2 Timothy 4.6-Paul Equates His Imminent Death with the Drink Offering of the Old Testament
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 29, 2015
Second Timothy: Second Timothy 4:6-Paul Equates His Imminent Death with the Drink Offering of the Old Testament
Lesson # 94
2 Timothy 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. 5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. (NASB95)
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering” is composed of the following: (1) first person nominative masculine singular form of the pronoun ego (ἐγώ), “I” (2) conjunction gar (γάρ), “for” (3) adverb ēdē (ἤδη), “already” (4) first person singular present passive indicative form of the verb spendō (σπένδω), “am being poured out as a drink offering.”
The conjunction gar means “because, for” since it is used here as a marker of cause meaning it is introducing the reason for the four commands Paul issues Timothy in Second Timothy 4:5.
The personal pronoun ego, “I” refers of course to Paul and is used for a contrast between Timothy and Paul.
The contrast is between these two because the latter was about to die whereas the former was to continue living and serving the church on planet earth.
It is also used for emphasis by Paul because he wants to remind Timothy that despite the fact that his death is imminent, Timothy was to execute the four commands he issues him in Second Timothy 4:5.
The verb spendō means “to be poured out like a drink offering as an act of worshipping God” and is used by Paul of himself indicating that he is informing Timothy that he was being poured out like a drink offering as an act of worshipping God.
The passive voice of this verb spendō indicates that Paul is receiving the action of being poured out like a drinking offering by God through the Roman civil authorities.
The adverb of time ēdē is modifying the verb spendō and means “already” indicating that the process involving Paul’s execution was underway implying that the sentence for his death had already been passed.
“And the time of my departure has come” is composed of the following: (1) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (2) articular nominative masculine singular form of the noun kairos (καιρός), “the time” (3) articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun analusis (ἀνάλυσις), “of departure” (4) genitive first person singular form of the possessive personal pronoun egō (ἐγώ), “my” (5) third person singular perfect active indicative form of the verb ephistēmi (ἐφίστημι), “has come.”
The conjunction kai means “consequently, so that” since it functions as a marker of result meaning it is introducing a statement which presents the result of Paul’s previous statement that he was already being poured out like a drink offering.
The noun kairos is in the singular and means “the time” and refers to a specific point in time or human history and specifically, it refers to the moment when Paul will be executed by the Roman civil authorities.
The noun kairos is modified by the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun analusis, which means “departure” and is used in a figurative or euphemistic sense for Paul’s physical death.
The verb ephistēmi means “to be imminent, to be near” since it pertains to an event which is ready to take place at any time or moment and is threateningly over one’s head.
The perfect tense of this verb is an intensive perfect used to emphasize the results or present state produced by a past action.
Here the past action is the sentence of death passed against Paul by the Roman civil authorities and the present state is that of his death being imminent.
Second Timothy 4:1 I solemnly charge in the presence of God (the Father) as well as the Christ who is Jesus, who is inevitably going to judge the living as well as the dead and in addition by His appearing as well as by His kingdom: 2 to make it your top priority of publically proclaiming with authority as a herald the message. I solemnly charge you to make it your top priority of always being prepared to perform this task whether the circumstance is favorable or unfavorable. I solemnly charge you to make it your top priority to convict. I solemnly charge you to make it your top priority to rebuke. I solemnly charge you to make it your top priority to exhort with a patience which is absolute as well as by means of instruction. 3 The reason for this is that the time will come when they will no longer tolerate sound doctrine. But rather, they will, as a certainty accumulate for themselves teachers because of their own sinful desires because they will as a certainty want to have their ears tickled. 4 Consequently, on the one hand, they will, as a certainty turn their ears away from the truth while on the other hand, they will, as a certainty be turned away from the truth because of myths. 5 However, you in contrast to them, continue making it your habit of being sober with respect to each and every thing. I solemnly charge you to make it a priority of enduring hardship. I solemnly charge you to make it a priority of performing an evangelist’s duty. I solemnly charge you to make it a priority of fulfilling your ministry. 6 For I myself in contrast to you am already being poured out like a drink offering. Consequently, the moment of my departure is imminent. 6 For I myself in contrast to you am already being poured out like a drink offering. Consequently, the moment of my departure is imminent. (Author’s translation)
The apostle Paul in Second Timothy 4:6 presents to Timothy the reason for the four commands he issues him in Second Timothy 4:5.
He wants Timothy to obey these four commands in Second Timothy 4:5 in light of his imminent execution at the hands of the Roman civil authorities.
In verse 6, he is contrasting himself with Timothy because he is about to die and Timothy was to carry out his duties in proclaiming and obeying his apostolic teaching, i.e. the gospel.
Paul is employing a figurative language in verse 6 for his death.
In other words, Paul is using his imminent departure from this earth to motivate Timothy to carry out the commands he issues him in verse 5.
The apostle’s statements here in verse 6 give a greater sense of urgency with regards to these commands in verse 5.
Paul in Second Timothy 4:6 is drawing an analogy between the drink offerings which were prescribed by the Mosaic Law which were to accompany the animal sacrifices with his physical death.
Paul uses the same analogy in Philippians 2:17.
Now, in Second Timothy 4:6, Paul is informing Timothy that he was being poured out like a drink offering as an act of worshipping God.
He is drawing an analogy between the daily drink offerings prescribed in the Mosaic Law for the nation of Israel (Num. 15:1-10; cf. Num. 28:4-7) and his own physical death.
As prescribed by the Mosaic Law, after the Jewish Levitical priest offered the lamb, ram or bull, he poured wine beside the altar which constituted the last act in the sacrificial ceremony which all symbolized the believer’s dedication to God in worship.
The pouring out of the wine is a picture of the pouring out of his life which he voluntarily sacrificed as an act of worshipping God.
Therefore, the picture of the drink offering expresses the idea that Paul’s death was imminent and that the process of dying had already begun.
In other words, the idea is that the sentence of death had been decreed by the Roman civil authorities and that the execution of his sentence was imminent.
Paul is informing Timothy that his execution was underway implying that the sentence for his death had already been passed.
He viewed his death as an act of worshipping God and a sacrifice in the cause of Jesus Christ.
Now, we must remember that the drink offering in the Old Testament never stood alone by itself but was accompanied by the burnt animal sacrifices which portray Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for sinners.
Thus, by using this drink offering analogy Paul is saying that his sacrificial service is not greater than Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death for sinners but rather simply accompanied our Lord’s death or was a complement to our Lord’s death just as the drink offering compliment to the burnt offerings.
Then, after making the assertion that he was already being poured out like the drink offerings of the Old Testament, Paul presents the result of this statement.
He asserts that his death was imminent as a result of his already being poured out like a drink offering.
Paul’s “departure” is a reference of course to his physical death.
The idea is that Paul’s physical death is a departure from his human body and planet earth.
His physical death or departure from life on planet earth was imminent as a result of the sentence of death passed against him by the Roman civil authorities and the present state is that of his death being imminent.
Death is the sovereign decision of God based upon the love of God and omniscient knowledge of all the facts (Psalm 23:1-6; 116:15; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2; 7:1; Isaiah 25:8; John 5:24; 8:51).
The death of a member of the human race like Paul’s death is not ruled by chance or fate but according to the providence of God.
The providence of God is the divine outworking of the divine decree, the object being the final manifestation of God’s glory.