Friday 28 October 2011
Interlude
Jonah's prayer in Chapter 2 reads like a Psalm to me, so I am going to try to find the references to other Psalms in it. Could take a little while...
Thursday 27 October 2011
Jonah Chapter 1: Jonah Rose Up To Flee...
This is a great chapter. It sets the stage for the remainder of the book. I'm not going to write out the entire chapter: if you need access to a King James Version of the chapter, it can be found here: Jonah Chapter 1.
This chapter is exemplary of the foundation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [i.e. be destroyed], but have everlasting life." The story of Jonah takes this to the extreme since Nineveh was the enemy that was going to take Israel captive ninety years after this story happens. God knew this - God may have even told Jonah this, which would explain his reaction. (The mention of Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25 does reveal that God made Jonah privy to certain future events that were going to happen.) It also shows that God's salvation has been available at any time in human history (because this story happens in the Old Testament, before Jesus died on the cross). I believe that Jesus' sacrifice brought redemption for one and all times. I also believe that God is not bound by time: while Jesus died at a specific time in our history, the sacrifice is applicable to all time in the spiritual realm, because spirit is not bound to time, and God is not bound by time. Nevertheless...
God tells Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh in verse 2 and Jonah jumps up and runs in the complete opposite direction. Whether Jonah knew that Nineveh (Assyria) was going to conquer Israel or not, he knew that it could, and he knew that they were the enemy. So, in an effort to keep Israel safe, Jonah runs away from God's instruction. I'm guessing that his logic was, "God is angry with Nineveh. If I don't let them know this, God will have to follow through on His plan to destroy Nineveh, and Israel will be safe." We know that he knew that God would not destroy Nineveh if they repented; he says this in verse 2 of chapter 4. Jonah appears to be so stubborn that he is willing to run away from God, putting himself in harm's way, and even to die if he has to, in order to keep Israel safe. While this was defiance of God's instruction, I believe that God allowed Jonah some leeway (by not outright destroying him) because his intentions to protect his people at all costs were pure.
An interesting item to note is that the events in verses 4-6 of chapter 1 are almost exactly the same circumstances (and wording) of what happens in Luke 8:23-24. I believe this is intentional. In both cases, a storm arises and the central character to the story is found to be sleeping in the side of the boat. In both cases, when faith is shown, the Lord stops the storm. Both stories relate that no matter how turbulent the times (waters) get, the Lord is in control, His will is going to be done, and He will show mercy on those that He shows mercy. In the book of Jonah, Jonah sacrifices himself so that the people in the boat may be safe (the imagery of the boat and the storm here should kindle the imagery of Noah's ark); and in Luke, Jesus sacrifices himself so that "whosoever believeth in Him" may be safe (only His sacrifice is made later on the cross).
There are also some other interesting items to note. All of these men on the boat believe in different gods and begin calling out to their gods to save them. This is what they wake Jonah up for - to see if his God can save them. The result of casting lots, the inability of the other gods to stop the storm, the testimony of Jonah as to why there is a storm, and the immediate ceasing of the storm once Jonah was thrown overboard proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that our God is God. It caused the entire boatload of people to convert from their beliefs and begin praising God. It brought salvation to the souls of the crew and passengers on the boat. Also, the testimony that Jonah gives shows his character. He is not a coward... it would be hard for a coward to stay soundly asleep in a storm that caused everyone else to believe they were going to die. Also, Jonah doesn't speak any word of a lie when he testifies to the crew. He may be defiant, but he's an honest man, and he's honest about it. He doesn't cover it up. I believe this brutal honesty is part of the reason that God loves Jonah so much.
So Jonah is thrown overboard, not knowing what will come next, and a giant fish prepared for this moment by God swallows him. Now that he is inside the fish, the way that he is presented to the Ninevites will become even more powerful. We will explore this deeper (no pun intended) in the next post. God bless.
This chapter is exemplary of the foundation of the doctrine of Jesus Christ. John 3:16 states that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish [i.e. be destroyed], but have everlasting life." The story of Jonah takes this to the extreme since Nineveh was the enemy that was going to take Israel captive ninety years after this story happens. God knew this - God may have even told Jonah this, which would explain his reaction. (The mention of Jonah in 2 Kings 14:25 does reveal that God made Jonah privy to certain future events that were going to happen.) It also shows that God's salvation has been available at any time in human history (because this story happens in the Old Testament, before Jesus died on the cross). I believe that Jesus' sacrifice brought redemption for one and all times. I also believe that God is not bound by time: while Jesus died at a specific time in our history, the sacrifice is applicable to all time in the spiritual realm, because spirit is not bound to time, and God is not bound by time. Nevertheless...
