Tilling and Planting

Tag: Birth of Jesus

  • The Tabernacle Lifestyle

    The Tabernacle Lifestyle

    Intro

    I teased it at the end of my last post and here it is! Today I talk about what the Feast of Tabernacles is (and what a tabernacle even is) and how to see Jesus in it. Like Passover, it’s a little more obvious than some. But I’m getting ahead of myself. But first I need to define what a tabernacle is. After that, I can explain the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot in Hebrew) and then show you all how it points to Jesus.

    What is a Tabernacle?

    First off, it must be known that, outside of the Bible and Jewish/Christian significance, there isn’t any simple definition that a culture would use the word “tabernacle” for. In Hebrew, the word means “Residence” or “Dwelling place”. It was the word used in the Old Testament to refer to the place where God dwelt among them; simply called The Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting. And it’s in that other name that we can get a simple enough image for our purposes: a tent. Are you all good with that simple definition? Cool. Let’s move on.

    Why is there a Feast for Tabernacles?

    First of all, it’s not a feast for tabernacles. The Jews don’t celebrate the tabernacle as a concept. And it’s also not a feast to remember The Tabernacle that God directed the Israelites to make as His dwelling place. So, then, what is it? The feast begins on the 15th day of the seventh month (Tishri) on the Jewish calendar. This first day is a special day in which no work is to be done – much like the weekly Sabbath day. Then the feast would continue for the next seven days and during those days, all Jews live in a tent-like (or tabernacle-like) structure. The Old Testament instructs the Jews to build these tabernacles out of various branches and leaves – signifying these dwellings are only temporary.

    Here’s the full description found in Leviticus 23.

    The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

    (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.)

    “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

    Leviticus 23:33-43 (NIV)

    Where it says “Live in temporary shelters”, is the Hebrew word “tabernacle”. Hence the name. I won’t discuss it here, but this passage only hints at the sacrifices made. Numbers 29 gives the full breakdown and it is an interesting read.

    Each of the feasts I’ve discussed so far is a commemoration of some sort. This one remembers the time in the wilderness when the Israelites lived in tents and relied on God for His provision. The provision aspect of this is largely remembered in the sacrifices made during this time as well as the timing of it occurring at the end of the harvest season.

    Where is Jesus in this Feast?

    So now the question is, how does Jesus fit into this feast? John gives us the first hint in his gospel when he says that the Word “made His dwelling among us” (John 1:14). See that word “dwelling”? The word used here is the Greek equivalent of “tabernacle”. So John is saying that Christ “tabernacled” among us. So the first way that Jesus relates through this festival is the simple fact that just as God was with the Israelites in the wilderness, so Jesus came and lived among men.

    First or Second Coming

    In addition, some scholars believe (and I agree) that Jesus’ birth may have occurred near or during the Feast of Tabernacles. After all, one of Jesus’ names is Immanuel – God with us. And as I went over in one of my posts on Jesus’ birth, He most likely was born in September-October, which is when this festival occurs on the Gregorian calendar. The big theme here is God dwelling with man.

    Of course when talking about Jesus coming and dwelling with man, there arises with this festival the question about whether it points to His first or second coming. I already mentioned the first, so let’s look at the second. Some scholars think that rather than Jesus’ first coming, this festival was designed to point to Jesus’ second coming. And while the argument certainly can be made because Jesus will return to live (dwell) with mankind, I disagree for the primary reason that the Jews living in a tabernacle is temporary. They’re not meant to remember their ancestors living in tents in the wilderness as permanent. And Jesus’ first coming was only temporary, but His second coming will go from 1000 years straight into eternity – a permanent arrangement.

    Provision

    Another key aspect is provision. So how does Jesus fulfill that? Jesus repeatedly refers to turning to God for provision. In addition, Jesus refers to Himself as the source of many things. Things such as “living water”, salvation, the Truth, the Life, etc. He provides us with all these and more.

    The Water of Life

    A point on the living water. One ritual that developed over the years that occurs during the Feast of Tabernacles is a ceremony of a pouring out of water on the last day. This ceremony was based on several passages on life-giving water. Life-giving water you say? Look at what Jesus says in John 7.

