2 Thessalonians 3:10
For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: "If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat."
For even while we were with you
This phrase indicates the personal involvement of Paul and his companions with the Thessalonian church. The Greek word for "with" (μεθ' ὑμῶν) suggests a close, intimate presence, emphasizing the apostolic authority and pastoral care Paul exercised. Historically, this reflects the early church's practice of direct teaching and discipleship, where leaders were deeply involved in the lives of believers, setting a model for pastoral ministry today.

we gave you this command
The word "command" (παραγγελίαν) in Greek carries a military connotation, implying a directive that is not optional but mandatory. This highlights the seriousness with which Paul viewed this instruction. In the historical context, the early church faced challenges of communal living and resource sharing, necessitating clear guidelines to maintain order and fairness.

If anyone is unwilling to work
The phrase "unwilling to work" (οὐ θέλει ἐργάζεσθαι) distinguishes between those who cannot work and those who choose not to. The Greek verb θέλει (wills or desires) underscores the issue of intent and personal responsibility. This reflects a biblical principle found throughout Scripture, where diligence and industriousness are commended (Proverbs 6:6-11). It also addresses a potential misuse of communal resources, which was a concern in the early church.

he shall not eat
This phrase is a direct and practical consequence of the previous condition. The Greek construction (μὴ ἐσθιέτω) is an imperative, reinforcing the seriousness of the command. Historically, this reflects the agrarian society of the time, where work was directly tied to survival. Scripturally, it aligns with the principle of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7), emphasizing personal responsibility and the value of contributing to the community.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the letter, who is addressing the Thessalonian church. Paul is providing guidance and correction to the believers in Thessalonica.

2. Thessalonica
A city in Macedonia where the church to whom Paul is writing is located. It was a significant city in the Roman Empire, known for its diverse population and economic activity.

3. The Thessalonian Church
The recipients of the letter, a community of believers who were facing challenges, including misunderstandings about the return of Christ and issues related to idleness.

4. Idleness in the Church
The specific issue Paul addresses in this verse, where some members of the church were not working and were relying on others for their sustenance.

5. Paul's Command
The directive given by Paul, emphasizing the importance of work and personal responsibility within the Christian community.
Teaching Points
The Value of Work
Work is a God-ordained activity that provides for our needs and allows us to contribute to the community.

Personal Responsibility
Christians are called to take responsibility for their own sustenance and not to be a burden on others.

Community and Accountability
The church community should encourage and hold each other accountable to live productive lives.

Work as Worship
Our work can be an act of worship when done with integrity and diligence, reflecting God's character.

Addressing Idleness
Idleness can lead to other issues such as gossip and disorder; therefore, it should be addressed with love and correction.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the principle of work in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 relate to the creation mandate in Genesis 2:15, where God placed Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it?

2. In what ways can the church support individuals who are struggling with finding work, while still upholding the principle that those unwilling to work should not eat?

3. How can we balance the biblical call to work with the need for rest and Sabbath, as seen in Exodus 20:8-11?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure that our work is done as unto the Lord, as encouraged in Colossians 3:23?

5. How can we encourage a culture of accountability and support within our church community to address issues of idleness and promote diligence?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 3:19
This verse highlights the principle of labor as part of human life post-Fall, where God tells Adam that he will eat bread by the sweat of his brow. It establishes the biblical foundation for the necessity of work.

Proverbs 6:6-11
These verses encourage diligence and warn against laziness, using the example of the ant to illustrate the value of hard work and preparation.

1 Timothy 5:8
This passage underscores the responsibility of providing for one's family, reinforcing the idea that work is a means of fulfilling one's obligations.

Ephesians 4:28
Paul advises those who have been stealing to work, doing something useful with their hands, so they may have something to share with those in need, linking work to generosity and community support.
How to Deal with BeggarsJ. L. Nye.2 Thessalonians 3:10
IdlersH. O. Mackay.2 Thessalonians 3:10
No Work, no PayR. S. Barrett.2 Thessalonians 3:10
Pauperizing CharityW.F. Adeney 2 Thessalonians 3:10
The Cure for IdlenessH. O. Mackay.2 Thessalonians 3:10
The Danger of IdlenessC. H. Spurgeon.2 Thessalonians 3:10
The Law of LabourDean Close.2 Thessalonians 3:10
Work Necessary for Man2 Thessalonians 3:10
Duty of Withdrawing from a Disorderly BrotherR. Finlayson 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
The Importance of the Common Duties of Daily Life ShownB.C. Caffin 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
The Example of the Apostle Himself as a Support to His CommandT. Croskery 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10
People
Paul, Thessalonians
Places
Thessalonica
Topics
Anyone, Choose, Command, Commanded, Eat, Either, Enjoined, Laid, Order, Orders, Rule, Saying, Willing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Thessalonians 3:10

     5341   hunger
     5449   poverty, remedies
     5522   servants, work conditions
     5833   diligence

