What would you have said in her place?

David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD."

And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." Then Nathan departed to his house.

And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.

David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!"

When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?"

And they said, "He is dead."

So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food."

And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, "Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

2 Samuel 12:13-23

David presumed the salvation of his infant child.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

"If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.

"Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

"What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

Matthew 18:1-14

This was a covenant child that Jesus presented to them. He was a paidion - a young child, a little boy or girl, an infant. It's the same word used of Jesus in Matthew 2 when the magi visited and when Herod sent out his soldiers to kill all the male children two years old and younger.

Jesus said that this little child had been lost, having been conceived in sin, and converted. Jesus had come to save this little child. Jesus said, "one of these little ones who believe in Me", so this little one had believed in Jesus. The child had been humbled and was great in the Kingdom.

Jesus did not say that all little children were already saved or did not need converting. He did stress that the disciples need converting! They needed to continue being humbled and live a life of repentance.

We must receive these tiny covenanters. Christ made it clear that He did not approve of any disdain toward His little children.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

1 Corinthians 7:14

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

When studying the baptism of John, I went to the Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud and Hebraica by John Lightfoot (1602-1675). There was a vast amount of information found under his notes on Matthew 3:6.

They baptized also young children (for the most part with their parents). They baptize a little proselyte according to the judgment of the Sanhedrim: that is, as the Gloss renders it, "If he be deprived of his father, and his mother brings him to be made a proselyte, they baptize him [because none becomes a proselyte without circumcision and baptism] according to the judgment [or right] of the Sanhedrim; that is, that three men be present at the baptism, who are now instead of a father to him."

And the Gemara a little after; If with a proselyte his sons and his daughters are made proselytes also, that which is done by their father redounds to their good. R. Joseph saith, When they grow into years, they may retract. Where the Gloss writes thus; "This is to be understood of little children, who are made proselytes together with their father."

"A heathen woman, if she is made a proselytess, when she is now big with child,--the child needs not baptism: for the baptism of his mother serves him for baptism." Otherwise, he were to be baptized.

"If an Israelite take a Gentile child, or find a Gentile infant, and baptizeth him in the name of a proselyte,--behold, he is a proselyte."

First, You see baptism inseparably joined to the circumcision of proselytes. There was, indeed, some little distance of time; for "they were not baptized till the pain of circumcision was healed, because water might be injurious to the wound." But certainly baptism ever followed. We acknowledge, indeed, that circumcision was plainly of divine institution; but by whom baptism, that was inseparable from it, was instituted, is doubtful. And yet it is worthy of observation, our Saviour rejected circumcision, and retained the appendix to it: and when all the Gentiles were now to be introduced into the true religion, he preferred this 'proselytical introductory' (pardon the expression) unto the sacrament of entrance into the gospel.

One might observe the same almost in the eucharist. The lamb in the Passover was of divine institution, and so indeed was the bread. But whence was the wine? But yet, rejecting the lamb, Christ instituted the sacrament in the bread and wine.

Secondly, Observing from these things which have been spoken, how very known and frequent the use of baptism was among the Jews, the reason appears very easy why the Sanhedrim, by their messengers, inquired not of John concerning the reason of baptism, but concerning the authority of the baptizer; not what baptism meant, but whence he had a license so to baptize, John 1:25.

Thirdly, Hence also the reason appears why the New Testament doth not prescribe, by some more accurate rule, who the persons are to be baptized. The Anabaptists object, 'It is not commanded to baptize infants,--therefore they are not to be baptized.' To whom I answer, 'It is not forbidden to baptize infants,--therefore they are to be baptized.' And the reason is plain. For when Paedobaptism in the Jewish church was so known, usual, and frequent, in the admission of proselytes, that nothing almost was more known, usual, and frequent,--

1. There was no need to strengthen it with any precept, when baptism was now passed into an evangelical sacrament. For Christ took baptism into his hands, and into evangelical use, as he found it; this only added, that he might promote it to a worthier end and a larger use. The whole nation knew well enough that little children used to be baptized: there was no need of a precept for that which had ever, by common use, prevailed. If a royal proclamation should now issue forth in these words, "Let every one resort, on the Lord's day, to the public assembly in the church"; certainly he would be mad, who, in times to come, should argue hence that prayers, sermons, singing of psalms, were not to be celebrated on the Lord's day in the public assemblies, because there is no mention of them in the proclamation. For the proclamation provided for the celebration of the Lord's day in the public assemblies in general: but there was no need to make mention of the particular kinds of the divine worship to be celebrated there, when they were always, and every where, well known and in daily use before the publishing of the proclamation, and when it was published. The case is the very same in baptism. Christ instituted it for an evangelical sacrament, whereby all should be admitted into the possession of the gospel, as heretofore it was used for admission into proselytism to the Jewish religion. The particulars belonging to it,--as, the manner of baptizing, the age, the sex to be baptized, &c.--had no need of a rule and definition; because these were, by the common use of them, sufficiently known even to mechanics and the most ignorant men.

2. On the other hand, therefore, there was need of a plain and open prohibition that infants and little children should not be baptized, if our Saviour would not have had them baptized. For, since it was most common, in all ages foregoing, that little children should be baptized, if Christ had been minded to have that custom abolished, he would have openly forbidden it. Therefore his silence, and the silence of the Scripture in this matter, confirms Paedobaptism, and continueth it unto all ages.

Fourthly, It is clear enough, by what hath been already said, in what sense that is to be taken in the New Testament which we sometimes meet with,--namely, that the master of the family was baptized with his whole family, Acts 16:15, 33, &c. Nor is it of any strength which the Anti-paedobaptists contend for, that it cannot be proved there were infants in those families; for the inquiry is not so proper, whether there were infants in those families, as it is concluded truly and deservedly,--if there were, they had all been to be baptized. Nor do I believe this people, that flocked to John's baptism, were so forgetful of the manner and custom of the nation, that they brought not their little children also with them to be baptized.

If you compare the washing of polluted persons, prescribed by the law, with the baptism of proselytes,--both that and this imply uncleanness, however something different, that implies legal uncleanness,--this, heathen,--but both polluting. But a proselyte was baptized not only into the washing-off of that Gentile pollution, nor only thereby to be transplanted into the religion of the Jews; but that by the most accurate rite of translation that could possibly be, he might so pass into an Israelite, that, being married to an Israelite woman, he might produce a free and legitimate seed, and an undefiled offspring. Hence, servants that were taken into a family were baptized,--and servants also that were to be made free: not so much because they were defiled with heathen uncleanness, as that, by that rite becoming Israelites in all respects, they might be more fit to match with Israelites, and their children be accounted as Israelites. And hence the sons of proselytes, in following generations, were circumcised indeed, but not baptized. They were circumcised, that they might take upon themselves the obligation of the law; but they needed not baptism, because they were already Israelites. From these things it is plain that there was some difference as to the end, between the Mosaical washings of unclean persons, and the baptism of proselytes; and some between the baptism of proselytes and John's baptism: not as though they concurred not in some parallel end; but because other ends were added over and above to this or that, or some ends were withdrawn.

In his Harmony of the Four Evangelists, in his notes on John 1:25, I found:

It is urged, by those that deny infants' baptism,-- that there is neither command for it, nor example of it, in Scripture, as there was for infant circumcision. Now, this consideration giveth one ready answer, if there were no other to be given:--If baptism, and baptizing of infants, had been as strange, and unseen, and unheard-of, a thing in the world, till John the Baptist came, as circumcision was, till God appointed it to Abraham,--there is no doubt but there would have been a command or example expressly given for the baptizing of infants, if God would have them to be baptized; as there was for the circumcising of infants, because God would have them to be circumcised.--But, when the baptizing of infants had been a thing as commonly known, and as commonly used, long before John came, and to his very coming, as any holy thing, that was used among the Jews; and they were as well acquainted with infants' baptism, as they were with infants' circumcision,--it doth not follow, that there needed so express and punctual a command or example, to be given for the baptizing of infants, which was well enough known already, as there needed for circumcision of infants or others; which was a thing, that, till its institution, had never been heard of, nor dreamed of, in the world...