    On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

    John 7:37-38 (NIV)

    And this is just one of the many places Jesus uses water imagery. By the way, did you notice verse 37 references the last day of a festival? What festival was this? If you guessed the Feast of Tabernacles, you’re right. John 7 records several things Jesus did during this festival. It’s pretty powerful. He clearly was trying to show how the festival points to Him.

    Wrapping Up

    The takeaway from this post is that God is with you. Always. And you can rely on Him to provide for you. Always. And I’m not trying to preach that at you, I need this reminder as well. But I’m learning to trust Him. And I hope you are as well. See you next time when I tackle the festival all about the trumpets.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Christmas Characters: Part 4

    Christmas Characters: Part 4

    Intro

    It’s taken a while, but I’m finally at the end of my Christmas Characters series. For those of you who prefer to keep Christmas in December, I’m sure you’re quite relieved. For the rest of you who don’t mind Christmas in July, you probably wouldn’t mind a few more Christmas-themed posts. But I’ve got other topics I’d like to cover so I’ll stop here and pick up Christmas again later this year.

    But now on to the main event! Today I’m talking about takeaways from the groups of people that came to visit Jesus unannounced. Yep, that’s right. I’m talking about the lowly Shepherds and the wealthy Magi (or Wise Men).

    The Shepherds

    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

    Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

    “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

    When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

    So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

    Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)

    We don’t get a whole lot about the shepherds – we don’t even know how many there were. What we do know is that these shepherds lived out in the fields just outside of Bethlehem. And we see that they dutifully watched the sheep – even through the night. Shepherding is a hard job that requires constant attention. It takes a special kind of person to do such a job. Perhaps that’s why – unlike many ancient cultures – the Jewish culture actually respected shepherds to a degree (except for the wealthy, but they tended to look down on everyone). So, the traditional idea of God choosing the lowest-of-the-low to be the first isn’t 100% accurate. Sure, they were still a bit dirty and probably smelled of sheep, but they were fairly respected people.

    Not Ordinary Shepherds

    And that’s especially true if you believe that these were more than just ordinary shepherds. The fact that they lived in the fields is particularly noteworthy since the Mishnah (a group of traditions that governed the Jewish people after the Maccabean revolt) requires that sheep be kept out in the wilderness – not in homes or fields since they’d eat the crops. Of course it’s also noteworthy that the fact they were able to be in fields indicates the time of year had to be during harvest season and the time when there were no crops left (June/July – September/October).

    Back to the requirements found in the Mishnah. The exception to this rule goes to the sheep raised for the Temple sacrifices. Since those sheep needed to be blemish-free, they were raised in the safety of fields and more carefully watched over. In addition, the job of raising these important sheep fell to priests. And lastly, it’s known that the fields around Bethlehem were indeed used for such sheep-raising. So given all this, the first people God chose to announce Jesus’ birth to were actually shepherd-priests. More respected people who would have heard the angel’s message and understood some of the things said more readily than the traditionally imagined uneducated lowly outcast of a shepherd.

    Their Response

    When the angel declared who Jesus was (Savior, Messiah, Lord), these shepherd-priests would have recognized and understood what each of them meant and their significance – far better than any uneducated shepherd. Couple that with the presence of so many angels, and it’s no wonder that the shepherds jumped up and said “we need to see this baby for ourselves!” And when they got there and saw Jesus in a manger as the angel said, they rejoiced and became the first evangelists for Jesus telling everyone they could about it. And even though Luke records that everyone was “amazed” by what the shepherds said, that amazement probably came in the form of amazed that respected priests were running around like this talking about a baby.

    Takeaways

    So what takeaways do I have for you? When God tells you to do something, do it. The angels told the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and they did. No questions asked. Second, when God does something in your life, tell people about it. Your story can encourage others and give them hope. The shepherds told anyone and everyone they could about the infant Jesus and what the angels said. And third, don’t be afraid to do something out of pure joy, even if others say you look foolish. The shepherds probably looked a little foolish running around town like that, but they didn’t care.

    The Magi

    Perhaps the most mysterious of the Christmas characters are the people we call the Magi or Wise Men. We get very little about them from the Bible. Matthew records their story in only a handful of verses. Check them out.

