9 August 2009

After Twenty-Two Years

(Kent Heaton)

The story of Joseph is remarkable for many reasons. His visions set him at odds with his brothers who would eventually sell him to a passing band of Midianites (without Reuben’s knowledge). He would be sold on the slavery block to the captain of Pharaoh’s guard where he served honorably until unjustly imprisoned by the vengeful wife of Potiphar. Languishing in the king’s prison Joseph would be forgotten until the providence of God became full in Joseph’s rise to power as second only to the Pharaoh’s throne.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The faith of Joseph is noteworthy because of the hardships he endured as a young man. His trust in God is a worthy example of one of the greatest measures of hope given in scripture. He walked with God each step of his journey from the security of home to the humiliation of slavery and finally to the exaltation of honor in the court of Pharaoh. It would be twenty-two years from the time of his brothers cruel act until they day they stood before a ruler in Egypt begging for food.

How do we measure faith? With what rule do we look at Joseph’s life and understand the day to day hardship of loneliness, grief, hunger, sorrow and despair on the road to Egypt? “He sent a man before them— Joseph—who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him, the ruler of the people let him go free. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his possessions” (Psalm 105:17-21).

The story of Joseph must be viewed in the context of two decades of struggle before he could see his family again and finally proclaim through the eye of faith to those who sold him to slavery, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). Faith can be viewed as something to have for the short time but how do you maintain your faith after twenty years? How do you keep your faith after the first five years and then ten and then fifteen and finally after twenty-two? Joseph understood something about faith that we all should take stock in.

He did not understand why his brothers sold him. How hard that must have been as he walked along in shackles to Egypt but he walked with God and he trusted in God. The slave block was a most humiliating and fearful thing but as he stood there sold as so much meat before slave buyers Joseph knew God had not abandoned him. Blessed with opportunity in Potiphar’s house he was cruelly punished for doing the right thing (Genesis 39). Seeing a ray of hope in the telling of the dreams of the butler and baker he was forgotten for two more years (Genesis 40; 41:1) but he knew that God had not forgotten him.

Our measure of faith is not marked by time but the hope we have in our Lord. Joseph sought a homeland (Hebrews 11:13-16) that helped him keep his eye of faith on those things beyond the physical suffering. The twenty-two years separated from his family would not compare to the joy of an eternal abode with the God he loved, the God he served and the God he trusted with all his faith. “God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20) is the banner of faith we must carry when faced with hardship.

The above question was submitted to the “Suggestion Box” with concerns of the role women (children and teenagers included) have in the classes “in the church.” Two passages were cited as concern for examination: 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. This is a very good question and one important to examine without a traditional view of how it has been done in the past or how a person may view this issue. What we practice at the Trenton church must be based upon proof text of the Bible and not tradition or opinions of men. The first question considers whether it is proper for a woman to speak during class time. The second question examines the Biblical authority for women classes in the church.

Should women speak during class time? It must be understood that the “modern” arrangement of services for the church is not a Biblical pattern of necessity. In almost all of the places I have worshipped we have had Bible classes on Sunday morning; a morning service and an evening service; a Bible class on Wednesday night. On occasion, there have been other gatherings on Sunday such as singings, group meetings, special studies and Bible classes. During the week gospel meetings are held, classes conducted and so forth.

The New Testament church was instructed to meet on the first day of the week and did so by example (Acts 2:40-47; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 1 Corinthians 12-14). They followed that pattern by divine command and we seek to follow the same pattern. When we meet on the first day of the week in worship to God we fulfill the divine command. In the last century efforts have been made to expand the work of teaching the Bible to families and Bible classes were encouraged for those who wanted to attend.

Meeting on Sunday morning and Wednesday night for Bible class is an extension of the work of what the elder’s desire for the church to grow. It is not a mandatory action commanded by the Lord but a time of exhortation to learn more about the word of God. It is important to note the difference between a Bible class and the worship commanded by the Lord on the first day of the week. Worship is commanded but Bible classes is an expediency. The “rules of engagement” are clearly set forth in worship and the expediency of Bible class is based upon the principles of communication between the participates. To engage in a Bible study requires communication. We find an example of a Bible study in Acts 18:24-26 when Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos aside and “they … explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

It is proper for a woman to speak in a Bible class whether it is at home or in a classroom at the church building. The church building does not make a gathering a worship. In the process of teaching a woman there is a need to communicate and this does not go against 1 Timothy 2 nor 1 Corinthians 14. Sitting in a Bible class at the church building does not fall under the restrictions of worship.

Should the Trenton church have Bible classes? One of the tasks involved in the work of the church is “the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). This can be done in many ways and one of the ways the Trenton church seeks to edify and equip the brethren is a concentrated study of the word of God – Bible classes.

