of cause and effect with the vigour of conscious innocence. He does not deny the principle of earthly recompense indeed he lives in hope of it and God gives it in the end (cf. the epilogue). But the recompense is, here and now, withheld; this is Job's problem and he seeks in vain for the meaning of it all. In the anguish he reaches out for God; God eludes him but Job still trusts to his goodness. When God does appear it is to tell how inscrutable are his person and his designs and Job falls to silence.

JOB - (1) Prologue - Satan tests Job - Chapter 1 to 2 - (2) The Dialogue - First series of Speeches - Job curses the day of his birth - Confidence in God - Only the sufferer knows his own grief - The unswerving course of God's justice - God's justice is above all law - Job must acknowledge God's wisdom - God's wisdom is best seen in the dreadful works of his omnipotence - Chapter 3 to 14 - (3) Second series of Speeches - Job's own words condemn him - The injustice of man and the justice of God - Anger is powerless against the course of justice - The course of justice admits of no exception - Facts give the lie - God punishes only to vindicate justice - God is far off and evil is victorious - A hymn to God's omnipotence - Bildad's words are empty - Job reaffirms his innocence while acknowledging God's power - The speech of Zophar : the accursed - Chapter 15 to 27 - (4) A Hymn in praise of Wisdom - Wisdom is beyond man's reach - Chapter 28 - (5) Conclusion of the Dialogue - Job's lament and final defence (a) His former happiness (b) His present misery and Job's apologia - Chapter 29 to 31 - (6) The speeches of Elihu - Chapter 32 to 37 - (7) The speeches of Yahweh - First Speech, Job must bow to the creator's wisdom - Second Speech, God is master of the forces of evil - Behemoth and Leviathan - Job's final answer - Chapter 32 to 42 - (8) Epilogue - Yahweh rebukes the three Sages and Yahweh restores Job's fortunes - Chapter 42 -

In summary : This is the book's lesson: faith must remain even when understanding fails. Two texts of Saint Paul give Job his answer: 'The sufferings of this present time cannot be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us'. - Roman 8:18 - and: In my flesh I make up what is lacking in Christ's trials, for the sake of his Body which is the Church'. - Col. 1:24 - An examination of the problems of evil and human sufferings.

                                                                       Page 6

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By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The First and Second of Maccabees were not in the Jewish Canon of scripture and have sometimes been relegated to the Apocrypha. The Church nevertheless gave recognition to them after a period of doubt and there is much to be learnt from them about late developments in Jewish belief before the incarnation and about the position of the Jewish nation between Greeks and Romans in the 2nd century B.C.

The book is invaluable as a history of the times, despite the space he devotes to battle and political intrigue, the author means to write a religious history. For him the nation's distress is a punishment for sin and the successes of his leading figures are won by the help of God. The author is concerned more with his religious intention than with historical precision. There is a same approach between the Books of Samuel or Kings and the Books Chronicles. This notwithstanding there is material exclusive to Second Maccabees that has a historical basis while the fact that the two books are independent of each other lends weight to the many points on which they are agreed.

1 Maccabees - (1) Alexander and the Diadochoi. Israel infected with hellenism, Antiochus Epiphanes despoils the Temple and persecutes Jews remaining faithful to the Law - Chapter 1 - (2) Mattathias Unleases the Holy War. Judas Maccabaeus, leader of the Jews (166-160 B.C.) Jonathan, leader of the Jews and High Priest (160-142 B.C.) Simon, High Priest and Ethnarch of the Jews (142-134 B.C.) - Chapter 2 to 16 - In summary : The background is the fight of the resistance movement against the hellenisation of the Jewish nation by the Seleucid kings. An uncompromising foe of hellenisation and an ardent admirer of the heroes who fought for the Law and Temple, winning first religious liberty and next national independence. It tells how Judaism, the trustee of revelation was preserved to the world. 1 Maccabees covers the forty years from 175 to 134 B.C. and must have been written before 63 B.C.

2 Maccabees - (1) First and Second Letters to the Jews of Egypt - Chapter 1 to 2 - (2) The story of Heliodorus - Chapter 3 - (3) Hellenistic propaganda and persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes - Chapter 4 to 7 - (4) The Victory of Judaism and the death of the persecutor and purification of the Temple - Chapter 8 to 10 - (5) The struggle of Judas against the neighbouring peoples and against Lysias, Eupator's High Commissioner - Chapter 10 to 13 - (6) The conflict with Nicanor, General of Demetrius 1. The day of Nicanor - Chapter 14 to 15 -

In summary : 2 Maccabees is important for its affirmation of the resurrection of the dead, 7:9; 14:46; sanctions in the afterlife, 6:26; prayer for the dead, 12:41-46; spiritual fruits of martyrdom, 6:18-7:41; the intercession of the saints, 15:12-16. Other Old Testament writings had left these teachings vague: but the latter justify the authority accorded to Second Maccabees by the Church. 2 Maccabees was completed after 124 B.C. These books provide the setting in which the Book of Daniel was written.

                                                                          Page 5

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

Introduction to TOBIT, JUDITH and ESTHER. Although these three books have the literary form of historical stories, the events of which they tell are not attested from other sources and the books are found to treat the facts of history and geography with a good deal of freedom. Plainly they were written to teach lessons of another kind and some of the early Greek Bible include them with the wisdom writings.

TOBIT - (1) The Exile, Tobit blinded and Sarah and Tobias - Chapter 1 to 4 - (2) The fellow traveller of Tobias, the Fish, Raguel, the Grave,the Wedding Feast - Chapter 5 to 10 - (3) Tobit's sight restored. Raphael, Zion and Nineveh - Chapter 11 to 14 - In summary : Tobit, the story of a dutiful son who is given miraculous help by an angel, was written among the Jews of the dispersion, possibly in Egypt between the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. though the setting of the story is some two hundred years earlier. The book was not accepted into the Hebrew Bible and was recognised by the Church only after a certain hesitancy in the patristic period. In the new translation of the Bible made at the Reformation, it was put in the Apocrypha.

JUDITH - (1) The campaign of Holofernes - Chapter 1 to 6 - (2) Bethulia under siege and a portrait of Judith - Chapter 7 to 9 - (3) Judith and Holofernes and Triumph - Chapter 10 to 16 - In summary : The same treatment was given to the Book of Judith, it was put in the Apocrypha. The story of the defeat of Nebuchadnezzar's armies through a woman single-handed assassination of their commander. It was written about 100 B.C.

ESTHER - (1) Mordecai's dream, Ahasuerus and Vashti, Mordecai and Esther - Chapter 1 to 3 - (2) The Jews in peril - Chapter 3 to 5 - (3) The Jews' Revenge - Chapter 6 to 9 - (4) The feast of Purim - Chapter 9 to 10 -

In summary : It is similarly the deliverance of the nation by the actions of a woman. The Hebrew version was probably written about 300 B.C.; the Greek version which is longer and contains some important additions. God's care for His people under Gentile rule.

                                                                         Page 4

If you wish to donate. Thank You. God bless.

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:
Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -