A Gentle Reminder

 

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Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 11

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - RUTH

RUTH*

The Bible is itself a love story in which there are a number of other love stories included. One of these is the story of Ruth in the book by the same name. On the surface it seems as if that is really all there is - a story of a family who leave Bethlehem due to famine and go to Moab. There the husband, Elimelech and the sons die and leave Naomi with a daughter-in-law, Ruth, to go back to Bethlehem where Ruth eventually meets and marries a Jewish man named Boaz. Ruth and Boaz start a family whose lineage eventually leads to Jesus.

But the story is also an allegory of what would take place between the Jewish and Gentile worlds long before the actual events would occur.

Naomi, Elimelech, and their sons represent the Jewish nation forced into exile and Ruth, the Gentile nation, that came to the knowledge of God by means of the involvement with the Jewish people. In fact, the word Elimelech apparently means My God is King.

Therefore, because of the Jewish people living in exile, many Gentiles came to knowledge of the true God. So, as Ruth came to know and accept the God of Naomi…

 

…For wherever you go, I will go;

And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people,

and your God, my God. 

(Ruth 1:16)

So, have many additional Gentiles come to know and accept God and as a result, have become the church.

Thus, as Naomi brought blessings to Ruth, so later did Ruth bring blessings to Naomi as she married Boaz and brought forth a child. In the same way, the Jewish nation in exile brought blessings to the Gentile people and eventually the church may return those blessings to the Jewish nation. It is put this way in Romans regarding the rejection of Christ and the exile of Israel:

I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall?

Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy,

salvation has come to the Gentiles.

Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles,

how much more their fullness!

For I speak to you Gentiles… 

(Romans 11:11-13)

So the essence is this: As the Gentiles [ourselves] were brought to redemption by the Jewish nation [Naomi} so will the Jewish nation eventually be blessed through the Gentiles as Ruth brought blessings to Naomi through childbirth and ultimately Jesus.

Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom…

…And they called his name Obed. 

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

(Ruth 4:16,17)

It’s another aspect of the story of Ruth. Only when the redemptive blessings that the Jewish people bestowed upon the Gentiles are reciprocated on the Jewish nation by the Gentiles will the story really be complete. As Naomi initially blessed Ruth so eventually did Ruth give a blessing to Naomi.

And that in turn should give us something to think about.

*Adapted from The Book of Mysteries by Jonathan Cahn, p.g. 161 

 

 

  

Pastor Matthew Trott Aug 24, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 10

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - TEMPTATION

TEMPTATION

In Luke 4:12 it says:

“you shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

This same phrase is also repeated in Matthew 4:7 and in Deuteronomy 6:16. The matter seemed to come up initially during the Exodus, when in the desert, with no water to drink, the people confronted Moses saying:

…Give us water that we may drink…

(Exodus 17:2) 

And Moses replied:

…Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord? 

(Exodus 17:2)

Although the complaint was made against Moses, the actual accusation was really against God. There seemed to be no relief in the area to which they had been led, implying that God was leading them astray and could not fulfil the promise He had made to them. It was almost a dare for Him to fulfil what He had initially promised.

But do we not still do the same today? How often do we get ourselves into some mess of our own making and then blame God for not having us avoid it? Similarly, when we have direction to do or not do something and then just do the opposite anyway, don’t we often do just the opposite of what God has requested we do and then blame Him if something does not go the way we would like?

Or even more to the point, are we not often told to obey certain instructions for our own good, e.g. masking during COVID, but, because we are under God’s protection, refusing to do so and as a result almost ordering God to keep us safe even though He has allowed competent people to give us proper instruction? In a different way, have people not dared God to strike them down when they speak out against Him? It is reported that Benito Mussolini reportedly called out to God: 

God, if you are there, strike me dead*

His arrogance and temptation of God initially seemed to go unchallenged but it apparently was not that long after when Italy began to lose the war and Mussolini was eventually executed. When God did not strike him dead shortly after he uttered the dare, Mussolini decried God to be non-existent but God works in His time, not ours.  

…God cannot be tempted by evil, 

nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away 

by his own desires and enticed.

(James 1:13-14)

[So] come together so that Satan does not 

tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 

(1 Corinthians 7:5)

When we decide not to do what is right for us, or to do just the opposite, or to disobey evident sound instruction and rail against such, it’s not God tempting us but rather ourselves tempting God. Our temptation comes from Satan, so struggling against rules and instruction or complaining because things just don’t seem to be going right is not indication that God is tempting us but rather that we are being tempted by Satan to disobey and complain. 