God tells Jonah to go and preach against Nineveh in verse 2 and Jonah jumps up and runs in the complete opposite direction. Whether Jonah knew that Nineveh (Assyria) was going to conquer Israel or not, he knew that it could, and he knew that they were the enemy. So, in an effort to keep Israel safe, Jonah runs away from God's instruction. I'm guessing that his logic was, "God is angry with Nineveh. If I don't let them know this, God will have to follow through on His plan to destroy Nineveh, and Israel will be safe." We know that he knew that God would not destroy Nineveh if they repented; he says this in verse 2 of chapter 4. Jonah appears to be so stubborn that he is willing to run away from God, putting himself in harm's way, and even to die if he has to, in order to keep Israel safe. While this was defiance of God's instruction, I believe that God allowed Jonah some leeway (by not outright destroying him) because his intentions to protect his people at all costs were pure.
An interesting item to note is that the events in verses 4-6 of chapter 1 are almost exactly the same circumstances (and wording) of what happens in Luke 8:23-24. I believe this is intentional. In both cases, a storm arises and the central character to the story is found to be sleeping in the side of the boat. In both cases, when faith is shown, the Lord stops the storm. Both stories relate that no matter how turbulent the times (waters) get, the Lord is in control, His will is going to be done, and He will show mercy on those that He shows mercy. In the book of Jonah, Jonah sacrifices himself so that the people in the boat may be safe (the imagery of the boat and the storm here should kindle the imagery of Noah's ark); and in Luke, Jesus sacrifices himself so that "whosoever believeth in Him" may be safe (only His sacrifice is made later on the cross).
There are also some other interesting items to note. All of these men on the boat believe in different gods and begin calling out to their gods to save them. This is what they wake Jonah up for - to see if his God can save them. The result of casting lots, the inability of the other gods to stop the storm, the testimony of Jonah as to why there is a storm, and the immediate ceasing of the storm once Jonah was thrown overboard proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that our God is God. It caused the entire boatload of people to convert from their beliefs and begin praising God. It brought salvation to the souls of the crew and passengers on the boat. Also, the testimony that Jonah gives shows his character. He is not a coward... it would be hard for a coward to stay soundly asleep in a storm that caused everyone else to believe they were going to die. Also, Jonah doesn't speak any word of a lie when he testifies to the crew. He may be defiant, but he's an honest man, and he's honest about it. He doesn't cover it up. I believe this brutal honesty is part of the reason that God loves Jonah so much.
So Jonah is thrown overboard, not knowing what will come next, and a giant fish prepared for this moment by God swallows him. Now that he is inside the fish, the way that he is presented to the Ninevites will become even more powerful. We will explore this deeper (no pun intended) in the next post. God bless.
Wednesday 26 October 2011
The Sign of the Prophet Jonah...
The book of Jonah is one of my favourite prophetic books. It's "short and sweet", poignant, and has fantastic dynamics. I always loved it as a child... the "belly of the whale" story has great rapport with children. The message that I always was taught about the story was "don't run from what God has in store from you" or "don't defy God or you will end up in trouble like Jonah". I believe these are both fully credible messages and, now that I've read the story as an adult, I believe that there are also much deeper messages to the story. These messages also give a more in-depth look at the reason that Jesus referred to the prophet in His own prophesying.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
It's recorded in Matthew 12, Matthew 16, and Luke 11 that the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask Him to show signs and wonders. Jesus sternly replies to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah; for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here."
This quote gives the entire message behind the book of Jonah; it is the message brought by Jesus and John the Baptist - one clearly noted in a prior post - "Repent ye; for the kingdom of God is at hand". But Jonah's own repentance from his defiance of God is not the main focus of what Jesus says here - it is the Ninevites that had to repent. And there is something very special about their repentance.
To go any further, some ground work should be laid for the setting of Jonah. It's believed that the story was written before any of the other books of the prophets (that is to say, from Isaiah to the end of the Old Testament). It is believed to have been written in about 690 B.C. That's about 90 years before Israel (the ten northern tribes, but not Judah and Benjamin) went into captivity and about 40 years before Isaiah began to prophesy. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25, but the prophesies attributed to him there are not the same ones as the message in the book of Jonah.
The name Jonah is a Hebrew word meaning "dove". Jonah's father's name is Amittai which is a Hebrew word meaning "my firm truth". Now the dove, in spiritual imagery, is symbolic of the spirit; but more importantly here, it is symbolic of God's own Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of truth. By the end of the book of Jonah, it is apparent why his name is connected to the Spirit of truth.
