It was that great 19th century expositor of scripture C.H. Spurgeon who said; “A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats!” How sadly prophetic!
The Text:
(2 Timothy 4: 1-5) “In the presence of God and of Messiah Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
Introduction:
Paul had been speaking about the last days, or the days of stress, and describing the lifestyles of those who were living without God and he specifically lists the marks of this end-time generation. The list begins with people being lovers of themselves and lovers of money and ends with those who are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (3:1-5). These he listed as those having “a form of godliness but denying its power,” and that Timothy was to avoid associating with them. The fact that they had “a form of godliness but denied it power” by the way they lived would seem to indicate that some of these mentioned had infiltrated the local assembly over which Timothy had been given spiritual oversight by the Lord through the ministry of Paul (1:6).
These who had a form of godliness but not its power were those who wormed their way into the homes of those who were spiritually unstable such as we see today with the hyper faith prosperity money preachers on television and on the internet, who, despite their learning, never come to the knowledge of the truth as revealed in the Word of God (1:7). They may well have some form of spiritual power and like the magicians of Egypt in the time of Moses and Aaron be able to produce certain counterfeit miracles by the power of the occult, but in the end be exposed as were the magicians of Egypt were by the genuine power of God working through Moses and Aaron (3:8-9).
Paul went on to remind Timothy of the absolute power and authority in the Spirit-breathed scriptures or the written Word of God which would be the Old Testament scriptures, and that these alone were useful for revealing the way of salvation, for teaching, rebuking, correcting and for training in righteousness so that the every man (or woman) of God might be thoroughly equipped for every good work (3:15-17). Our text is a prophetic word for the wider Body of Messiah today which for the most part in the western nations has been infiltrated by false teachers, false doctrines, un-biblical practices and saturated by false fire and fanaticism accompanied by all sorts of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and manifestations attributed to the Holy Spirit which in reality He had nothing to do with them!
Exposition: 2 Timothy 4:1-5
“In the presence of God and of Messiah Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom,”
There is nothing that escapes the all-seeing eyes of God which see everything there is to see in the heavens, on earth and under the earth. Nothing is hidden from His sight including the deepest innermost thoughts, motives, desires and ambitions of men and women (Proverbs 15:3) (Jeremiah 23:24) (Psalm 139:7-8) (Hebrews 4:13) (Job 34:21-22) (Proverbs 5:21) (Psalm 33:13-15) (Ecclesiastes 12:14) (Psalm 139:1-4). Paul gave his instruction to Timothy as one who lived in the presence of the Triune God and that Paul was accountable as an apostle to the LORD who will judge both the living and the dead.
Added to this, Paul also saw that what he was about to instruct Timothy with, that the instructions would be in context of the Messiah’s second coming to establish His Messianic Millennial Kingdom on earth. In scripture, especially in the New Testament, holy living, that is living a lifestyle separated to God for His exclusive use, is connected to the Second Coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. He is coming for those who eagerly and with expectancy look forward to His Second Coming and keep themselves as a betrothed woman keeps herself for her intended husband when the wedding day comes (Revelation 21:2).
The word “appearing” refers to His actual physical presence as the Messiah, God the Son, not to some spiritual manifestation only. He appeared on earth in His first coming and He will appear again on earth at His Second Coming. The Word “kingdom” describes “royal power, kingship, dominion, rule,” not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather “the right or authority to rule over a kingdom.” It is also used to describe “the royal power of the triumphant Messiah and of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom.” The word also can describe; “a kingdom, the territory subject to the rule of a king.” This kingdom was already a reality in the lives of the Body of Messiah but will be fully manifested in the physical Messianic Millennial Kingdom to come after the close of this present age to which the scriptures testify. In light of this fact Paul then writes to Timothy…
“I give you this charge:”
The word “charge” describes; “to testify to and to attest to something as true, to solemnly affirm or to confirm a thing by testifying to it causing one to believe.” This was an apostolic command imbued with apostolic authority and with a sense of urgency to be obeyed. It was not some take it or leave it advice, or a command to be treated with a casual indifference to it. This solemn command was to be acted upon with solemnity and not with some casual action. In light of spiritual deception Timothy had to deal with it as it was imperative that Timothy continue to obey the apostolic command given by the Holy Spirit through Paul. Today this command comes to all who minister the Word of God. It is not to be taken casually or lightly or flippantly but rightly divided and applied as the Word of Truth. What then was this charge, this apostolic command to be obeyed and acted upon?
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season;”
To “preach the word” is “to be a herald announcing a message, to officiate as a herald, to proclaim after a herald and that always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and with an authority that must be obeyed.” It was “to publish, to proclaim openly something that had already been done” and in this case the finished atoning work of the Messiah at the cross through the redemption and forgiveness of sin through His blood and the proclamation of this great truth concerning the salvation of God demonstrated in the life, the death and the physical resurrection of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-5).
Today there are multitudes of Churches where they do not preach “the whole counsel of God,” not meaning that they must know it all, but that no part of God’s Word must be neglected, passed over, added to or taken away from, or ignored, or only see ministers preaching on those passages of scripture that make the listeners feel good. Many today only proclaim the goodness and the blessings of God, which needs to be proclaimed of course, but neglect to preach on the weightier matters of God’s law such subjects as repentance, hell, judgement, the need and demand from God for righteousness of character and lifestyle, or on the Second Coming and subjects related to the end-times and God’s prophetic purposes for Israel in the last days, or on anything that might ‘offend’ those attending the church meetings.
Much of modern day preaching has removed the offense of the cross. Paul put it this way when he wrote; “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Messiah, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14). The message of the cross is where our will and God’s will cross. We are to be in the world but not of the world. A famous preacher once said “a ship in the water is okay but water in the ship isn’t.”
When you look at the proclamations of the Biblical prophets in the books they wrote, the proclamations of the Messiah our Lord Jesus, and the proclamations of the disciples who wrote the New Testament they all preached repentance first and foremost and that without watering it down. They firstly gave men and women the law of God to the point where they saw themselves as lost and headed for hell because of their sin and rebellion against their creator and knew they were eternally doomed.
Once they had been convicted of their sin of unbelief in the Messiah they were then given the solution, being the love and mercy of the Triune God, and the royal sceptre of His pardon and grace extended to them upon repentance and faith in the Messiah’s redeeming and atoning blood for the forgiveness of their sin (Ephesians 1:7). When you look at the messages proclaimed from the Word of God by the great heroes of the faith once delivered to the saints, in past history, such men as John Wesley, William Booth, D.L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, and many others well known to Christendom, they all firstly gave men and women the law of God and then gave them the grace of God.
If we do not see the wickedness of our sinful hearts before God, the propensity to practice wickedness, and our utter inability to make ourselves right with God by good works or personal merit, and that hell awaits us if we do not repent of our sins and turn back to God, then we will never appreciate the mercy and love of God, and the forgiveness of our sins bestowed upon us through the shed blood and merits of the Messiah our Lord Jesus, He who knew no sin, who was made to be sin with our sin so that we might be made righteous, or declared by God to be the righteous ones through exercising our faith, in His sight with the righteousness of the Lord Jesus credited to our account in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:21) (Romans 3:21-26) (Philippians 3:7-9).
The preaching of the Word of God must be aimed at the conscience, not trying to make people feel guilty, but preaching the Word of God in such a way that allows for the Holy Spirit to do his convicting and converting work in the hearts of the hearers. We are to proclaim the Word of God and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to drive home the truth to the heart and conscience of the unsaved or those who have spiritually backslidden.
Preaching the Word of God is not just a standard discourse, something one can just casually take or leave, but a message to be proclaimed, one that must be listened to and obeyed. It is a very solemn message that demands the attention of those who hear this proclamation. Timothy was not to just give feel-good messages that comforted people in their sins or massaged their self-esteem, such as we see with many of the preachers on the internet and in many mega churches today.
Timothy’s message “in season and out of season” was a message that was appropriate at any time whether the circumstances were favourable or not. It was to be when the opportunity presents itself in season, or when things were not favourable when it was out of season. The message was to be consistent and without embellishment, but proclaimed just as God has said in scripture. Sadly, many ministers today preach feel-good motivational messages laced here and there with scripture and with emotionally moving stories but do not rightly divide the Word of God.
We also see ‘a personality cult’ in many churches where their preachers are the focus and not the Lord Jesus. Many of these ‘preachers’ actually cannot exegete scripture. Ministers of God’s Word have no licence to change what the Word of God says; neither do they have God’s approval to only preach on their favourite passages of scripture. When Paul was about to leave the assembly at Ephesus he said in his departing comments to the elders; “Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 19:26-27). Not only was Timothy to proclaim the Word of God on all occasions and in all circumstances whether favourable or unfavourable, he was to…
“…correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction”
“To correct” the word generally describes “to convict, to refute (false and deceptive teaching) to shame the person convicted, to bring to light, to expose to find fault with.” By the spoken word it means “to reprimand severely, to chide, to admonish, to reprove, to call one to account, to show one his fault and to demand an explanation.” By action or deed it is “to chasten or to punish.” It is not a vindictive punishment, but one that acts as a warning to others and with the intention of bringing the one being censured back to the LORD and to be sound in their doctrine.
“To rebuke” describes “to chide, rebuke, reprove, to censure severely to admonish and to charge sharply.” This is a word with a similar meaning with the word “correct” and it is also connected with the word “encourage.” The word “encourage” describes “to entreat and to comfort with appropriate instruction, to admonish, to exhort, to beg, to entreat, to beseech and to strive to appease by entreaty, to console, to encourage and strengthen by consolation, to receive consolation and to be comforted, to encourage, to strengthen, to be comforting and to instruct and to teach.”
There must be a balance between judgement and mercy and this perfect balance is found throughout the entire Bible. If one only preaches all the time about sin, hell and judgement and does not equally preach about the grace, the love and the mercy of God it is an imbalance. On the other hand if one only preaches about grace, love and mercy all the time, and does not equally preach about sin, hell and judgement this too is an imbalance. God hates this kind of imbalance. As it is written; “A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight” (Proverbs 11:1). Once one has been rebuked or chastened then they also need to be encouraged to repent and then comforted. We see this consistently in the ministry of the prophets, the Lord Jesus and the apostles. This is to be done…
“…with great patience and careful instruction.” The word “patience” describes “endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance, forbearance, longsuffering, and slowness in avenging wrongs.” Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and those in ministry who preach the Word of God have to also have endurance because they will not always preach a comforting or affirming message. In some assemblies after the morning service where the Word of God has been preached uncompromisingly and faithfully, some of its members go home and have ‘roast pastor’ for lunch! Patience and endurance, being the ability to remain steadfast under pressure, is required of those who preach and teach the scriptures or who prophecy from the scriptures in the assembly.
Great patience is great perseverance. If one is not called and gifted by the Lord Jesus for the ministry of the Word of God, either as an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor and teacher or an elder, then they should not enter these offices of ministry the Lord Jesus has set in the Body of Messiah to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:11-13). Just because one has a theological degree does not mean that they are automatically called and gifted for the task of ministering the Word of God. It takes the call of God, the gifting of God for the set task, and the anointing of the Spirit for all those whom God has called and gifted to rightly divide and apply the Word of God. Now combined with this great patience is…
“Careful instruction” which describes “the act of teaching with sensitivity to the needs of others being instructed in the Word of God.” It is being careful in the way one handles the Word of God while maintaining its truth uncompromisingly, but keeping in mind the spiritual status of those who are hearing it because they will be a differing levels of spiritual maturity and understanding. This is why it is vitally important for those preaching the Word of God to be controlled by the Spirit. Many make the mistake of thinking that when one is ministering the Word of God by the Spirit’s power that they will be jumping all over the place and striding up and down the platform with exuberance, and some will do this when they are filled with Spirit, however, a display of emotional preaching is not always the mark of Spirit filled preaching. It may well be the latent power of the soul life not under the direct control of the Spirit.
Some Spirit-filled teachers will be very quietly spoken, controlled, not demonstrative and yet forceful and persuasive in their demeanour when expounding the Word of God. Now the reason Paul commands Timothy to give close attention to what He is saying when preaching the Word of God consistently at all times and in all circumstances whether favourable or unfavourable, is because Paul saw the end times when spiritual deception would be running rampant and spreading like wildfire within the wider Body of Messiah. The context is the last days (3:1-9). Now let’s continue. Why is it vitally important then to the spiritual wellbeing of the local assembly to preach the Word of God? Why then was Timothy instructed to do this and why is it mandatory from God’s perspective for those who minister and rightly divide the Word of truth to do this? Paul tells us…
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine.”
Today we are living in a time when the Word of God is being maligned, neglected, twisted, perverted, altered and laid aside and replaced by made doctrines of unsaved and spiritually unenlightened men and women, and the internet is full of them! This is the time that Paul wrote about, that the prophets spoke about, that the Lord Jesus spoke about and the other apostles spoke about. There have always been false prophets and teachers and false apostles around since the first century; however, in the last days in which we are now living they are an infestation within the wider Body of Messiah and being hatched within many assemblies of the saints.(1 Timothy 4:1-2). One movement is the New Apostolic Reformation which teaches a form of apostleship which is not Biblical and is also a movement that teaches kingdom dominion doctrine and also replacement theology.
Today people within the wider Body of Messiah “will not put up with sound doctrine.” It is the phrase “to not to endure with sound doctrine” The phrase “sound doctrine” in this context metaphorically describes; “to be free from any mixture of error and of one who keeps the God given graces to attend and to persevere in the Word of God and is strong and resolute in the Word of God, to be free from corruption, to be spiritually well and healthy in doctrine or teaching.”