In the context of these classes, the restriction of 1 Timothy 2 applies. “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12). Women cannot conduct classes that usurp the authority of the man. Participation in a class through discussion does not suggest a woman having authority over the man. If such were the case that a woman was using her place in a Bible class (whether in the church building or the home) to control the class, she would be in rebellion to God’s will. Priscilla did not usurp the authority of Aquila when “they” taught Apollos. This was not done in a worship setting but privately.

Women teaching women or children is found within the context of their role and important work within the church. Sometimes the question is raised whether a woman should teach a youth who has been baptized. Baptism makes a Christian, not a man and her role as a teacher does not usurp the role of teaching a youth the word of God.

It must also be noted the language that is used when trying to determine what can be done “in the church.” Often we say we are going “to church” when in fact we cannot “go” to church. The idea of ‘meeting in a building’ is ‘church’ is a misuse of the term church. “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47) is not speaking of the building but the body of saved persons. The church is made up of people who have made a covenant with God through His Son.

When it comes to the worship on the Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10) there are specific commands that must be followed. “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:33-35). The church at Corinth was admonished to refrain from allowing the women from taking a role of authority (1 Timothy 2:11-15) and were forbidden from having a leadership role in the worship.

This command does not forbid them from singing (Ephesians 5:19) but rather the place of speaking with authority within the worship of the church. Women cannot be used in worship nor called on to lead prayers or preach. This is forbidden by the “commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). The Bible class is not the worship service. It is a time that individuals can come together and discuss the Bible in an open forum. If the church building is used for this forum the commands of 1 Corinthians 14 are not broken no more than if the class was held in a home, school auditorium or under the oak tree.

There is another distinction that is clear from Bible class to worship. The period of time devoted to Bible class does not include the taking of the Lord’s Supper as commanded by the Lord on the first day of the week. Saints gathering on the first day of the week does not require every gathering to have the Lord’s Supper. The command to remember the sacrifice of the Lord is fulfilled on the first day of the week when the Lord’s Supper is memorialized. If the church meets again that day for a singing the Lord’s Supper is not required for the purpose of the meeting is to sing. If the church meets for Bible class in the evening the Lord’s Supper is not required for the purpose of the meeting is to study the word of God.

This shows a distinction of the purpose of the gathering. Women speaking in Bible class does not apply to 1 Corinthians 14 but can apply to 1 Timothy 2. The worship service clearly is bound by the commands of 1 Corinthians 14 which is also fortified by the teaching of 2 Timothy 2. Is it okay for a woman to speak out in class? Within the confines of decency and propriety with submission the woman may do so. If her conscience does not allow her to do so then she will be bound by her conscience. Is it correct to have women classes in the church? Only in the context of the work of the church helping the members grow in the grace of the Lord.

Conducting Bible classes is a furtherance of the work the church but does not represent the command to worship on the first day of the week. If the church met only once on Sunday for the sole purpose of worship as directed by the New Testament pattern then it has fulfilled the command of the Lord. Anything else – while beneficial in many ways – is only an expediency to carry on a further work of the church.

Jesus said, “But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet” (Mark 13:7). The reality of war is that as long as man will live on the earth he will die from the cruel nature of war. The Bible is filled with wars fought by the righteous and the unrighteous. God used war to punish His people. War is the conflict burning within man against his fellow man.

James defines the nature of war when he writes, “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:1-2). The Lord fought righteous battles but men fight wars for their own lust whether lust for power, land, greed or revenge.

The Ten Commandments forbade killing. The meaning of the phrase “Thou shalt not kill” is “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Darrell Hymel in his book, “A Topical Study Of The Law Of Moses” writes: “The word RATSAH (kill) referred to murder (Exodus 21:12-14; Numbers 35:16-18) and manslaughter (Numbers 35:6,11,16-21; Deuteronomy 4:42; Joshua 20:3) … This does not forbid capital punishment (Genesis 9:5-6). In the three chapters following the Ten Commandments there are at least eight offenses named for which God commanded that men be executed. The apostles Paul and Peter believed in capital punishment (Acts 25:11; Romans 13:4; 1 Peter 2:13-15). Neither does “thou shalt not murder” forbid war. Wars were frequently instituted by God Himself (Exodus 15:1; Deuteronomy 20:1; Exodus 17:16; Numbers 10:9).” [page 42]

War is a terrible tragedy that takes away innocence never to be recovered. As people of God we must constantly offer prayers for our leaders. “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior” (1 Timothy 2:1-3).

Yves M. Congar wrote, “We often hear it said: ‘If God existed there would be no wars.’ But it would be truer to say: ‘If God’s laws were observed there would be no wars.’” [God, Man and the Universe, 1950]

The man who fears the Lord “will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord” (Psalms 112:7).