Nineveh at the time of Jonah's writings was the capital of Assyria - that is to say, they were the enemy of Israel. Assyria was the country that captured Israel in about 600 B.C. And then, about 200 years later, the Babylonians overthrew Assyria and captured Judah. The word Nineveh means "the home of Nina". Nina was an Assyrian goddess. She was the patron goddess of fishermen and was in fact a fish (or looked like a fish). The fact that the Ninevites worshipped a fish is very important to this story, as you will see.
My next few posts will go through Jonah chapter by chapter, but the one thing that I want to point out now that is important to the message of Jonah is that the people that God tells Jonah to go preach to, the Ninevites, were "the enemy" in the story. They were symbolic of the "wicked and adulterous generation" that Jesus spoke of above because they worshipped many different gods, none of which were our God; however, the distinction is that, where the Ninevites repented of this after Jonah's coming, there are those in the generation that Christ prophesied about that will not repent, and those are spoken of in the Book of Revelation.
So, sit back and enjoy the Book of Jonah. God bless.
Tuesday 25 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 3: The Sheep and the Goats
The parable of the sheep and the goats is the last parable in Matthew 25. It is a parable that describes the Great White Throne Judgment of Christ when He returns to the earth. (If you read Revelation, you find out that this is after the Millenium... but that is a different discussion for a different day.) This is how it goes:
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
"When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, andye took Me in: naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me: I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.' The shall the righteous answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee? or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?' And the King shall answer and say unto them, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.'
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave Me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in: naked, and ye clothed Me not: sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not.' Then shall they also answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when was we Thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee?' Then shall He answer them, saying, 'Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me.' And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."
This parable is almost exactly the same in form as the second parable in Ezekiel 34; however, God only describes the behavior of the goats in Ezekiel. Here is the parable as it appears there (Ezekiel 34:17-28), the entire parable being in spiritual imagery:
"And as for you, O My flock', thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams [Hebrew: 'ayil' = "male sheep"] and the he goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet? And as for My flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet. Therefore' thus saith the Lord God unto them; 'Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even My servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and non shall make them afraid."
So what both parables are saying is that all members of the flock must treat the other members of the flock with respect, and with human decency. Decency dictates that if someone is in trouble, we help them. God's law even dictated that if your enemy was in trouble, that you helped that person. It always gave you the right to defend yourself if an enemy was threatening you, but also to help that person when they are in trouble (and by extension are no threat to you).
This concludes the three parables relating to our behavior in the end times that appear in Ezekiel and Matthew 25. Since we don't know exactly when "the end" will come, if we take heed to the parables during our daily lives, we will be in good standing before God. God bless.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 2: The Three Stewards
This is the second parable in Matthew 25, and it covers the first parable given in Ezekiel 34. Jesus says, starting in verse 14 of Matthew 25:
"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to ever man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
He also that had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.' His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath then talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
I want to make it very clear that I believe that, no matter who you are, you can use your talents for the Lord, and receive His blessings in abundance for doing so. Having said that, I don't believe this parable is applicable to everybody, per se; rather, I believe this parable is specifically directed at the people that have been put in charge of the Lord's household - the pastors. Jesus says it another way in Luke 12:48, where He says, "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
This goes hand in hand with the first parable in Ezekiel 34:
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; 'Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered though all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;' Thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For' thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out.
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."
This parable in Ezekiel lets you know what the stewards/shepherds are meant to do. They are meant to ensure the safety and prosperity of the flock. They are meant to keep the good interest of the flock at heart. Jesus stressed this to Peter three times in John 21: "if you love Me, feed my sheep." This causes the flock to increase and become fruitful, just as the good stewards increased the goods that were bestowed to them. If you have been given talents, use them. If you have been given goods, use them. If you have been given a flock, feed them. All for the glory of God. God bless.
"For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to ever man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
He also that had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.' His lord said unto him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.'
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.' His lord answered and said unto him, 'Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath then talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
I want to make it very clear that I believe that, no matter who you are, you can use your talents for the Lord, and receive His blessings in abundance for doing so. Having said that, I don't believe this parable is applicable to everybody, per se; rather, I believe this parable is specifically directed at the people that have been put in charge of the Lord's household - the pastors. Jesus says it another way in Luke 12:48, where He says, "unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
This goes hand in hand with the first parable in Ezekiel 34:
"And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 'Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; 'Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered though all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, My flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not My flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;' Thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For' thus saith the Lord God; 'Behold, I, even I, will both search My sheep, and seek them out.
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out My sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."
This parable in Ezekiel lets you know what the stewards/shepherds are meant to do. They are meant to ensure the safety and prosperity of the flock. They are meant to keep the good interest of the flock at heart. Jesus stressed this to Peter three times in John 21: "if you love Me, feed my sheep." This causes the flock to increase and become fruitful, just as the good stewards increased the goods that were bestowed to them. If you have been given talents, use them. If you have been given goods, use them. If you have been given a flock, feed them. All for the glory of God. God bless.