By which we may observe, that baptism was no strange thing when John came baptizing; but the rite was known so well by every one, that nothing was better known than what baptism was: and, therefore, there needed not such punctual and exact rules, about the manner and object of it, as there had needed, if it had never been seen before. What needed it in the gospel to tell, that such or such persons were to be the objects of baptism, when it was as well known, before the gospel began, that men, and women, and children, were the objects of baptism, and were baptized,--as it is to be known, that the sun is up, when it shineth at noon-day?

The Whole Works of the Rev. John Lightfoot, D.D. Volume 4, p.407, 409

In case you haven't been reading your "Grace Gems," they were recently on a J.R. Miller spree. I was particularly happy to see these, as I bought Home-Making by J.R. Miller for Alicia for Mother's Day.

Here were the quotes:

Four walls do not make a home

Four walls do not make a home--though it is a palace filled with all the elegances which wealth can buy! The home-life itself is more important than the house and its adornments. By the home-life, is meant the happy art of living together in tender love. We enter some homes, and they are full of sweetness--as fields of summer flowers are full of fragrance. All is order, beauty, gentleness and peace. We enter other homes, where we find jarring, selfishness, harshness and disorder. This difference is not accidental. They are influences at work in each home, which yield just the result we see in each. No home-life can ever be better than the life of those who make it.

Homes are the real schools in which men and women are trained--and fathers and mothers are the real teachers and builders of life!

Sadly, the goal which most parents have for their home--is to have as good and showy a house as they can afford, furnished in as rich a style as their means will warrant, and then to live in it as comfortably as they are able, without too much exertion or self-denial.

But the true idea of a Christian home, is that it is a place for spiritual growth. It is a place for the parents themselves to grow--to grow into beauty of character, to grow in spiritual refinement, in knowledge, in strength, in wisdom, in patience, gentleness, kindliness, and all the Christian graces and virtues. It is a place for children to grow--to grow into physical vigor and health, and to be trained in all that shall make them true and noble men and women.

A true home is set up and all its life ordered--for the definite purpose of training, building up and sending our human lives fashioned into Christlike symmetry, filled with lofty impulses and aspirations, governed by principles of rectitude and honor, and fitted to enter upon the duties and struggles of life with spiritual wisdom and strength.

Our children

Parents! You are fashioning the destinies of immortal souls!

What we want to do with our children, is not merely to control them and keep them in order--but to implant true principles deep in their hearts which shall rule their whole lives; to shape their character from within into Christlike beauty, and to make of them noble men and women, strong for battle of life. They are to be trained rather than governed. Growth of character, not merely good behavior--is the object of all home governing and teaching. Therefore the home influence is far more important than the home laws; and the parents' lives are of more significance than their teachings. Whatever may be done in the way of governing, teaching or training--theories are not half as important as the parents' lives. They may teach the most beautiful things--but if the child does not see these things modeled in the life of the parent--he will not consider them important enough to be adopted in his own life.

Books and magazines

In considering the influences in the home-life which leave deep and permanent impressions on character, thought must be given to the books and magazines which are read. On the printed pages which fly everywhere like the leaves of autumn, drifting to our doors and swept into our innermost chambers--are borne to us the golden thoughts of the best and wisest men and women of all ages. The blessings which the printing press scatters, are infinite and rich beyond all estimates. But the same press which today gives us pure and holy thoughts, words of truth and life; tomorrow gives us veiled suggestions of evil, words of honeyed sweetness--but in which deadly poison is concealed!

It is fabled that a soldier found a casket which was reported to be full of valuable treasures. It was opened, and out of it came a poisonous atmosphere which caused a terrible plague in the army. Just so--many a book which is bound in bright colors, has stored within those covers, the most deadly moral influences! To open it in a pure home, among young and tender lives, is to let loose evils which never can be gathered back and locked up again!

The printing press puts into the hands of parents a means of good, which they may use to the greatest advantage in the culture of their home-life, and in the shaping of the lives of their household. But they must keep a most diligent watch over the pages which they introduce. They should know the character of every book and magazine which comes within their doors, and should resolutely exclude everything which would defile. Then, while they exclude everything whose influence would be for evil, if they are wise they will bring into their home as much as possible of pure, elevating, and refining literature. Every beautiful thought which enters a child's mind, adds to the strength and loveliness of the character in after days. The educating influence of the best books and magazines is incalculable, and no parent can afford to lose it in the training of his family.

