Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: In the progression of severity, the seventh plague crosses the line into loss of human life. This is implied rather than stated directly; in the last Remember from the previous verses, that Paul’s imprisonment has actually increased the preaching of Christ in Rome. Here he tells us that while many of the people preaching the Gospel do so from pure motives, some do not. It is really a bit hard to understand how someone might preach Christ from a motive of envy and strife, or why they think it will cause Paul distress for them to do so. Let's look at the definition of strife: “Exertion or contention for superiority.” What has happened in Rome, is that some people are trying to use Paul’s imprisonment as an opportunity for advancement in the church. Paul has become, inadvertently, famous. Human groups, because of human nature, engender organization (and eventually politics). Members look up to leaders; and with human nature, the leaders take on more glory than they need. Psychologists call this the “halo” effect, our tendency to ascribe greater authority in a field to a person who has excelled in some other field. Why do people care what Gwyneth Paltrow thinks about political or health issues, or what Stephen Hawking thinks about religious issues (or, to be fair, what the Pope thinks about scientific theories or evangelical pastors think about global warming)? It is this fame that underlies Paul’s comments. Preachers in 62 A.D. saw an opportunity to share in what they perceived to be Paul’s glory. They wanted a halo. Saint Paul traveling We should note that Paul, of all the great figures of the New Testament, has no official “position.” In ways, his life resembled that of Christ. He traveled about, with “no place to rest his head” (see Luke 9:58), preaching, teaching, and healing. James would become the head of the Council of Jerusalem; Peter, the Bishop of Rome; and John likely the “overseer” of the great churches of Antioch and/or Ephesus. Yet, without any official position, we see Paul guiding James (and the entire church) in the Council of Jerusalem, and Paul correcting Peter when he strays (Galatians 2:11-21). Peter and Paul did not strive with one another for preeminence. Their brotherhood in faith always stood foremost. They looked steadfastly to Christ, not their own glory. We will see, over the course of history, men amplifying the tension between preacher and bishop, evangelicalism and organization, until churches are fighting wars with each other. Why? Because human beings cannot divest themselves of pride. And this issue appears as soon as Paul is imprisoned. Men began to try to attract followers to their preaching, enjoying the growth of their reputation and fame. But notice the difference between these men and those described in Galatians: The preachers Paul criticizes so vehemently in Galatians are preaching a false gospel; those described here are preaching the true gospel, only with mixed motives. So we learn from Paul’s reaction: he rejoices that prideful men are preaching the true Gospel of Christ. He reacts to what is being said, not who is saying it. Teaching truth is a blessed activity, no matter the motive in the teacher’s heart. Teaching falsehood, even with the purest motive, is cursed. “[W]hether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.” In the second paragraph, Paul returns to his earlier point: He has given his entire being, including his body, to Christ. He rejoices in his imprisonment, even if it means his death, because “circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel.”lesson we learned that those who remained in the field would die, and today, we learn that some Egyptians did, in fact, fail to take cover. Plague of Hail (Padua, ca. 1400) It is a lesson within a lesson. Overall, Pharaoh is being taught that opposition to God means, ultimately, death and ruin. But in the short run, Egypt learns to heed the Word of God in at least a short-term, immediate setting; those who learn the intermediate lesson and have the sense to get indoors, live. The ruination brought by Pharaoh’s continued exercise of pride is moderate. Those who bring their people and animals into shelter lose only part of their food crops; God has not condemned them to starvation. But Moses makes a grand statement. The great lesson is not that Pharaoh must let the Hebrews go, but that “the earth is the Lord’s.” At Pharaoh’s mouthing the right words, praising God’s power and promising to let the Hebrews go, Moses prays for the storm to cease, and it does. But note, Moses now realizes that Pharaoh is not sincere