Thursday 13 October 2011
Matthew 25, Parable 1: The Ten Virgins
A few posts ago I covered Mark 13. This same speech that Jesus gives in that chapter can also be found in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 (with slight variations in each passage). Matthew 24 has probably the most in-depth account of all three passages, and Matthew 25 is a continuation of the speech that contains three additional parables explaining the after effects of the tribulation. I say the after effects because Jesus is very clear that the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - occurs "then", which is to say after the tribulation described in Matthew 24. The latter two parables describe the judgment that occurs after His return. As I said in a prior post, the parables given in Matthew 25 follow the same pattern of subject matter as Ezekiel 33 and 34. This post will deal with the first parable - the parable of the ten virgins - and some of the references from Old Testament prophecy.
Here is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25:1-13:
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
There are a few different elements to this parable. First, there are the virgins; second, there are the lamps; third, there are the watchmen.
The Virgins
In Scripture, idolatry is equivalent to spiritual adultery. Worshipping other gods was equivalent to breaking the spiritual bond with God and marrying another. The most potent example of this that I can think of is Jeremiah chapter 3. So keeping yourself from idolatry is keeping yourself pure, keeping yourself a virgin. Paul also makes it clear in his second letter to the Corinthians, a letter in which he desperately appears to be attempting to preserve the purity of the church, when he says, "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)." This explains the position of the virgin in the parable. All of the virgins were waiting for the Lord to return... but the requirement that they needed was to know what to expect when He returned, similar to what Paul says. Paul's statement is that Christ's return and what to expect has been plainly stated in the Bible (Jesus had just explained it in Matthew 24 from our example), however, it is other peoples' ideas and doctrines that make it confusing. And Paul says that if you are going to follow them, you might as well admit that you are following them and hope that they can save you, because you are not following what Christ says... which is why He says to the foolish virgins, "I know you not." If you are following someone who does not teach anything about the end times, then that is similar to not having any oil in the lamp. (Further reading on what it means to be a spiritual virgin for Christ can be found in Psalm 45, The Song of Solomon, and Isaiah 50-59.)
The Lamps
The lamp is a source of light. It allows you to see what is going on, what you are doing, and where you are going. Oil is the fuel for the lamp. Oil is the truth. If you have the truth about the end times, you know what to do in a time when most people are in the dark. But what is the truth? Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the Word (see John chapter 1). So, the truth is the Word of God. The entire Bible is instruction in how to live your life, and a large part of it is devoted to the end times. To gain an understanding of the Bible is gathering the oil for a time of darkness. Even if you were to just follow what Jesus did during His ministering period of 3 1/2 years in the gospel, you would be doing what you need to do in the end times because those 3 1/2 years are a prophecy of the last 3 1/2 years of this age. That's what the Teacher of all teachers has taught you in the gospel. So, if you can do the same things that He did during that period (that is to say, to love those around you and to help them through thick and thin, as Christ would and has) then you are doing what is required for that time and will help many. And since we don't know when exactly those last 3 1/2 years are... it's best that we try to act as He did every day.
Just as Paul had said, "[if ye] receive another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might [as] well bear with him," the wise virgins say the same thing to the foolish virgins in this parable. They tell the foolish virgins to go back to the people that they had gotten their truth from in the first place, because their sources didn't give them enough truth to get through the whole of the end times. Does that mean you are doomed if you don't know everything about the end times? No. I don't think that at all; and luckily for anyone that reads this, I am not the authority over who is doomed and who is not. But the more truth you have now, the better prepared you are to do what you have to when the end times come. And my passion is to encourage you to get the truth straight from the Word - the simplicity of Christ.
The Watchmen
This is the most downplayed element of the parable, and yet one of the most important. The person who cries out that the bridegroom is coming is the watchman. This is where Ezekiel 33 comes into the picture. There are two different types of watchmen: there are those that the people set up for themselves, and there are those that God has chosen to be on the watch for the things that He has pronounced in the Bible.
God tells Ezekiel this, saying, "Son of man, speak unto the children of thy People, and say unto them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.'
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:2-9)."
Note the "warning the wicked to turn from his way". This is repentance. This is calling to the people to get them to repent. As I said above about acting like Jesus, Who was the perfect example of how to live in the flesh, Jesus' first message (similar to John the Baptist's) when He went to preach was: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)." This is where Jesus provided the example for the watchmen.