An ideal Christian home

An ideal Christian home ought to be a place where love rules. It ought to be beautiful, bright, joyous, full of tenderness and affection, a place in which all are growing happier and holier each day. There should never be any discord, any wrangling, any angry words or bitter feelings. The home-life should be a harmonious song without one marring note, day after day. The home, no matter how humble it is, how plain, how small--should be the dearest spot on the earth to each member of the family. It should be made so happy a place, and so full of life, that no matter where one may wander in after years, in any of the ends of the earth--his home should still hold its invisible cords of influence about him, and should ever draw resistless upon his heart. It ought to be the one spot in all the earth, to which he would turn first, when in trouble or in danger. It should be his refuge, in every trial and grief.

"Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

Malachi 3:1

"Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
Malachi 4:4-6

But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Luke 1:13-17

Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

Matthew 17:11-13

Jesus said that John the Baptist had come as the Elijah-like preacher predicted by the prophet Malachi. Now, consider what the Bible said about his parents:

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years. (Luke 1:5-7)

They were both descended from priests, righteous before God, blameless. They were Spirit-filled keepers of the Covenant. In v. 15, "He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." Later, in v. 41, "And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit." It is also said of Zacharias, "Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied" (v. 67).

In v. 13, the angel told Zecharias that his prayer was heard. So, they had been praying for a child. And now he would receive a son filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Now, we are all born guilty and sinful, even John. Yet, this child was considered holy. As 1 Corinthians 7:14 said, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy."

The angel had said that he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb, and, three months before he would be born (v. 36), "when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb" (v. 41). Elizabeth told Mary, "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy" (v. 44).

Elizabeth indicated that John, three months before he was born, being filled with the Spirit, recognized the presence of the newly conceived Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and responded with joy.

Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months (v. 56). Then, when John was born, Zacharias said of him, ""And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord [who would be born in six more months] to prepare His ways" (v. 76).

So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Luke 1:80

It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution. The freemen of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle [usurpation of power], and they avoided the consequences by denying [preventing] the principle. We revere this lesson too much... to forget it.

James Madison, David W. Stedman, Our Ageless Constitution
(Evanston, IL: W. David Stedman Assoc., 1987), 270

Okay, I had planned to write up this section on the New Testament -- but there's too much there! There are tons more in the Old Testament, too. But I thought I could at least skim over the New Testament and have a just smashing post ready in time for Father's Day. But, no.

I find it fascinating whenever I study a doctrine and then start seeing things from other doctrines I've previously studied. Sometimes those make the current doctrine more clear, sometimes this makes those earlier studied doctrines more clear.

Hermeneutic Tip #637: While Nave's Topical Bible may be a useful tool in studying the Bible, it should never be the only tool used in studying the Bible.

Hermeneutic Tip #638: While a concordance may be a useful tool in studying the Bible, it should never be the only tool used in studying the Bible.

Hermeneutic Tip #639: If you want to get a thoroughly Biblical doctrine of any subject, your best text to study will be Genesis 1:1 - Revelation 22:21. That should cover it.

Hermeneutic Tip #640: In case you hadn't noticed, it's been approximately 1,938 years since the last words were penned by those chosen men inspired by the Holy Spirit. A few things, such as language, culture, politics, etc., have changed since then so some other references will come in handy.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

I was recently asked to participate in the preparation of our church's baptism manual. I dove into some serious study and was preparing quite the paper, when the request for my assistance was altered: they wanted some graphic design help in the layout. But all was not lost, because I had profited much from my study.

The biggest question in my mind when studying baptism was the baptism of John. I understood that we now administered trinitarian baptism, but John was administering baptism before all that had really been revealed. So what was going on?