Today many sitting in the pews do not want sound doctrine. Expository disciplined preaching through scripture is being replaced by motivational talks by trendily dressed ‘pastors’ or ‘motivational speakers’ that pander to self-esteem, emotionally moving stories that evoke the emotions, smooth appeals accompanied by soothing background music, personal prophecies not based on scripture but on existential undefined emotional spiritual experiences and dreams or visions.
While the Word of God tells us not to despise prophecies or visions, these are straw when compared to the nutritious grain of God’s Word. Straw has no nutritional value whereas grain has nutritional value. God Himself puts it this way when He says; “Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”(Jeremiah 23:28-29). It was C.H. Spurgeon who said; “The Word of God is the iron anvil upon which the hammers of men’s opinions are smashed!” And then we read what those who cannot endure sound doctrine will do…
“Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
The word “desires” describes one’s “cravings, longings, appetites and fixed desire and lusting for what is forbidden.” And with these sinful passions and desires that expel truth and embrace unsound doctrine they “will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” When one has a persistent itch they have to scratch it.” Spiritually applied, those who have “itching ears” are those who want to hear what false teachers have to say to them that appeal to their fleshly emotional covetous appetites, affections and desires for what makes them feel good.
Today within the wider Body of Messiah there are numerous false teachers “scratching itching ears.” Many can be defined as clowns entertaining the goats instead of shepherds feeding the sheep as C.H. Spurgeon said. The messages these false teachers propagate emphasise what we can get God to do for us rather than what we can do for God. Many teach a God who is likened to a spiritual dispensing machine where you put a coin into a slot and what you want just pops out.
Then you have motivational ‘talks’ designed to appeal to one’s self-esteem rather than to one’s need to repent and be reconciled to God and saved from the power and penalty of sin in Hell. Many do not preach the attributes of a righteous and just God who expects holy living from His people. Many preachers are like clowns as they move around ensnaring their audience with their antics, prophecies and feel-good motivational talks.
Then you have Church growth seminars and conferences teaching secular marketing strategies for Church growth today. Many churches minimise or even avoid the weightier matters of God’s law such as repentance, sin, the need for righteous living and of the judgements of God to come against wickedness. Others avoid end-time prophecy like the plague in some cases and are into replacement theology which is growing in leaps and bounds within wider Christendom, as we see Israel becoming increasingly centre stage in world affairs and the nations turning against the Jewish people.
Many ‘preachers’ are giving people what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. Many churches are into seeker-friendly, seeker-sensitive ‘doctrines’ which preach a very watered down gospel and a Jesus who is the right Jesus but one whom they have all wrong. In many ‘modern’ churches today the emphasis is on the music, the presentations and the meetings often conducted like rock concerts and the musicians treated like rock stars with all the trappings of the secular entertainment industry in play. You even have young pastors dressed in trendy attire that are preaching ‘feel-good’ messages to impressionable young people that appeal to their emotions.
Others emphasise spiritual gifts and manifestations over the preaching of the Word of God using isolated passages of scripture, usually out of context, to bolster their ‘doctrines.’ Lastly but not least you have ecumenism growing rapidly within wider evangelical and Charismatic churches. Biblical doctrines are minimised, being re-interpreted or re-defined to fit the narrative of ecumenical unity. Biblical truth is trodden under foot. In TBN the largest Christian Television Network in the wold you have a mixture of evangelical and heretical preachers featured broadcasting their programmes side by side. These teachers are displayed on their website.
God himself hates “the mixture.” In the Torah of Moses it is written; “Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together” (Deuteronomy 22:11). Metaphorically wool can represent an earthly fleshly fallen nature, whereas linen can represent the life and nature of God. False teachers are like the wool whereas true teachers are like the linen which stands for the righteousness of the saints of God (Revelation 19:8b). This spiritual Biblical principle is abrogated when you have truth and error laid side by side. In fact Peter speaks about this when he writes; “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:1-3).
“Destructive heresies’ can actually be translated as “truth and error being laid side by side.” It is much like having a beautiful nutritious gourmet sandwich filled with all kinds of nutritious ingredients but laced with arsenic, a very slow acting poison that over a period of time accumulates in the body and brings about physical death. Those who cannot endure sound Biblical doctrine and chase after false and spiritually deceptive teachers, emotional spiritual experiences, and want to see miracles signs and wonders on display will perish along with those they follow into eternal perdition. When those who have “itching ears” “turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” it describes “to be turned away from or something that is twisted out of shape such as a dislocated limb, to be turned aside and to shun a thing and to avoid meeting or associating with it.” They in fact turn their ears away from the truth and turn their ears to embrace falsehood or “myths.”