Isaiah also spoke of watchmen that the people had set up for themselves, rather than those chosen by God; watchmen that did not protect the people, causing Isaiah to say, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 'Come ye,' say they, 'I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah 56:9-12).'"
So it is important to know that our own people (the Christian nation) have set up watchmen and shepherds that do not protect the flock. They do not pay heed to the entire Word of God, whereby they would know when to instruct, when to warn, when to protect. Is this every pastor that is out there? No, but it is easy to know these people by the way they preach. Jesus said you would know the tree by it's fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). If you have a pastor that doesn't teach the Word of God - the whole Word of God - because they only want to teach "the easy parts", the parts that everyone can agree on, then you are dealing with one of these greedy dogs. They skip over the warnings that are given, not realizing that the warnings are given to strengthen the flock, so that they will know what to expect (Paul uses this exact method in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he says to take comfort in knowing what is to come). But that is fine. It leaves opportunity for you to discuss their teaching style with them. It leaves opportunity for you to share these passages with them. It leaves opportunity to continue to provide works of love in the church that you are in. It doesn't stop you from continuing to learn the Word of God, to keep gathering your oil, so that you can shine the light of God's Word in the dark hours of the night. So that you can find the way, and lead others, to the wedding when the time is right. God bless.
Here is the parable of the ten virgins from Matthew 25:1-13:
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, 'Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, 'lord, lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."
There are a few different elements to this parable. First, there are the virgins; second, there are the lamps; third, there are the watchmen.
The Virgins
In Scripture, idolatry is equivalent to spiritual adultery. Worshipping other gods was equivalent to breaking the spiritual bond with God and marrying another. The most potent example of this that I can think of is Jeremiah chapter 3. So keeping yourself from idolatry is keeping yourself pure, keeping yourself a virgin. Paul also makes it clear in his second letter to the Corinthians, a letter in which he desperately appears to be attempting to preserve the purity of the church, when he says, "I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:2-4)." This explains the position of the virgin in the parable. All of the virgins were waiting for the Lord to return... but the requirement that they needed was to know what to expect when He returned, similar to what Paul says. Paul's statement is that Christ's return and what to expect has been plainly stated in the Bible (Jesus had just explained it in Matthew 24 from our example), however, it is other peoples' ideas and doctrines that make it confusing. And Paul says that if you are going to follow them, you might as well admit that you are following them and hope that they can save you, because you are not following what Christ says... which is why He says to the foolish virgins, "I know you not." If you are following someone who does not teach anything about the end times, then that is similar to not having any oil in the lamp. (Further reading on what it means to be a spiritual virgin for Christ can be found in Psalm 45, The Song of Solomon, and Isaiah 50-59.)
The Lamps
The lamp is a source of light. It allows you to see what is going on, what you are doing, and where you are going. Oil is the fuel for the lamp. Oil is the truth. If you have the truth about the end times, you know what to do in a time when most people are in the dark. But what is the truth? Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus is the Word (see John chapter 1). So, the truth is the Word of God. The entire Bible is instruction in how to live your life, and a large part of it is devoted to the end times. To gain an understanding of the Bible is gathering the oil for a time of darkness. Even if you were to just follow what Jesus did during His ministering period of 3 1/2 years in the gospel, you would be doing what you need to do in the end times because those 3 1/2 years are a prophecy of the last 3 1/2 years of this age. That's what the Teacher of all teachers has taught you in the gospel. So, if you can do the same things that He did during that period (that is to say, to love those around you and to help them through thick and thin, as Christ would and has) then you are doing what is required for that time and will help many. And since we don't know when exactly those last 3 1/2 years are... it's best that we try to act as He did every day.
Just as Paul had said, "[if ye] receive another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might [as] well bear with him," the wise virgins say the same thing to the foolish virgins in this parable. They tell the foolish virgins to go back to the people that they had gotten their truth from in the first place, because their sources didn't give them enough truth to get through the whole of the end times. Does that mean you are doomed if you don't know everything about the end times? No. I don't think that at all; and luckily for anyone that reads this, I am not the authority over who is doomed and who is not. But the more truth you have now, the better prepared you are to do what you have to when the end times come. And my passion is to encourage you to get the truth straight from the Word - the simplicity of Christ.
The Watchmen
This is the most downplayed element of the parable, and yet one of the most important. The person who cries out that the bridegroom is coming is the watchman. This is where Ezekiel 33 comes into the picture. There are two different types of watchmen: there are those that the people set up for themselves, and there are those that God has chosen to be on the watch for the things that He has pronounced in the Bible.
God tells Ezekiel this, saying, "Son of man, speak unto the children of thy People, and say unto them, 'When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.'
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at My mouth, and warn them from Me. When I say unto the wicked, 'O wicked man, thou shalt surely die;' if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul (Ezekiel 33:2-9)."