I found some insight in this article "The Jewish Background of Christian Baptism" by Marji Hughes at Foundations Ministries:

According to the ancient sages, Leviticus 11:36 shows us that "living water" can not be defiled, which we will discuss in detail a little later on. Genesis 1:9 speaks of the waters being "gathered together." The Hebrew word translated "gathered together" that is used here is mikvah and for this reason, a sea is always considered a valid mikvah In Genesis chapter 7, we have the account of Noah's Flood, when God chose "living water" as the vehicle to cleanse the earth. In Genesis 35:2, Jacob commands his household to destroy their idols and to "purify themselves." The Jewish sages understand this purification as none other than the mikvah

Virtually from the very beginning, this concept of the mikvah and Mayim Chayim - which is Hebrew for "living water", and much more fun to say :) - plays an important role that carries over into the rest of Scripture. In what parallels the "born again" experience of the modern Christian, Jewish theologians look at the crossing of the Red Sea in Exodus 14, as a mikvah As we mentioned earlier, the sea qualifies as a pool of living waters, and the crossing of the Hebrews demonstrated not only God's immense provision, but also a separation from that which defiled them - Egypt - and that which gave the nation of Israel new life - the crossing through the midst of the waters.

So, this mikvah or ritual purification had become a part of the conversion process for proselytes.

I actually found the word bapto several times in the Septuagint.

Exodus 12:22 - And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

Leviticus 4:6 - The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil of the sanctuary.

Leviticus 4:17 - Then the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD, in front of the veil.

Leviticus 9:9 - Then the sons of Aaron brought the blood to him. And he dipped his finger in the blood, put it on the horns of the altar, and poured the blood at the base of the altar.

Leviticus 11:32 - Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean.

Leviticus 14:6 - As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.

Leviticus 14:16 - Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

Leviticus 14:51 - and he shall take the cedar wood, the hyssop, the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

Numbers 19:18 - A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave.

Deuteronomy 33:24 - And of Asher he said: "Asher is most blessed of sons; Let him be favored by his brothers, And let him dip his foot in oil.

Judges 5:30 - "Are they not finding and dividing the spoil: To every man a girl or two; For Sisera, plunder of dyed garments, Plunder of garments embroidered and dyed [dipped], Two pieces of dyed embroidery for the neck of the looter?'

Ruth 2:14 - Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.

1 Samuel 14:27 - But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.

2 Kings 8:15 - But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.

Job 9:31 - Yet You will plunge me into the pit, And my own clothes will abhor me.

Psalm 68:23 - That you may dip your foot in blood, And the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies.

Daniel 4:33 - That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

Daniel 5:21 - Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

While there is certainly a lot of dipping going on, one must admit that it is very often in the context of sprinkling. Interesting.

Also I found some places in the New Testament where baptiso might not be recognized in our English translations:

Mark 7:4 - When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

Luke 11:38 - When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner.

Hebrews 9:10 - concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation.

Okay, just some prefatory notes before we dive into John the Baptist.

Continuing in the study, we come to Psalm 51:5:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me."
Again, a reminder that the children of the covenant are conceived in sin and in need of a Savior. It is important to remember that I am not denying that.

Now, here's a verse that is very familiar to parents. Proverbs 22:6:
"Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it."
This goes along with Deuteronomy 4:10 and 6:7 in the last post. God has given clear commands that must be obeyed, regardless of the ultimate situation. Here God commands that a parent must train a child for keeping the covenant. I would also point out that "when he is old he will not depart from it" demands presumption on the parent's part.

We're all very familiar with Jonah and his fish. But have we missed what God said to Jonah in 4:11? "And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left--and much livestock?" God said He pitied Nineveh for her many infants. If God would spare a wicked city for the infants, why would He not extend the blessings of the covenant to them as He even promised He would?

In Isaiah 55:3, the Lord said, "Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- The sure mercies of David." If you would agree to the covenant and apply the covenant to yourself, then God will make covenant with you. It is an everlasting covenant, a covenant that extends beyond your earthly lifetime. It is a covenant of mercies. Acts 13:34 applies this to Christ as the Mediator of this covenant. And this covenant with David included his seed, his children (Psalm 89:28, 29).

Daniel 2:22 said, "He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him." This points back to Deuteronomy 29:29. These belong to God. God has not revealed everything to us. But He has revealed to us what is necessary for us to obey Him, to glorify and enjoy Him. You have in Genesis - Revelation everything you need to know to live a life pleasing to God. But you do not have revealed to you the deep and secret thingsdeep and secret things. You do not know God's plans for this day, this year, or your great grandchildren to a thousand generations. You do not need to know these things to be faithful to God and His Word.