Being tempted is never good and if one feels tempted; well, this then is something to think about. 

*The Evidence Bible, p.g. 1391

Blake Storey Aug 17, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 9

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - CIRCUMCISION

CIRCUMCISION

When Abraham was ninety-nine, God made a covenant with him saying:

 

“…walk before Me and be blameless.

…and [I] will multiply you exceedingly.

This is My covenant which you shall keep…

every male child shall be circumcised;

…He who is eight days old shall be circumcised… 

(Genesis 17:1-2,10,12)

Circumcision was a practice carried out by a number of cultures in the Middle East at that time. But it was especially important for the Jewish nation because of the covenant between God and Abraham. The cutting away of the flesh indicated that no trust should be put in the flesh but rather in having faith in God’s instruction. The Jewish people had little respect for those who were uncircumcised and considered them doomed by God.

And the uncircumcised male child…

[he] shall be cut off from his people;

he has broken My covenant. 

(Genesis 17:14)

David also spoke regarding this in reference to Goliath when he said:

…For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, 

that he should defy the armies of the living God? 

(1 Samuel 17:26)

In addition to the symbolism regarding the covenant with God, the act of circumcision was also felt to have, for the individual, some health benefits with improved hygiene and the likelihood of less disease transmission. But with all this, why did God say:

He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised… 

(Genesis 17:12)

Thus, the emphasis was not only on circumcision, but on it being done on the eighth day.

Why the eight day? That happens to be the time when the infant’s immune system and blood clotting mechanisms are peaking. At that time in history, only God would be aware of this fact. So, in addition to this being a covenant sign, it was also a medical feasibly.

Furthermore as mentioned above, the cutting away of the flesh was a symbol of trust not being put in the flesh but in the fact that faith and trust in God was more important. Hence, Colossians states that:

In Him you were also circumcised 

with the circumcision made without hands, 

by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh… 

(Colossians 2:11)

Indicating that cutting off the flesh of the foreskin was not nearly as important as cutting off the sins of the flesh, in other words having a circumcision of the heart. 

Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.

(Deuteronomy 10:16)

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart…

to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 

that you may live. 

(Deuteronomy 30:6)

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

And take away the foreskins of your heart… 

(Jeremiah 4:4)

Symbolism in the Bible often has both a practical (historical, medical, etc.) reason for its being as well as a spiritual application. Knowing both reasons certainly helps make the total meaning more clear.

In addition, it does give one something more to think about.

 

 

Pastor Matthew Trott Aug. 10, 2025

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 8

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - BRIBERY

BRIBERY

Bribery is considered to be that act of giving to or doing something for someone in an effort to persuade them to act or do something in your favour. Now, the Bible clearly states that:

Jesus said to him, 

“I’m the way, the truth, and the life. 

No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

(John 14:6)

The Bible also states that:

By grace you have been saved through faith, 

and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of god. 

(Ephesians 2:8)

Now, if we are saved by grace alone, not by our own efforts, and if the only way to God is by means of Christ, then what do we make of all those people who are good, by our standards at least, and who do so much for others but have not accepted God’s Son? They often are on the boards of charitable institutions and give greater or lessor amounts to philanthropic causes. Such people may be good family members, law-abiding citizens, and good community members; people we think would certainly be heaven bound because of their deeds and good works.

But will that be the case? If God states that the only way to the Father is through Jesus, does He take into account any of what we do on earth as being of any meaning without Jesus? After all, it does state that:

  

There is none who does good, 

No, not one. 

(Psalm 14:3, 53:3, Romans 3:10, 3:12)

And if there are none who do good in His eyes, then what does it benefit us to do what we consider good if…

 

We are all like an unclean thing,

And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…

(Isaiah 64:6)

After all, God may say He loves the whole world as an entity, but nowhere does He say that He loves an individual except in Christ. So, if one has not accepted Christ, does He consider the doing of good deeds and works merely an attempt to bribe one’s way into heaven by circumventing the manner God intended?

It’s not up to me to say, but if no one can obey fully the Law as laid down by God through Moses, it’s hard to see how anything else we do by ourselves would win His favour and admit us through those gates of pearl.

It’s better to take the path that has been laid out for us and be sure than to take any chances.

At least it is certainly something to think about. 

Pastor Terry Dorian Aug. 3, 2025

Dr Spencer Barclay Aug 3, 2025