Note the "warning the wicked to turn from his way". This is repentance. This is calling to the people to get them to repent. As I said above about acting like Jesus, Who was the perfect example of how to live in the flesh, Jesus' first message (similar to John the Baptist's) when He went to preach was: "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)." This is where Jesus provided the example for the watchmen.
Isaiah also spoke of watchmen that the people had set up for themselves, rather than those chosen by God; watchmen that did not protect the people, causing Isaiah to say, "All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. 'Come ye,' say they, 'I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant (Isaiah 56:9-12).'"
So it is important to know that our own people (the Christian nation) have set up watchmen and shepherds that do not protect the flock. They do not pay heed to the entire Word of God, whereby they would know when to instruct, when to warn, when to protect. Is this every pastor that is out there? No, but it is easy to know these people by the way they preach. Jesus said you would know the tree by it's fruit (Matthew 7:15-20). If you have a pastor that doesn't teach the Word of God - the whole Word of God - because they only want to teach "the easy parts", the parts that everyone can agree on, then you are dealing with one of these greedy dogs. They skip over the warnings that are given, not realizing that the warnings are given to strengthen the flock, so that they will know what to expect (Paul uses this exact method in 2 Thessalonians 2 when he says to take comfort in knowing what is to come). But that is fine. It leaves opportunity for you to discuss their teaching style with them. It leaves opportunity for you to share these passages with them. It leaves opportunity to continue to provide works of love in the church that you are in. It doesn't stop you from continuing to learn the Word of God, to keep gathering your oil, so that you can shine the light of God's Word in the dark hours of the night. So that you can find the way, and lead others, to the wedding when the time is right. God bless.
Tuesday 11 October 2011
The Feast of Tabernacles
The prior post was about the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) which is celebrated (according to Biblical account) on the 10th day of the seventh month - this has now become the "first month" on the Jewish calendar. This post is about the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) which begins on the 15th day of the seventh month and runs for eight days. The instruction relating to the Feast of Tabernacles can be found in Leviticus 23:34-43:
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
The Feast of Tabernacles is a special time for me. It is when I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The reason for this being such: to me, "dwelling in a tabernacle" means to live in this mortal flesh body. Jesus Christ came to dwell in a mortal body in order to set us free from the bondage of sin (the word "Egypt" is from the root "bondage" in Hebrew) by His death on the cross. Also, in John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The word "dwelt" is the Greek word "skenoo" which literally means "to build a tabernacle". This word is only ever used by John and is used once in this reference and four other times in the Book of Revelation. Therefore, if Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, then His birth would be on the first sabbath of the feast, and His circumcision (dedication to God) would be on the second sabbath of the feast. Two times to celebrate in the feast week.
I also love the image of the trees in the feast week. Trees are symbolic of the spiritual body - they (figuratively) live for ever. God calls Himself a "green fir tree" (which is ever green) in Hosea 14:8. There were many trees in the Garden of Eden, one of which was the Tree of Life - Who is Jesus Christ. (Ezekiel 31 also describes the story of the trees in the Garden of Eden.) So the imagery of the trees waving their boughs in celebration reminds me of two very happy celebrations in the Bible. The first is described by Isaiah: "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12)." The second is known as the "triumphal entry" of Jesus Christ, or "Palm Sunday", when He came to Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion (as described in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Granted, the triumphal entry did not occur during the Feast of Tabernacles, but the imagery is the same. This is where the crowds carpeted the way for Jesus' entry into the city by throwing down their clothes and also branches from the nearby palm trees and shouted, "Hosanna!" (which is Hebrew for "Save us now!") and, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!"... both of these sayings being found in Psalm 118.
Beautiful imagery for the Feast of Tabernacles, and truly a time to celebrate when the Word of God came and tabernacled with us. God bless.
"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the Lord. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the Lord.
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
The Feast of Tabernacles is a special time for me. It is when I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The reason for this being such: to me, "dwelling in a tabernacle" means to live in this mortal flesh body. Jesus Christ came to dwell in a mortal body in order to set us free from the bondage of sin (the word "Egypt" is from the root "bondage" in Hebrew) by His death on the cross. Also, in John 1:14, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The word "dwelt" is the Greek word "skenoo" which literally means "to build a tabernacle". This word is only ever used by John and is used once in this reference and four other times in the Book of Revelation. Therefore, if Jesus was born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, then His birth would be on the first sabbath of the feast, and His circumcision (dedication to God) would be on the second sabbath of the feast. Two times to celebrate in the feast week.