Whose children are they? Ezekiel 16:20-21 said, "Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?" When you bear children, you bear them to the Lord. They are His children. Again, He speaks to those in covenant with Him. (Consider this with Genesis 3:15 where God distinguished between the redeemed and the reprobate.) Also consider that the parents' breaking the covenant was a small matter to God in comparison with what they did with His children.

In 20:39, "As for you, O house of Israel," thus says the Lord GOD: "Go, serve every one of you his idols--and hereafter--if you will not obey Me; but profane My holy name no more with your gifts and your idols." There were covenant blessings and there were covenant cursings. Here, the Israelites had proven by their rebellion that they were covenant breakers and had called the covenant curses upon their own heads. Yet God would show His mercy to them again.

For in Jeremiah 32:40, He said, "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me." Again, it is an everlasting covenant, beyond their lifetimes, extending to their children.

Back in Ezekiel, 36:24 and 25 read, "For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols." And this is that great promise, the promise of the New Covenant, which continued, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. Not for your sake do I do this," says the Lord GOD, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!"

In Zechariah 6:15, "Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God." The big, dreaded if. He is not your High Priest, unless He is also your King.

Psalm 105:8-12 describes the covenant this way:
The covenant was to Abraham and his children.

Remember, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105). In keeping with Deuteronomy 29:29 and Daniel 2:22, God's will is for you to follow what He has revealed.

Joel prophesied in 2:28-32, "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls."
Tuck this one in your memory, it will come up next time.

One last beautiful gem from the prophets. In Malachi 2:15, we read, "But did He not make them one, Having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth." In reminding the people of God's intention for the marriage covenant, He expresses this purpose: He seeks godly offspring. It is literally, "a seed of God." This goes back to Ezekiel 16. The children of the covenant are God's children.

Next time, I'll look at the New Testament passages.

Tonight, we read Acts 12, about the angel releasing Peter from prison, in family worship. We always let the children pick songs. We sang "O Church Arise" and "Jesus, Thank You." And then Alicia and I sang "And Can It Be That I Should Gain?"

I love these lyrics:

I want to take a walk through the Bible chronologically to watch this doctrine develop. In this first part I will go up through Joshua.

The Lord said to the serpent in Genesis 3:15, "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."

We see here that the Lord distinguishes between the seed of the woman, the redeemed, and the seed of the serpent, the reprobate. We see this first in the enmity between Cain and Abel, and ultimately between Christ and the devil.

Genesis 6:5 said, "Then the LORD God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

A reminder that the Bible clearly teaches human depravity. I'm not denying that in any of this.

Now, we fast forward to Abraham. In Genesis 15:1, "After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.'" God promises to be Abraham's shield and his reward.

Now for the big passage:

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly." Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."

And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant. He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."

There is a ton here. It is undeniable that Abraham's children were included in this covenant. After all, that's pretty much the point of it. God would be God to Abraham and to his children. In fact, notice that the male child had to be circumcised on the eighth day. He said that the one "who is not circumcised... has broken My covenant." He does not say that the one who is not circumcised will not be included in the covenant. But had broken the covenant. In other words, every descendant was in the covenant automatically. Being circumcised did not put a child into the covenant, but not being circumcised did break that child out of the covenant. This inclusion of the children in the covenant is not only promised, but commanded by God. There is a presumption here on the part of the parents that the children are indeed included in the covenant. That child could grow up and break the covenant, but the parents are presuming that he will keep the covenant.

In verse 19, God said, "No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him." Here God specifically promised that covenant to Isaac.

In verse 23, "So Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day, as God had said to him." God had commanded that Abraham circumcise all his children. God had also just told him that He would bless Ishmael, but the covenant was for Isaac. Still, God had commanded it, so Abraham circumcised all his children, including Ishmael.

In 21:12, God said to Abraham, "Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called." The promise was for Isaac.

We can follow this history of election through Jacob, "And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright" (25:34). Isaac had circumcised both Jacob and Esau, presuming the promise for them. Esau, though, grew up to break the covenant.

When Isaac was in Beersheba, "the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, 'I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham's sake.'" (26:24) God continued the covenant through Isaac.

In the Dinah incident, the sons of Jacob deceitfully used circumcision as a means for revenge. "And they said to them, "We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised, for that would be a reproach to us. But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised, then we will give our daughters to you, and we will take your daughters to us; and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people. But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, then we will take our daughter and be gone." (34:14-17) For that time, the Shechemites may have outwardly appeared to be in the covenant, but they were not truly covenant people.

