By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD
(unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are
from the New International Version)
GREETING
Psalm 134:1-2.
1 Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the
Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the
Lord.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Life Center Black History Celebration. Every Tuesday night in February.
Black History Program is Sunday, February 24, 2019.
2. St Louis Clergy Coalition Meeting. Candidates
forum will be Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM at Mt Zion Baptist
Church. Breakfast will be served.
3. Department of Evangelism presidents. Go
to the IDOE Facebook page and register right away for an important conference
call.
4. Central Region Conference. Friday
and Saturday at Barker Memorial in Kansas City. 11401 E. 47th St, Kansas City, MO 64133. Bishop John
Mark Johnson, Regional Bishop.
5. Lecture at Eden Theological Seminary. Tuesday,
February 19, 2019 from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM
6. Teaching at Pentecostal Temple in Memphis.
Saturday, February 23, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM in Memphis.
LESSON NOTES
I. WHAT
IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS LESSON? There are allegations and accusations against
some of our favorite Bible characters. A heated argument or "shouting
match" is not going to make these questions go away. There are now
professors and ministers in "high places" teaching and alluding to
this. This lesson will be a verse by verse study to answer questions about these
individuals. So let’s dig into the word.
II. RUTH AND NAOMI. Ruth does have quite an unusual commitment
to her mother in law Naomi. Some of these passages have even been used in
wedding ceremonies.
Ruth 1:16-17 King James
Version 16And Ruth said, Intreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou
goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God: 17Where thou diest, will I die, and
there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death
part thee and me.
Ruth 2:10-11 King James
Version 10Then she fell on her
face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto hum, Why have I found
grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a
stranger? 11And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been
showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of
thine husband: and how thou has left thy father and thy mother, and the land of
thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
A. YES, WE ADMIT THAT THE WORD “CLEAVE” WHICH WAS USED FOR HUSBAND IN WIFE
IS ALSO USED IN RUTH.
Genesis 2:24 King James Version Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they
shall be one flesh."
Ruth 1:14 King James
Version And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her
mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.
1. BUT CLOSER EXAMINATION OF THE WORD “CLEAVE,” HOWEVER, SHOWS THAT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH
A HOMOSEXUAL OR LESBIAN RELATIONSHIP.
a.
CLAVE DEFINED.[1]
From the Hebrew word Dabaq.
To be united, hold fast, keep, cling to, to overtake, cause to cleave, press
hard upon, to be joined fast, be stuck together, be made to cleave, stick to;
from the base joining or fastening objects together comes the figure of close
association of people: cleave, clave, cleaveth, cleaved, follow hard, overtook,
keep, make cleave, abide fast, cause to stick, cause to cleave, cleave fast
together, cleave to, follow close, followed hard after, followeth hard, joined
together, joined, keep fast, kept fast, pursued hard, stick, stuck, take.
i. DABAQ IN GENESIS. The usage of dabaq here means to be joined to one another.[2]
ii. DABAQ IN RUTH. The usage of dabaq here means loyalty and affection, based on the physical
closeness of the persons involved. Thus, in the book of Ruth, it has nothing to
do with sex or sexuality.[3] It has everything to do
with being a perfect expression of human devotion.[4]
III. DAVID AND JONATHAN. David and Jonathan were
very close. But, the text only implies them being close friends and “covenant
brothers.” Yes, David talks about Jonathan love exceeding that of women. So
what does this mean? Let us examine further.
2 Samuel 1:25-26 King James
Version (KJV).
25 How are the mighty
fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high
places.
26 I am distressed for
thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me
was wonderful, passing the love of women.
A.
WHAT DOES “LOVE” MEAN IN THIS TEXT? This is from the Hebrew
word Ahabah.[5] [6] This word is defined as friendship,
familial love, romantic love or covenant loyalty. Each of these definitions is defined
in the following passages:
1.
THE LOVE BETWEEN A MAN AND HIS WIFE.
Genesis 29:20 20So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed
like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
2.
LOVE AS SEXUAL ACTIVITY.
Hosea 3:1 The LORD said to me, "Go, show
your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an
adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to
other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes."
3.
LOVE BETWEEN FRIENDS.
1 Samuel 18:1-4 King
James Version. 1And it came to pass, when
he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit
with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2And
Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's
house. 3Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved
him as his own soul. 4And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that
was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to
his bow, and to his girdle.
a. WHY DID JONATHAN STRIP HIMSELF IN THIS PASSAGE?[7]
Because an exchange of armor or clothing was a common way
of sealing a new friendship.
b. THUS THE LOVE BETWEEN DAVID AND JONATHAN WAS NOT A HOMOSEXUAL
RELATIONSHIP. It had everything to do with covenant. This
was validation for David’s monarchy. Here is the son of king and rightful heir
to the throne; giving validation to David, whom God had chosen to be king.
4.
GOD’S LOVE.
Deuteronomy 7:8 But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to
your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from
the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
5.
SOLOMON’S LOVE FOR FOREIGN WOMEN.