I also love the image of the trees in the feast week. Trees are symbolic of the spiritual body - they (figuratively) live for ever. God calls Himself a "green fir tree" (which is ever green) in Hosea 14:8. There were many trees in the Garden of Eden, one of which was the Tree of Life - Who is Jesus Christ. (Ezekiel 31 also describes the story of the trees in the Garden of Eden.) So the imagery of the trees waving their boughs in celebration reminds me of two very happy celebrations in the Bible. The first is described by Isaiah: "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12)." The second is known as the "triumphal entry" of Jesus Christ, or "Palm Sunday", when He came to Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion (as described in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12). Granted, the triumphal entry did not occur during the Feast of Tabernacles, but the imagery is the same. This is where the crowds carpeted the way for Jesus' entry into the city by throwing down their clothes and also branches from the nearby palm trees and shouted, "Hosanna!" (which is Hebrew for "Save us now!") and, "Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord!"... both of these sayings being found in Psalm 118.
Beautiful imagery for the Feast of Tabernacles, and truly a time to celebrate when the Word of God came and tabernacled with us. God bless.
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Day of Atonement
Before going into Jesus' three parables from Matthew 25, I will post a couple of elliptical posts concerning the feast days that are quickly approaching. These concern the Day of Atonement and the the Feast of Tabernacles.
From sundown on October 7 to sundown on October 8, 2011 is the Day of Atonement. This was described by God to Moses in Leviticus 23:27-32:
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."
The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom" and the word for "atonement" in the passage is "kippur", which is where the term Yom Kippur on the Jewish calendar comes from. The word "kippur" comes from the root "kaphar", which has several different interpretations: to cover, to purge, to make atonement, to reconcile. Interestingly enough, it is translated as "pitch" in Genesis 6:14, when Noah was building the ark for the approaching flood. The pitch was the material that coated and protected the boards of the ark to ensure that the boat was water-tight. It kept the boards together; it repaired the breaches between the boards; it ensured that the boat did not sink. Similarly, we of the Church can be seen as the boards of the boat. Our actions towards one another show how we love each other, keep the boat together, and keep it from sinking. So the method of atonement that reconciles us with God, is also our method of treating one another and reconciles us to one another. We humble ourselves before God and before each other, by helping each other, and this is how we afflict our souls... and make atonement. (Not surprisingly, through excellent Spiritual timing, this post will tie together with the results that occur in the last parable of Matthew 25.)
There are a couple of caveats to this. First, observing this sabbath as a matter of ritual - for ritual's sake - is not recommended. As God said through His prophet, "For I desired mercy [i.e. love], and not sacrifice; and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)." Second, observing the sabbath to create a spectacle is heavily frowned upon. This message was given to us by two powerful witnesses: Isaiah (by word of God) and Jesus. First, Isaiah 58 is an awesome source on what is a pleasing day to afflict your soul for God.
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My People their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. "Wherefore have we fasted," say they, "and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, "Here I am." If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Jesus also spoke of an acceptable fast (day to afflict the soul) in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father Which is in secret: and thy Father, Which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18)." This echoes the same message as was given in Isaiah, and I believe was Jesus' reference when He spoke it.
The pleasing affliction to God is to humble ourselves to help one another, for each other's general good and not for show. This is how we are instructed to keep the boat together and is important in the time of the approaching flood. God bless.
From sundown on October 7 to sundown on October 8, 2011 is the Day of Atonement. This was described by God to Moses in Leviticus 23:27-32:
"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."
The Hebrew word for "day" is "yom" and the word for "atonement" in the passage is "kippur", which is where the term Yom Kippur on the Jewish calendar comes from. The word "kippur" comes from the root "kaphar", which has several different interpretations: to cover, to purge, to make atonement, to reconcile. Interestingly enough, it is translated as "pitch" in Genesis 6:14, when Noah was building the ark for the approaching flood. The pitch was the material that coated and protected the boards of the ark to ensure that the boat was water-tight. It kept the boards together; it repaired the breaches between the boards; it ensured that the boat did not sink. Similarly, we of the Church can be seen as the boards of the boat. Our actions towards one another show how we love each other, keep the boat together, and keep it from sinking. So the method of atonement that reconciles us with God, is also our method of treating one another and reconciles us to one another. We humble ourselves before God and before each other, by helping each other, and this is how we afflict our souls... and make atonement. (Not surprisingly, through excellent Spiritual timing, this post will tie together with the results that occur in the last parable of Matthew 25.)
There are a couple of caveats to this. First, observing this sabbath as a matter of ritual - for ritual's sake - is not recommended. As God said through His prophet, "For I desired mercy [i.e. love], and not sacrifice; and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6)." Second, observing the sabbath to create a spectacle is heavily frowned upon. This message was given to us by two powerful witnesses: Isaiah (by word of God) and Jesus. First, Isaiah 58 is an awesome source on what is a pleasing day to afflict your soul for God.