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

     5343   idleness

2 Thessalonians 3:7-12

     5629   work, ordained by God

2 Thessalonians 3:10-11

     5539   sluggard
     5634   work, and the fall

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

     5343   idleness
     5603   wages

Library
The Lord of Peace and the Peace of the Lord
'Now the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace always, by all means. The Lord be with you all.'--2 THESS. iii. 16. We have reached here the last of the brief outbursts of prayer which characterise this letter, and bear witness to the Apostle's affection for his Thessalonian converts. It is the deepening of the ordinary Jewish formula of meeting and parting. We find that, in most of his letters, the Apostle begins with wishing 'grace and peace,' and closes with an echo of the wish. 'Peace be unto
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Love and Peace.
"The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ."--2 THESS. iii. 5, R.V. "The Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means."--2 THESS. iii. 16. It is striking to note the number of prayers in these two short Epistles to Thessalonica. They are probably the earliest of the Apostle's writings, and the frequency of his prayers is a significant testimony to his thought for his converts and their needs. Hardly less striking is the variety of the prayers,
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

The Waiting Christ.
WAITING for the coming of the Lord is one of the blessed characteristics of true Christianity. In the parable of the ten virgins the three great marks of a true believer are stated by our Lord. These are: Separation, indicated by the virgins having gone forth. Manifestation, they had lamps, which are for the giving of light, and Expectation, they went forth to meet the Bridegroom. With five of them it was only an outward profession. The foolish virgins are the type of such who are Christians
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Patience of Christ.
"BUT the Lord direct your hearts into the Love of God and into the Patience of Christ" (2 Thess. iii:5). With these words Paul exhorted the Thessalonian believers. They had many trials and difficulties. They suffered persecutions and were troubled. False alarms had affected their patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. The inspired exhortation puts before their hearts the Patience of Christ. Comfort and joy, encouragement and peace, would surely come to their hearts and strengthen them, if they
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Thy Bidding, Holy Brother Aurelius, it was Meet that I Should Comply Withal...
1. Thy bidding, holy brother Aurelius, it was meet that I should comply withal, with so much the more devotion, by how much the more it became clear unto me Who, out of thee, did speak that bidding. For our Lord Jesus Christ, dwelling in thine inner part, and inspiring into thee a solicitude of fatherly and brotherly charity, whether our sons and brothers the monks, who neglect to obey blessed Paul the Apostle, when he saith, "If any will not work, neither let him eat," [2476] are to have that license
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

These Things, My Brother Aurelius, Most Dear unto Me...
38. These things, my brother Aurelius, most dear unto me, and in the bowels of Christ to be venerated, so far as He hath bestowed on me the ability Who through thee commanded me to do it, touching work of Monks, I have not delayed to write; making this my chief care, lest good brethren obeying apostolic precepts, should by lazy and disobedient be called even prevaricators from the Gospel: that they which work not, may at the least account them which do work to be better than themselves without doubt.
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

But when He Might Use to Work, that Is...
15. But when he might use to work, that is, in what spaces of time, that he might not be hindered from preaching the Gospel, who can make out? Though, truly, that he wrought at hours of both day and night himself hath not left untold. [2518] Yet these men truly, who as though very full of business and occupation inquire about the time of working, what do they? Have they from Jerusalem round about even to Illyricum filled the lands with the Gospel? [2519] or whatever of barbarian nations hath remained
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

For He Himself Also, with an Eye to the Like Necessities of Saints...
16. For he himself also, with an eye to the like necessities of saints, who, although they obey his precepts, "that with silence they work and eat their own bread," may yet from many causes stand in need of somewhat by way of supplement to the like sustenance, therefore, after he had thus said, teaching and premonishing, "Now them which are such we command and beseech in our Lord Jesus Christ, that with silence they work and eat their own bread;" [2521] yet, lest they which had whereof they might
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

First Then we Ought to Demonstrate that the Blessed Apostle Paul Willed the Servants...
4. First then we ought to demonstrate that the blessed Apostle Paul willed the servants of God to work corporal works which should have as their end a great spiritual reward, for this purpose that they should need food and clothing of no man, but with their own hands should procure these for themselves: then, to show that those evangelical precepts from which some cherish not only their sloth but even arrogance, are not contrary to the Apostolical precept and example. Let us see then whence the Apostle
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Ascetic.
(i) Of the works comprised under this head, the first are the three compositions entitled Tractatus Prævii. The first, Prævia Institutio ascetica ('Asketike prodiatuposis ), is an exhortation to enlistment in the sacred warfare; the second, on renunciation of the world and spiritual perfection, is the Sermo asceticus (logos asketikos). The third, Sermo de ascetica disciplina (logos peri askeseos, pos dei kosmheisthai ton monachon), treats of the virtues to be exhibited in the life
Basil—Basil: Letters and Select Works

