Wednesday Bible Study: disturbing the peace

This week we have a fairly simple one that stays simple for a change.  We leapfrog the too-short Chapter 3 of First Thessalonians for that of Paul's second letter to this church:

2Th 3:16  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 

So this was the second prayer by Paul of this chapter, and we need to backtrack just a little- to 3:6 and following- to see what brought it on.  Now logic tells us that if our verse is a prayer, before that tells us why Paul prayed thus- and so we read this verse and ask- what disrupts this peace he prayed for them?

Paul points the finger at two things right off:

2Th 3:6  Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 

To break this down, I have to point out that "idleness" is not the word the more literal translations use here- but the succeeding verses tell us this about the Thessalonian church:  they had a predilection to gossip rather than hard work.  Thus, I imagine to tie it all together, the ESV used idleness to identify the core problem.  However, the more literal translations use the term "walking disorderly" a terms whose meanings include "irregularly", "insubordinately", and "unruly".

The next part is one I'm sure our Catholic brethren will say, "See!  The Bible does tell us to follow tradition!" which of course would NOT be the point.  There are three key parts to this phrase: "tradition", "received", and "from us".  The first denotes precepts transmitted, the second meaning taken into the heart, and the third referencing the fact that he was talking about what he, Silas, and Timothy (see 1:1) had taught them themselves, both in person and in the 2 letters we have.

In summary, the problem was those who were being insubordinate in their church.  The solution was to follow the moral and teaching example the three pastors had set.

The next disruptive factor cut more to the core of the problem:

2Th 3:7  For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 

2Th 3:8  nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 

2Th 3:9  It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 

You had people, not in the society at large ( though for sure they were there), but in their very church, that were happily living off other people's work.  Here again, I want to point out that, I'm guessing to make it more understandable to modern masses, the ESV uses the words in v8 "toil and labor", where others use "labor and travail" and this is key, because there are two different words being used here.  Where later on we will see a different word being translated "toil" by ESV, THIS word alone has a harder meaning- work that "reduces the strength"- real sweat-of-the-brow work.  But as he references the Thessalonians toil later, it becomes the weakened "to be engaged in".

Summary here: the problem is living off other people's butts.  The example is to work your own butt off.

The third disruption of the peace springs from the second:  They had become engaged in "nothing at all":

2Th 3:11  For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 

Busybodies breaks down to being engaged in working AROUND actual work, bustling about doing nothing of worth.  Or, if you like, being busy not being busy.  Which is why Paul's answer to the problem was so elegant:

2Th 3:12  Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 

Now from straight reading, you might assume that "quietly" was referring to gossip and telling them to stop it- and that isn't far from the point.  But the problem was the opportunity for gossip caused by the "bustling about" and not really working, and the translation for "quietly" includes the concept "to cease from bustling."  Paul's answer to the problem was, "Get back to your work area and get to work!"

Two more things Paul brought up as disturbances of the peace.  The first was contained here:

2Th 3:13  As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 

and the second, which was the mirror image, came right after:

2Th 3:14  If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 

2Th 3:15  Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 

Now breaking the first one down has Paul warning them not to replace virtuous action ("doing good") with ill action ("grow weary").  That is the principle applied to themselves.  The second does the same thing: it warns them not to replace virtuous action ("warn him as a brother") with ill action ("regard him as an enemy")- only this time, the principle is applied outward rather than inward.

So now, that we have the things that disrupt peace:

-Insubordination

-laziness

-busybodying

-losing grip on virtuous action

AND we have Paul's solutions of these disruptions:

-Follow their example morally

-follow their example in sacrificial work

-follow their example in teaching

We can look at what he was praying FOR.

Remember what I said last week?

The rule in our hearts of God's peace- and I also loved the Strong's translate on this:  "Set at one again".  In the Garden we started out in peace- as one- with God; the goal is to return to that perfect unity.

This is that same word for peace.  Let me bring the verse back down here:

2Th 3:16  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. 

I just want to spend a moment on the phrase, " at all times in every way".  The terms here all and every- in the KJV as "always" and "all" -included the term "including all the forms of declension".  I admit to having to look up the word declension- and it meant, in this sense, that it held no matter what grammatical gender, tense, or anything else you use to understand the word- what follow is all-inclusive.  The ESV term "in every way", in KJV "by all means"- gives the sense of a 'revolution' of turning- in every direction, by whatever mode.  This, in other words, was as extreme a version of "all" as Paul could have possibly assembled.

Or, "May the Lord of setting everyone at one with Himself, completely set you at one with Himself.  And may He be in the middle of you."