The Letter of Jude – Lesson 2 – Jude 8-13 – New International Version
8 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.
11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
12 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
1 – First Impression
I was taken aback by the “without the slightest qualm”. I tend to forget that people who do not follow God can do terrible things and not care.
2 – Strength of their dreams. What kind of dreams do you think they are having?
Self deluding thoughts brought on by their own imagination. These are not the visions of the prophets, but merely a list of their fleshly desires.
3 – Pollute Bodies and Reject Authority. Are we any different?
Typically, no. We want to be better, but often are too busy to take care of our bodies and too proud to respect authority.
4 – Heap abuse on celestial beings. How is this different from anything else?
We spoke about this, and I still do not get it. I know there are angles who follow God and those who do not. Other than Satan, I do not tend to give them much thought. I understand we can rebuke Satan, but I am at a loss for how we learn and share about how to deal with him that we heap abuse on him.
5 – The very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. Why is Jude talking about instinct? What can we learn?
Back to another recent idea, “we are called to think before we respond”, which is different than just reacting or behaving instinctually. Jude wants us to take time to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us.
6 – What is the way of Cain?
Cain was cast out for his sin of murder.
7 – What is Balaam’s error?
Balaam was killed for his sin of covetousness.
8 – What is Korah’s rebellion?
Korah and his followers were consumed by the fire of God for their sin of rejecting God.
9 – What is a love feast?
Simple fellowship of believers with an odd translation.
10 – Shepherds, clouds, blown along, autumn trees, wild waves, wandering stars. Any of these resonant with you?
The wild waves did with me because of the history I have from work of designing structures to stand up to waves, the theory behind it, and the gaps in the theory. It reminds me that only God is “smart” enough to understand it all and the rest of us are just making guesses.
The progression from cast out to being killed to being consumed was interesting to me. All were due to sin and the penalty for sin is death, but sometimes God chooses a different time for the penalty to happen. The real penalty is eternal death and separation from God. My thought is that Jude is encouraging us to remove evil influence from with in the church as quickly as possible.