But He Speaks More Openly in the Rest which He Subjoins...
9. But he speaks more openly in the rest which he subjoins, and altogether removes all causes of doubting. "If we unto you," saith he, "have sown spiritual things, is it a great matter if we shall reap your carnal things?" What are the spiritual things which he sowed, but the word and mystery of the sacrament of the kingdom of heaven? And what the carnal things which he saith he had a right to reap, but these temporal things which are indulged to the life and indigency of the flesh? These however
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Fifteenth Lesson. If Two Agree
If two agree;' Or, The Power of United Prayer Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them.--Matt. xviii. 19, 20. ONE of the first lessons of our Lord in His school of prayer was: Not to be seen of men. Enter thy inner chamber; be alone with the Father. When He has thus taught us that the
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

There Also is Said at what Work the Apostle Wrought. ...
22. There also is said at what work the Apostle wrought. "After these things," it says, "he departed from Athens and came to Corinth; and having found a certain Jew, by name Aquila, of Pontus by birth, lately come from Italy, and Priscilla his wife, because that Claudius had ordered all Jews to depart from Rome, he came unto them, and because he was of the same craft he abode with them, doing work: for they were tent-makers." [2549] This if they shall essay to interpret allegorically, they show what
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Paul a Pattern of Prayer
"Go and inquire for one called Saul of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth."--ACTS ix. 11. "For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."--1 TIM. i. 16. God took His own Son, and made Him our Example and our Pattern. It sometimes is as if the power of Christ's example is lost in the thought that He, in whom is no sin, is not man as we are. Our Lord took Paul, a man
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Secondly, for Thy Words.
1. Remember, that thou must answer for every idle word, that in multiloquy, the wisest man shall overshoot himself. Avoid, therefore, all tedious and idle talk, from which seldom arises comfort, many times repentance: especially beware of rash answers, when the tongue outruns the mind. The word was thine whilst thou didst keep it in; it is another's as soon as it is out. O the shame, when a man's own tongue shall be produced a witness, to the confusion of his own face! Let, then, thy words be few,
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

We are not Binding Heavy Burdens and Laying them Upon Your Shoulders...
37. We are not binding heavy burdens and laying them upon your shoulders, while we with a finger will not touch them. Seek out, and acknowledge the labor of our occupations, and in some of us the infirmities of our bodies also, and in the Churches which we serve, that custom now grown up, that they do not suffer us to have time ourselves for those works to which we exhort you. For though we might say, "Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Beginning of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Coin of Thessalonica] Turn to the list of books given in the beginning of your New Testament. You will see that first come the four Gospels, or glimpses of the Saviour's life given by four different writers. Then follows the Acts of the Apostles, and, lastly, after the twenty-one epistles, the volume ends with the Revelation. Now this is not the order in which the books were written--they are only arranged like this for our convenience. The first words of the New Testament
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Clergyman and the Prayer Book.
Dear pages of ancestral prayer, Illumined all with Scripture gold, In you we seem the faith to share Of saints and seers of old. Whene'er in worship's blissful hour The Pastor lends your heart a voice, Let his own spirit feel your power, And answer, and rejoice. In the present chapter I deal a little with the spirit and work of the Clergyman in his ministration of the ordered Services of the Church, reserving the work of the Pulpit for later treatment. THE PRAYER BOOK NOT PERFECT BUT INESTIMABLE.
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Letter ii (A. D. 1126) to the Monk Adam
To the Monk Adam [3] 1. If you remain yet in that spirit of charity which I either knew or believed to be with you formerly, you would certainly feel the condemnation with which charity must regard the scandal which you have given to the weak. For charity would not offend charity, nor scorn when it feels itself offended. For it cannot deny itself, nor be divided against itself. Its function is rather to draw together things divided; and it is far from dividing those that are joined. Now, if that
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

How those that are at Variance and those that are at Peace are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 23.) Differently to be admonished are those that are at variance and those that are at peace. For those that are at variance are to be admonished to know most certainly that, in whatever virtues they may abound, they can by no means become spiritual if they neglect becoming united to their neighbours by concord. For it is written, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace (Gal. v. 22). He then that has no care to keep peace refuses to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Hence Paul
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Christian Behavior
Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Advertisement by the Editor This valuable practical treatise, was first published as a pocket volume about the year 1674, soon after the author's final release from his long and dangerous imprisonment. It is evident from the concluding paragraph that he considered his liberty and even his life to be still in a very
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Fourth Commandment
Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. Exod 20: 8-11. This
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Perseverance of Saints.
OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 1. It is said that the natural tendency of this doctrine condemns it; that it tends to beget and foster a carnal presumption in a life of sin, on the part of those who think themselves saints. There is, I reply, a broad and obvious distinction between the abuse of a good thing or doctrine, and its natural tendency. The legitimate tendency of a thing or doctrine may be good, and yet it may be abused and perverted. This is true of the atonement, and the offer of pardon through
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

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