However, in Exodus 12:48, God instructs His people, "And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it." This did place them in the visible community of the covenant.

In 19:5, the Lord said, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine." The dreaded if. If a child did not keep the covenant, then by his rebellion he could be proven lost.

In Leviticus 12:3, the command is clearly restated, "And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." This was the outward sign of the covenant.

God made clear the curses of breaking the covenant. In 26:14-16, "But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it."

Here is something interesting in Deuteronomy 1:39, "Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it." God promised to fulfill this covenant with the little ones who had no knowledge of good and evil. This acknowledges that even before these children could discern good and evil, the promise was for them.

In 4:9b-10, Moses instructs, "And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'" No matter if the children are ultimately elect or not, parents must follow God's command to teach their children His Word.

Then, of course, the golden text of homeschooling, 6:7, "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Because the covenant is for the children, they must be instructed in it.

In 11:13, 14, the Lord said, "And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil." Here again, the potential is held out for keeping the covenant or breaking the covenant.

This is seen even more in verses 26-28, "Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known."

One of my favorite verses, is 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." God has told us clearly in Scripture how to obey Him. We do not know the secret things. The Israelites did not know if a child would ultimately keep the covenant or break the covenant. But the Israelites did know that a (male) child must be circumcised the eighth day and that they must instruct their children in the Word of God. As a parent, you do not know God's ultimate plan for your child, but you do know what God has commanded for you to do with them.

In Joshua 5:3, we read that "Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins." Joshua knew that God commanded the sign of the covenant be placed on the children, so he did that.

In the second part, I hope to trace this through David and the prophets, and in the third part, the New Testament.

I've been studying my Bible again... yep, a dangerous thing to do. You never know what might happen when you do that. Just think of the history -- the Reformation, the Great Awakening. Worlds get turned upside down.

Have you ever basically believed something your whole life, but never knew that anyone else had actually put it to words? Kind of nice when you find out what you thought you were reading in your Bible is actually one of the historical doctrines of the Church. Very nice, indeed.

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Genesis 17:7

What a promise! God promised to be not only Abraham's God, but also the God of his descendants. What more could you want?

God has just told Abraham that all that He is, He will be for Abraham. And not only for Abraham, but also for his descendants.

Now, yes, there is more to the Abrahamic covenant than this. Yes, there was a promise of land, too. But don't miss that there is definitely a spiritual relationship established here between God, Abraham, and Abraham's children. God is relating to Abraham as an individual and also to Abraham's family.

But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children's children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

Psalm 103:17-18

God's mercy is eternal. Most of us have about seventy to eighty years to live. Not even Methuselah lived for eternity, past to future. (I speak as on earth). Yet, God's mercy is eternal. Its the full breadth of eternity. For as long as He has existed, for as long as He will exist, there is His mercy. It will outlive you.

But is His mercy for everyone? Well, no. It is for those who fear Him. It is for those who keep His covenant. For those who keep His commands, without which they would not be keeping His covenant. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:3-6). "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:29, 30).

But look who else receives His mercy: "And His righteousness to children's children." "The children of Your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You" (Psalm 102:28). If the children will also keep His covenant, then His mercy is upon them to a thousand generations.

Can they keep His covenant unless they be in His covenant?

Now, I'm not suggesting that the children of Abraham were automatically born saved. But what the Bible clearly teaches here is that the Covenant extended to the covenant-keeper's children. It is a Covenant with the individual and with the individual's family.

Israel certainly understood the family aspect of the Covenant. The Israelites automatically assumed that their children were under the Covenant. The child could grow up and break covenant, yes, but at birth they were in the Covenant if the parents' were covenant-keepers.

Now, that's the Abrahamic Covenant. What about the New Covenant? Does any of this carry over?

The Israelites also misapplied the family aspect of the Covenant, and thought the Covenant was their birthright even if they broke it. Paul said to them, "Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." (Galatians 3:7)

He goes on, "Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise." (Galatians 3:15-18)

(Notice that Paul includes the Mosaic Covenant within the Abrahamic Covenant.) The Abrahamic Covenant is fulfilled in Christ, the Seed. It is still in force, but now it is in force in Christ. If I am ingrafted into Christ, then I am in the Covenant.

