Friday Night Message: The Bible - Past, Present, Future Part IV
May 17, 2024

Good evening brethren…

The title of this current series of Friday Night Messages is The Bible – PAST, PRESENT and
FUTURE.

1. The PAST – The Bible as history
    1- A Key to Understanding the present
        1-B The Principle of Cause and Effect

We covered 1-A and 1-B last Friday Night, and now here is the third principle of history, which we
describe below.

1-C – Lessons from the Past

Through a careful consideration of history, you can learn valuable lessons … individuals, or
communities, or entire nations could benefit by studying the examples of the past, as recorded in
scripture.

Rom. 15:4 – For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through
the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

Indeed, there are many examples in scripture for us to learn from … some bad, and some
good. Most of us are very familiar with the story of the destruction of Sodom:

Luke 17:32 – Remember Lot’s wife …

Sodom is a lesson from history. Furthermore, notice Paul’s analogies regarding the history of ancient
Israel coming out of Egyptian bondage.

I Cor. 10:5-12 - But with most of them God was not pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the
wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil
things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, The
people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Nor let us commit sexual immorality, ad some
of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also
tempted and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain as some of them also complained, and were
destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks
he stands take heed lest he fall.

The lessons of history can be for us today ….. lessons for individuals, or for an entire
nation. Consider the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s day:

Jer. 7:1-12 – The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord’s
house, and proclaim there this word, and say Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in
at these gates to worship the Lord! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways
and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying,
The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of The Lord are these. For if you
thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgement between a man
and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed
innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt. Then I will cause you to dwell in
this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. Behold, you trust in lying words
that cannot profit. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and
walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before Me in this house,
which is called by My name and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? Has this house,
which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold I, even I, have seen it,
says the Lord. But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see
what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

I Sam. 4:10-11 – So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his
tent. There was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty-thousand foot soldiers. Also the
ark of God was captured and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

Look what happened to the Israelites…. They were defeated, even with their “good luck charm”
But we also have many good examples to look to. Oftentimes it has been said that positive
motivation is much more effective in eliciting certain changes of behavior than negative
motivation. There were faithful men and women of God of long ago, whose deeds and patience were
recorded for our learning.

Heb. 11: mentions many of these men and women of faith, and …
:39 – … all of them obtained a good report

Heb.12:1-2 – Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.

In other words, we have a wealth of good examples to follow. So let us run the race that is set before
us. Yes, we are to look to these faithful examples and learn from them … how we should live in order
to please God.

Thus the Bible as history can be of great value to us. By looking at the past we can…
1. Come to understand why things are as they are… a context for the present.
2. Understand the principle of cause and effect, and perhaps most importantly…
3. Learn from the examples of Godly and ungodly lives from the pages of the holy scriptures

Have a relaxing Sabbath,
Fred