Explore every episode of the podcast Compare & Expound: Bible Study for Christadelphians

Season 3 Episode 4 - Psalm 1, Ahaziah and the Counsel of the Ungodly

Psalm 1 begins: “Blessed is the man that walketh

not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in

the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the

scornful” (v. 1). One of the Old Testament

characters this verse relates to was a king yet to

come, the king of Judah, Ahaziah. Of him it is

written, using the same Hebrew for “counsel”:

“He walked also after their counsel”

he term ‘exodus’ may be defined as ‘a

going out, a departure or emigration,

usually of a large number of people’. In the

English language we speak of ‘a summer exodus

to the coast’ to describe the movement of those

living ‘up country’ to enjoy the beaches and other

attractions of coastal locations. In the Bible the

term is most commonly associated with the mass

departure of the people of Israel from slavery in

Egypt, ultimately to be established as a nation in

their own land of Israel.

The incident in Troas when Eutychus fell out the window when Paul was preaching, as recorded in Acts 20 has several echoes with Noah and the ark. Structural aspects of the building correspond to features of the ark. The role of Paul compares with that of Noah. In this article we will consider these and other parallels and consider their wider significance in the light of the teaching of Christ in Matthew 24 and 25. The background of Noah in Acts 20 will also be shown to provide a possible explanation as to why Paul afterwards chose to go to Assos on foot...

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-bible-study-quarterly-for-christadelphians/

Analysing Interpretation in the Camp of the Midianites Season 3 Episode 1 -

n Judges 7 we read of Gideon overhearing two men amongst the host of Midian discussing a dream: “And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for Yahweh hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian” (vv. 13-15). There were two main components to what Gideon heard. First, there was the man recounting his dream, “the telling of the dream”. Secondly, there was that spoken by the second man, “the interpretation thereof”. A marginal rendering for this latter phrase is ‘the breaking thereof’. In this article we will consider the basis and implications for this alternative translation. In so doing we will gain insight into how we should do Bible study. First we need to consider the relationship between dreams and interpretation.

any of the Psalms are about the

kingdom, most notably Psalm 72. In

this series of articles, we will use the

approach of comparing scripture with scripture to

explore the possibility that Psalms 45, 46, 47 and

48 are a sequence of psalms about the

establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Throughout this series we will use the expression

Kingdom Psalms as a working title for these four

Psalms.

n Hebrews 13 it is written “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (vv. 5,6). There are three separate things stated here, but which are placed together in an overall argument. But how do they connect? In what way does the statement, “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”, provide a reason for letting our “conversation be without covetousness, and be[ing] content” with what we “have”? And if we so order our “conversation” and are “content”, why should this embolden us to say: “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me”? In this article we will try to answer these questions.

In October 2003 a bi-annual week of fellowship was held in Kunming, China. During the week, at the request of

brethren and sisters, the late Brother Peter Heavyside led some studies about scriptural teaching concerning

demons and unclean spirits. Afterwards, he put together some ‘notes’ based on the studies for the benefit of the

brethren and sisters in China, these notes being translated into Chinese. (Although Brother Peter called them

‘notes’ they were written in full prose, albeit with numbered paragraphs.) This article is based on those notes.

Before Brother Peter fell asleep he had heard about the plans for Compare & Expound and indicated to his family

that he was keen for any of his previous work to be used if appropriate. I am grateful to Sister Yvonne and their

son Joshua for giving me access to, and permission to use, Brother Peter’s work. As far as I am aware the notes

on demons and unclean spirits have not been previously published in article format. I am grateful to Brother Mark

Taunton for agreeing to assist in editing this article, Brother Mark having previously helped Brother Peter over

the years with reviewing, annotating and preparing articles for publication. - Nigel Bernard.

Season 2 Episode 5 - 1 Corinthians 16 – Founded On 1 Corinthians 15 (Nigel Bernard)

ollowing the great theme of being raised to

glory in 1 Corinthians 15 the concluding

chapter perhaps seems more mundane. In

the first four verses it deals with “the

collection for the saints” (v. 1) which was to be

taken to Jerusalem. Verses 5-9 concern Paul’s

proposed visit to Corinth. Verses 10-11 concerns

how they should behave towards Timothy. Verse

12 concerns a possible later visit of Apollos.

Verses 13 and 14 contain various commands and

the final verses consists of various greetings. But

1 Corinthians 16 is much more than simply a final

section dealing with ecclesial arrangements. In so

doing it draws on what has gone before showing

how the great principles should be manifest in

ecclesial life.

Read more here...

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-june/

Genesis 24 - the longest chapter in the

book – contains subject matter which is

totally concerned with the process,

selection and success of obtaining a wife for

Isaac. On one level it is possible to see the wisdom

in the instructions of Abraham to his servant, the

faithfulness of the servant in performing this task,

the willingness of Rebekah to become associated

with the family of Abraham and the action of

Isaac placing Rebekah in his late mother’s tent

before they came together. These, and other

matters, are all worthy of consideration for those

who are seeking to please the God of heaven. But

there is another level of contemplation which

rests on the narrative, but which speaks of much

greater things to come. To retitle this article, ‘A

Bride for the Child of Promise’ opens up an

avenue for exposition with scope to consider

future revelations which form part of God’s plan

for His son and for those who seek to follow him.