That Covenant was with individuals and with families. As an individual, I am in Christ and I am in the Covenant. Also, my family is in the Covenant. I did not say that my family is automatically saved. Being in the Covenant and being saved are not identical.

But wait, am I just taking something from the Old Covenant and applying that to the New Covenant? Is that ever done in the New Testament (as if the above example from Galatians 3 does not suffice?)

When Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, he preached, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

We've got that, right? We know that you repent to be saved. But he did go on, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). It's the family again! God's covenantal relationship with the family of the believer continues into the New Covenant! Did Israelites in the Old Covenant have to believe to be saved? Yes. Do the children of believers have to believe to be saved in the New Covenant? Yes. But was the Covenant also with the children of believers in both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Yes!!

Here's a passage that always stumped me:

But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

1 Corinthians 7:12-16

Sanctified? Holy? Huh?
Here is the Covenant Family. If you are a believer, then your family is in the Covenant. Are they automatically saved? No. Are they in a relationship with God? Yes. There is grace in your home. God is the God of your family. If you will keep covenant with God, if they will keep covenant with God, that blessing continues to be passed down. If you or they break covenant, then we see that that individual is clearly not saved and under God's curse as a covenant-breaker.

Here's one way I would like to apply this. I have read parenting books that refer to your children as little pagans. Sorry, wrong, that's not true. Are they unsaved? Do they need a Savior? Yes. Are they pagans? No. God is their God and they are in Covenant with Him. They are in a special relationship with God.

I'm sure there will be comments on this one.

I've been listening to the Apologetics & Outreach course from Covenant Theological Seminary. I'm in the sixth lesson now, which is in the middle of the section on postmodernism.

If I had to define postmodernism, I'd say it is "meaningless chaos with a dash of angst against authority."

We were awoken this morning by a crying 5-year-old who dove into our beds asking frantically, "What does it mean to believe in Jesus? I don't want to go to hell!"

Rewind... at dinner last night, in a statement completely unrelated to anything else being discussed, Anna Kate had said, "I don't know if I even want to be a Christian." After a little probing, she even offered, "I don't know if I believe more in Jesus or in myself." It seemed as if she were actually being more open with her thoughts than just looking for shock value. Even Ethan didn't respond to her with his usual rod-of-correction tongue. Alicia just very casually responded to her, I don't even remember exactly what Alicia had said. I think there may have been a you-can't-go-to-heaven-without-believing-in-Jesus comment. But dinner resumed. My parents showed up and did some work around the house and left about time for the kids to go to bed. I had devotions with the kids - Paul on the road to Damascus, actually.

Resume, 3:30 this morning... I explained to her that believing in Jesus meant knowing that you were a sinner. God hates sin and must punish it. But if you believe in Jesus, you believe that Jesus took the punishment for sin Himself when He died on the cross. If you believe in Jesus, you believe that He took the punishment for your sin in your place, so that it is all already punished and you don't have to be punished for it. You can go to live with God in heaven some day.

She said she knew she was a sinner and that she hated her sin. She wanted to "work for God."

I then added that if you believe Jesus has saved you, then you ought to believe Jesus has saved you. In other words, if you believe Jesus has saved you, then you should leave it to Him and not worry about going to hell. In fact, you should be more excited about going to heaven, because now what you really want is to be with God.

Then she asked me if I would pray that God would keep the house "alive." Alicia had to explain that one to me. Apparently, she's had nightmares before that the roof was collapsing on her. So she wanted it to stay "alive" and not fall down. In fact, she wanted me to pray that God would keep it alive for fifteen days after Rose died. I told her that if she believed in Jesus, then she could talk to Him herself and He would listen.

So she did. And she prayed for the house to stay alive for fifteen days after Rose died. And that seemed to scare her a bit, so she added that she wanted mommy to "die of age" and daddy to die of age, Ethan to die of age, her to die of age, and Rose to die of age, and just in case God wasn't sure what "die of age" meant she explained that no one should die until they were very, very old, like a day older than Nanny or Great Gram or mommy.

She settled down after that and finally went back to sleep.