The word “myths” describe “fables or stories that have been made up or teachings that are existential and subjective in nature and not based on or rooted and grounded on the foundation of the Word of God.” Many so called ‘prophets’ today are well into dreams and visions and personal prophecies and all sorts of un-Biblical manifestation of one sort or another such as we see in Bethel in Redding California with their falling angel feathers and gold dust and glory clouds and their occult practices such as grave sucking and the reading of tarot destiny cards which are the invention of their own imaginations. God spoke about these through the prophet Ezekiel; “Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Tell those who prophesy out of their own imagination: Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing” (Ezekiel 13:1-3). What was Timothy instructed to do in light of these trends that were surfacing even in his day and are a conspicuous feature in wider Christendom today?
“But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”
What will be the marks of one who teaches and preaches the unadulterated Word of the Living God faithfully, without additives or compromise, and does not add to, or take away from scripture? Paul sets out for Timothy how to stay the set course revealed in the Word of God as one of those who preach the word in season and out of season.
“Keep your head in all situations” To “keep your head” describes “to be sober, to be calm and collected in spirit, to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect and discreet, and to be watchful” to exercise a spirit of love, power and of a sound spiritually healthy or self-controlled way of thinking (1:7). In other words Timothy was told not to allow himself to get carried away with false teachers with their false prophecies, doctrines and with their counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders such as we saw some years ago with the laughing revival ‘thing’ called “the Toronto Blessing” that came out of Toronto Canada and was embraced by Holy Trinity Brompton in England, the home of the Alpha Course.
In these ‘crazy’ meetings you had evangelical and Charismatic leaders writhing around and sliding down in their seats in an uncontrolled euphoric state, people writhing on the floor making animal noises, laughing uncontrollably, and to top things off, you had the two well-known Charismatic leaders on stage clowning around and laughing hysterically and speaking to each other in tongues with the audience in rapturous applause. It could only be described as ‘a zoo gone mad!’ Talk about the clowns entertaining the goats! Where were the shepherds feeding the sheep? Then Timothy was to…
“endure hardship” The word describes “to suffer, to endure evils and hardships and, troubles and to be afflicted.” Such was Paul’s exhortation to Timothy. Indeed Paul had also told Timothy earlier in this letter “In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in the Messiah Jesus will be persecuted” (3:12). Not only was Timothy to keep his thinking chained to God’s Word but also to…
“…do the work of an evangelist” Even though he was a pastor and teacher by His call and gifting Timothy was to also be a proclaimer of the gospel or good news of the kingdom and to seek to be a soul winner exercising the means to evangelise the lost when he was not engaged in his teaching ministry to the saints. Not all pastors and teachers have an evangelistic gift and it is vitally important to the well round spiritual health of any assembly to have these ascension gifts operating according to their Biblically defined order and practice.
The ‘irony’ today is that you have evangelists trying to be pastors and teachers and prophets trying to be evangelists and those with an apostolic calling trying to be local pastors. This is one reason that we have by and large a messed up leadership within the wider Body of Messiah. Leadership in the Body of Messiah is plural, more than one, and the first century assemblies were regulated by the five-fold ministry of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints for works of ministry, not to mention the gifts of the Spirit exercised by every member of the local assemblies as they edified each other in love as they used the differing gifts given according to the will of the Spirit when they met together for fellowship and ministry to each other (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Whether one is called to one of these ascension gifts they are to do the work of evangelism. In pastoral ministry there will be many occasions where the unsaved will need to hear the gospel of the kingdom and be saved. And finally timothy was told by Paul to…
“…discharge all the duties of your ministry” The word “discharge” describes “to bear or to bring or to make full, to fulfil the ministry in every part, to carry through to the end, to accomplish the assigned task, to be filled with conviction, to make one certain, to persuade, to convince one to be persuaded, fully convinced or assured and to render inclined or bent on fulfilling a certain allotted task.” Timothy then was to keep his head in all situations and not to get carried away, to endure hardship as a soldier on a campaign in enemy territory, to do the work of an evangelist and to discharge faithfully and consistently and with a set purpose and goal all the duties of his ministry.
Indeed when you look at the un-Biblical things that are going on in multitudes of Churches today and pastors allowing this and promoting these things we have mentioned there is a desperate need for those who can rightly divide the Word of truth where you have shepherds feeding the sheep instead of clowns entertaining the goats!