1 Kings 11:1-2 1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides
Pharaoh's daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2They
were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must
not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their
gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
B. WHY DOES THE BIBLE SAY THAT DAVID “EXCEEDED.” There are some that have stated that in the following text, there was
sexual activity and “release” between David and Johnathan. But, does the text
say or imply that?
1 Samuel 20:41-42 King James Version (KJV)
41 And as soon as the
lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the
south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and
they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said
to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both
of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and
between my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the
city.
1. HOW IS “EXCEEDED” DEFINED? It is from the Hebrew word Gadal. To grow up, be great or exalted. To
grow long, make great; to exalt, honor glorify; to be well-nurtured; to make
great, cause, greatness; to magnify oneself, show greatness: magnified, great,
magnify grew, brought up, grown, grow up, greater, make great, waxed great,
great things, grew up, made great, make greater, much set by, waxen, great,
advanced, become great, boasted, bring up, come to great estate, exceeded,
excellent, great giveth, great things done, grow, increased, lift up, madest
grow, magnifical, nourish up, nourished, nourishing, nourish, passed, promoted,
promote, proudly.
a. READING THE TEXT FROM VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS.[8]
Considering the definition (which has nothing to do with
sexual activity) and reading the text (1 Samuel 20:41) from various
translations; there is no way that a person can conclude that David and
Jonathan had an intimate physical relationship. To do so would be to abuse the
text and read information into it that is not there:
1 SAMUEL 20:41 New International Version
After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most.
After the boy had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone and bowed down before Jonathan three times, with his face to the ground. Then they kissed each other and wept together--but David wept the most.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 New Living Translation
As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 English Standard Version
And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Berean Study Bible
When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 New American Standard Bible
When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 King James Bible
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Christian Standard Bible
When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and payed homage three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Contemporary English Version
After the boy had gone, David got up from beside the mound and bowed very low three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and cried, but David cried louder.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Good News Translation
After the boy had left, David got up from behind the pile of stones, fell on his knees and bowed with his face to the ground three times. Both he and Jonathan were crying as they kissed each other; David's grief was even greater than Jonathan's.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Holman Christian Standard Bible
When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 International Standard Version
The servant went. Then David came out from the south side of the rock, fell on his face, and bowed down three times. The men kissed each other, and both of them cried, but David even more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 NET Bible
When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 New Heart English Bible
As soon as the boy was gone, David arose from beside the mound, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another, and wept one with another, and David wept the most.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 GOD'S WORD® Translation
When the boy had left, David came out from the south side [of the rock] and quickly bowed down three times with his face touching the ground. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the loudest.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 JPS Tanakh 1917
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 New American Standard 1977
When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Jubilee Bible 2000
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the Negev and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times, and they kissed one another and wept one with another, although David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 King James 2000 Bible
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David regained control.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 American King James Version
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 American Standard Version
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Brenton Septuagint Translation
And when the lad went in, then David arose from the argab, and fell upon his face, and did obeisance to him three times, and they kissed each other, and wept for each other, for a great while.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the boy was gone, David rose out of his place, which was towards the south, and falling on his face to the ground, adored thrice: and kissing one another, they wept together, but David more.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Darby Bible Translation
The lad went, and David arose from the side of the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times; and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 English Revised Version
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Webster's Bible Translation
And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place towards the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 World English Bible
As soon as the boy was gone, David arose out of [a place] toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times. They kissed one another, and wept one with another, and David wept the most.
1 SAMUEL 20:41 Young's Literal Translation
The youth hath gone, and David hath risen from Ezel, at the south, and falleth on his face to the earth, and boweth himself three times, and they kiss one another, and they weep one with another, till David exerted himself;
IV.
DANIEL AND ASHPENAZ.
Daniel 1:9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince
of the eunuchs.
A. TENDER LOVE DEFINED. It is from the Hebrew word Rahamim.[9]
Compassion, mercy, pity, mercies, tender mercies, mercy,
womb, bowels, compassions, compassion, damsel, mercies, pitied, pity, tender
love.
B. THIS SIMPLY MEANT THAT DANIEL HAD FAVOR; IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH A
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP.[10]
This is in the spirit of many of the Old Testament
stories; where God’s people had favor with officials. Consider the following:
1.
Joseph in Egypt.
2.
Esther in the court of Ahasuerus.
3.
Ezra with Artaxerxes.
4.
Daniel with Ashpenaz.
To read more into the story
would be to disrespect the text. As the text does not imply any sexual
relationship. It simply is referring to the fact that God preserved and favored
His people.
I. THE CENTURION AND HIS
SERVANT. The only way that a person can say that there
was a sexual relationship between the Centurion and his servant; would be to
disrespect the text. The text implies no such thing. And, there is no way to
obtain that type of information from the text.
Matthew 8:5-13 5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him,
asking for help. 6"LORD," he said, "my servant lies
at home paralyzed, suffering terribly." 7Jesus said to him,
"Shall I come and heal him?" 8The centurion replied,
"LORD, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the
word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under
authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that
one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does
it." 10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those
following him, "Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with
such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east
and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom
will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth." 13Then Jesus said to the centurion,
"Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would." And his servant
was healed at that moment.