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My People their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. "Wherefore have we fasted," say they, "and Thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and He shall say, "Here I am." If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
Jesus also spoke of an acceptable fast (day to afflict the soul) in the Sermon on the Mount, saying, "Moreover, when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father Which is in secret: and thy Father, Which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly (Matthew 6:16-18)." This echoes the same message as was given in Isaiah, and I believe was Jesus' reference when He spoke it.
The pleasing affliction to God is to humble ourselves to help one another, for each other's general good and not for show. This is how we are instructed to keep the boat together and is important in the time of the approaching flood. God bless.
Tuesday 4 October 2011
He That Is Without Sin Among You, Let Him First Cast a Stone At Her...
In the last post I discussed the different configurations of the altar, which is an approach to worship. One configuration is made of stone, which to me represents the laws of God. (God gave numerous laws on how to worship Him.) But a problem arises when people begin to take the laws - that is the stones - and begin to huck them at each other in judgment. That is the imagery that I get from stoning someone - that the people who are stoning are literally hurling pieces of the law at a person to condemn that person to death. The problem is that no one person has not sinned in their lifetime. Paul says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 2:23);" therefore, all are worthy of death by the law. But Jesus said, "judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1)." In the Lord's prayer, we ask to be forgiven our sins just as we forgive others who sin against us (Matthew 6:9-15).
Another problem arises when a person changes the law to cast judgment on people. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, this is what happened with the crowd that wanted Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman that they had caught in adultery in John 8. The crowd told Jesus that "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned (John 8:5);" but the question is... which law are they referring to? There are a few possibilities:
#1 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10)."
#2 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman (Deuteronomy 22:22)."
#3 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)..."
#4 - The law of jealousies in Numbers 5:12-31, for which there is no stoning.
By Jesus' reaction to the accusation, it would appear that the accusation is most in line with the law of jealousies. Jesus stoops down and begins to write in the dust, which is very close to what is required for the law of jealousies. But other than that, the entire accusation seems pretty fishy: the adulterous man is nowhere to be found to prove the story (and suffer also in the punishment); the husband of the woman is nowhere around to make the accusation against his wife; and, there is no law noted above that states that the adulterous wife "should be stoned;" only a betrothed virgin was to be stoned. Was the "wife" put to death? Yes. Stoned? No.
The crowd had misquoted and changed the law just enough whereby it had been polluted.
Regardless, Jesus still carries out the portion that the priest would according to the law of jealousies (as best He could with the materials that were available), then He leaves it to the crowd to determine if they will continue on with their accusations by stating, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7)." When the crowd realizes to condemn the woman is really to condemn themselves, they back off and walk away - allowing the grace of God to redeem this woman from death.
The message that I get from this is that we use the law in a pleasing way, to worship God, and to guide our own actions, but we don't start dismantling the stone altar to hurl the stones at someone else. We are also meant to forgive each other our trespasses. Judge not, lest ye be judged. God bless.
Another problem arises when a person changes the law to cast judgment on people. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, this is what happened with the crowd that wanted Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman that they had caught in adultery in John 8. The crowd told Jesus that "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned (John 8:5);" but the question is... which law are they referring to? There are a few possibilities:
#1 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10)."
#2 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman (Deuteronomy 22:22)."
#3 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)..."
#4 - The law of jealousies in Numbers 5:12-31, for which there is no stoning.
By Jesus' reaction to the accusation, it would appear that the accusation is most in line with the law of jealousies. Jesus stoops down and begins to write in the dust, which is very close to what is required for the law of jealousies. But other than that, the entire accusation seems pretty fishy: the adulterous man is nowhere to be found to prove the story (and suffer also in the punishment); the husband of the woman is nowhere around to make the accusation against his wife; and, there is no law noted above that states that the adulterous wife "should be stoned;" only a betrothed virgin was to be stoned. Was the "wife" put to death? Yes. Stoned? No.
The crowd had misquoted and changed the law just enough whereby it had been polluted.
Regardless, Jesus still carries out the portion that the priest would according to the law of jealousies (as best He could with the materials that were available), then He leaves it to the crowd to determine if they will continue on with their accusations by stating, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7)." When the crowd realizes to condemn the woman is really to condemn themselves, they back off and walk away - allowing the grace of God to redeem this woman from death.
The message that I get from this is that we use the law in a pleasing way, to worship God, and to guide our own actions, but we don't start dismantling the stone altar to hurl the stones at someone else. We are also meant to forgive each other our trespasses. Judge not, lest ye be judged. God bless.
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