This article considers aspects relating to the

coming together of Isaac and Rebekah as set out

in the Genesis account, but which point forward

to the union of Christ and his bride.

In Isaac shall thy seed be called

Abraham’s mind puzzled over those things he

was told. He did not disbelieve, on the contrary he

was an outstanding example of faith: “he

staggered not at the promise of God through

unbelief; but was strong in faith” (Rom. 4:20).

But just how God’s promise would come to pass

may have been a temporary mystery to him. The

visit of the angels when he was ninety-nine years

old made it abundantly clear that Sarah would

have a son and that Isaac, as he was to be called,

was to be the “seed” (see Gen. 18:10,14; 21:12).

Galatians 3:16 overrides the position of Isaac in

that Paul declares that the singular “seed” is

Christ. And so Isaac is but the type of one who

was to come. This shows how the historical

narrative around the life of Isaac can be

expounded relating to Christ.

cont...

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-june/

n Numbers 15 we read: “And while the

children of Israel were in the wilderness, they

found a man that gathered sticks upon the

sabbath day. And they that found him gathering

sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and

unto all the congregation. And they put him in

ward, because it was not declared what should be

done to him” (vv. 32-34). That the man had been

doing wrong in gathering sticks was not in

question. Concerning the sabbath God had said:

“But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahweh thy

God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor

thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy

maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that

is within thy gates” (Ex. 20:10).

cont reading here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-june/

In John 8:56 we read: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad”. When did Abraham rejoice to see the day of Christ? In this article we will show that one such occasion was when Isaac was weaned in Genesis 21. To establish this, we first need to examine some words of Christ recorded earlier in John 8 which also link with Genesis 21.

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https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-june/

In Philippians 3:9 Paul writes: “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith”. Here Paul speaks of being “found” to have “righteousness”. This way of speaking draws on words used by the angel when questioned by Abraham concerning the coming destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is one of several links with Sodom and Gomorrah in Philippians 3. In this article we will consider how Lot, his wife, and Sodom and Gomorrah form part of the background to this section of Paul’s letter.

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https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-june/

The sufferings of Christ were prophesied in graphic detail by Isaiah centuries in advance in Isaiah 53, part of what is commonly referred to as the ‘Suffering Servant’ prophecy. The part we wish to focus on starts at Isaiah 52:13 through to the end of chapter 54. Though the first part focuses on what Christ had to endure, there is also an emphasis on those who would benefit from his sacrifice; the saints whom he would redeem. The phrases quoted below serve to remind us what Christ had to suffer on our behalf. The words in bold also highlight the fact that as called to be saints, we benefit from those sufferings:

Read more an other articles here.

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and

for cruel bondage” (Ex. 6:9) when he

spoke to them of how God would bring them out

of Egypt and “in unto the land” (v. 8), we read:

“And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, Go

in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he

let the children of Israel go out of his land. And

Moses spake before Yahweh, saying, Behold,

the children of Israel have not hearkened unto

me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am

of uncircumcised lips?” (vv. 10-12).

Read More here.... https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

he book of Obadiah is a prophecy

“concerning Edom (’ḏwm)” (v. 1). The

name Obadiah by interpretation is ‘servant

of Yahweh’ where the first part of the name is

based on ‘ḇḏ, ‘to serve’. Intriguingly there is a

name, Obed-edom (‘ḇḏ-’ḏwm), which combines

the first element of the name of the prophet

Obadiah with the theme of his book. If the ’ḏwm

element in the name is left transliterated rather

than translated then Obed-edom can be

interpreted as ‘servant of Edom’. The name Obed-

edom suggests a tantalising link with the

prophecy of Obadiah. In this study we will

consider this possibility and will see that there is

not only a link between one of the people named

Obed-edom and the book of Obadiah but this link

is confirmed by a quotation of Obadiah in the

New Testament.

Read the full article here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

John 1 we read: “Philip findeth

Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have

found him, of whom Moses in the law, and

the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son

of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can

there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip

saith unto him, Come and see” (vv. 45,46).

Nazareth was a small place amounting to little

more than what would be called a village today.

Moreover it had no Bible history associated with

it, with no mention of it in the Old Testament. Yet

Philip and Nathanael knew about Nazareth to the

extent that Nathanael spoke of it as a place from

which no good could come. If Nazareth was

seemingly so insignificant how come Philip and

Nathanael even knew about it?

Read more here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

In the letter to Sardis in Revelation 3 there are

several connections with Noah and the days

in which he lived. This article will consider

these links and it will show how the people at the

time of the Flood provided a warning for those in

Sardis.

Read more here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

In this article some Old Testament background

to the second letter of John will be considered.

Amongst other passages, the reign of

Jehoshaphat in particular will be seen to have a

particular bearing on the letter. Before looking at

the Old Testament some general points about the

letter relevant to this background will be made.

Read more here...

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/

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The purpose of this article is to look at some

of the details in the promises to Abraham

and see how they have been and will be

fulfilled. Abraham was promised his descendants

would be as numerous as the dust of the earth, as

the sand on the sea shore, and as the stars of

heaven. These statements are not just saying the

same thing three times using different language,

but each of these statements is an important

element of the divine purpose with Abraham and

his seed. Using other parts of Scripture to

interpret the symbols it is possible to gain a better

understanding of what was revealed to the

patriarch.

Read more here...

https://christadelphianvideo.org/document/compare-expound-march-2023/