II.
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND JOHN THE APOSTLE.
A. THE DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS “LOVED.” John is referenced as
such in regard to his relationship with Jesus. But, first, the Bible never
gives any hint of Jesus having a sexual relationship with anyone. He is our
Savior. And, His main mission was to come into the world to save us. Thus, He
was holy and without blame. Second, how is “love” defined in these various passages?
1. THE WORD AGAPAO.[11] To love, in the New Testament refers
to the active love of God for His Son and His people, and also the active love
His people are to have for God, each other and even their enemies. It has nothing to do with sex. This word is used in the following passages:
John 13:23 One of them, the
disciple whom Jesus loved,
was reclining next to him.
John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom
he loved standing
nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son,"
John 21:7 Then the disciple
whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, "It is the LORD!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say,
"It is the LORD," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had
taken it off) and jumped into the water.
John 21:20-21 20Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom
Jesus loved was following them. (This was
the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said,
"LORD, who is going to betray you?") 21When Peter saw him,
he asked, "LORD, what about him?"
2.
THE WORD PHILEO. [12] [13]To love, to have affection and to have
regard of a very high order, to “not unlike.” Love, loveth, kiss, loved and lovest
overlapping in meaning in some contexts. Tender affection. It also has nothing to do with sex. It is used in the following passage:
John 20:2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,
the one Jesus loved, and said, "They
have taken the LORD out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put
him!"
B.
HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THE SUBJECT OF JOHN THE APOSTLE OF
“LEANING ON JESUS’ BOSOM?”
John 13:23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus
loved.
1. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The relation between Jesus
and John can be misconceived based on misunderstanding this text. The custom
was to recline on a couch, with the left arm resting on a cushion upon the
table and the right arm free. Sometimes two reclined on the same divan (a long low sofa without a back or
arms, typically placed against a wall); the one on the right
would have his back turned to his neighbor, with the head resting at the level
of the neighbor’s breast.[14] [15] So there was no sexual
activity taking place or anything even close to it.
III.
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH.
Acts 8:26-40 New International Version (NIV)
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the
desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on
his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the
treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had
gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and
on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the
prophet. 29 The Spirit told
Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited
Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep
to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me,
please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that
very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch
said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] 38 And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down
into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip
away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus
and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached
Caesarea.
A. WHAT IS A EUNUCH?[16]
[17]
This is from the Greek word Eunouchos. It is defined in two ways. First, it is a court
official, a person of high authority in a court, a chamberlain. Second, it
denotes an emasculated man, one naturally incapacitated (or voluntary) for
abstaining from wedlock. (Nowhere in our text does it imply that the gentleman
was a homosexual).
1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EMASCULATE?[18]
To castrate (a man or male animal).
a. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CASTRATE?[19]
To remove the testicles of (a male animal
or man).
2. THERE WAS ORIGINALLY A PROHIBITION ON EUNUCHS.
Leviticus 21:16-24 16The LORD said to Moses, 17"Say to Aaron:
'For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come
near to offer the food of his God. 18No man who has any defect may
come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19no
man with a crippled foot or hand, 20or who is a hunchback or a
dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or
damaged testicles. 21No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any
defect is to come near to present the food offerings to the LORD. He has a defect;
he must not come near to offer the food of his God. 22He may eat the
most holy food of his God, as well as the holy food; 23yet because
of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so
desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.'" 24So
Moses told this to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.
3.
THIS
BAN WAS LATER LIFTED. So whatever was going on in the Ethiopian
Eunuch’s life is the fact that he got saved and signified leaving a life of sin
by being baptized in water. His life simply was a demonstration that those who
had been banned from God’s sanctuary, were now accepted through God’s grace.
This is nothing more than an example of salvation and deliverance. It has
nothing to do at all with sexuality.
Isaiah
56:4-5 4For this is what the LORD says: "To the
eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my
covenant- 5to them I will give within my temple and its walls a
memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting
name that will endure forever.
[1] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand
Rapids, 2001.
[2] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of
Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. II. New
York: Abingdon, 1953.
[5] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand
Rapids, 2001.
[6] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of
Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.
[7] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. VII. New
York: Abingdon, 1953.
[8] https://www.biblehub.com/1_samuel/20-41.htm. (Accessed, February 15, 2019).
[9] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand
Rapids, 2001.
[10] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. VI. New
York: Abingdon, 1953.
[11] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan: Grand
Rapids, 2001.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of
Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.
[15] Buttrick, George. The Interpreter’s Bible Vol. VIII.
New York: Abingdon, 1953.
[16] Vine, W. E. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of
Old and New Testament Words. Nelson: Nashville, 1996.
[17] Strong, James. The Strongest Strong’s. Zondervan:
Grand Rapids, 2001.
[19] https://www.bing.com/search?q=castrate+definition&FORM=AWRE. (Accessed, February 15, 2019).