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

    When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

    “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
        are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
    for out of you will come a ruler
        who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

    Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

    After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

    Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV)

    We get almost nothing about who these guys are or where they came from. And like the shepherds, we have no clue how many of them there were. We traditionally use three because of the three gifts they brought. But there very likely were more. What we see is that the Magi came from “the East”. Not real descriptive. Probably was east of the Jordan river, but that’s still a large area. Common beliefs include as close as Jordan or northern Saudi Arabia to as far as Persia (modern day Iran).

    A couple of things we can derive from the text is that they were very wealthy. The gifts they brought are a testament to that. After all, not everyone has gold lying around to give as a gift. And same with both frankincense and myrrh – both were very expensive to have around. So we know from their gifts that the Magi were wealthy people. We also see that they paid attention to the heavens and studied the celestial bodies to understand signs and such. Many people in the land of Judea missed the Star of Bethlehem and yet these foreigners come into Jerusalem asking about the king of the Jews.

    A couple of other notes is they travelled a great distance to honor a Jewish king. This might suggest that their people had relations with the Jews already. And lastly, I want to point out that they were religious in some form. After all, God warned them not to return to Herod via a dream and they obeyed.

    Who Were They?

    Persian/Babylonian

    I’m going to discuss a couple of the most prominent theories as to just who the Magi were and where they came from. The more traditional theory is that they were of some order of astrologers or priests that served in the ancient Babylonian and Persian courts. Think back to Nebuchadnezzar and his court. He had a bunch of wise men who couldn’t interpret his dream and then Daniel walked and said, “here it is”. Some have speculated that these Magi studied Daniel’s prophecies and recognized the time as when the king of the Jews (the Messiah) was to be born.

    While this could be true, the evidence isn’t terribly strong. For instance, we don’t know if those ancient orders were still active during the first centuries BC and AD. After all, those lands were under a totally different empire (Parthian) and we’re not sure if they had anything similar in their courts. To be sure, these people would fulfill the parts we do know about them being from the East and being wealthy enough to have and purchase the gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

    Nabatean

    Another theory that’s growing in prominence is that they were Nabataean. The Kingdom of Nabataea encompassed parts of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Sinai. So they’d fit the Easterly requirement. In addition, they had great relations with the Jews. Herod the Great’s mother was Nabataean and he maintained political ties with them through his reign. So it could easily make sense that the Nabataean’s would want to honor a new Jewish king – especially since they were renowned traders and would desire to maintain strong relations with any nation they did business with.

    Furthermore, Nabataean’s held a virtual monopoly on the trade of Frankincense. In fact, they dealt in Myrrh as well and had gold in abundance. So even if the Magi did not come from here, they probably purchased some of their gifts from the Nabataean traders, who, by the way, would have been very familiar with the stars for navigating the desert at night.

    Takeaways

    In the end, it doesn’t matter a whole lot who they were. I personally grew up believing they were from the Babylonian/Persian area and adopted the belief that they were familiar with Daniel’s prophecies. But honestly, I’m starting to lean toward the Nabataean theory. Regardless of where they came from, the takeaways are the same. First, they recognized God doing something significant. They likely knew the positions and types of stars and other celestial bodies by heart and would have noticed the craziness of everything going on during those couple of years leading up to Jesus’ birth and beyond (check out my post on what the Star of Bethlehem likely was for more detail). For us, the takeaway is to be so immersed in know the Word of God and His Spirit that you recognize when God is moving and can respond and partner with Him.

    Second, is that they showed great honor and worshipped the King of kings – long before He did anything. This is powerful. Today we must do the same and show God honor and give Him worship – even before we see any miracles, any answers to prayer, etc.

    Wrapping Up

    The biggest takeaways with these groups of people probably have to do with worship and telling people about Jesus. And not just at Christmas. It seems that people are more likely to talk about Jesus at Christmas and Easter, but not in June. We should be open to talking about Him all year round.

    By the way, did you notice any major themes that links all the Christmas Characters? Some of the most cross-cutting themes were Obedience, Hope, Devotion to God, and Spreading His messages. And I think if we practice all these things, we’ll find the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10).

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Christmas Characters: Part 3

    Christmas Characters: Part 3

    Intro

    Sorry, I’m not done talking about Christmas yet. Given that I skipped a post in December, I kinda feel obligated to continue to talk about Christmas and make up for missing that one. The last two posts have been a part of a series discussing the major characters in the Christmas story and what we can learn from their lives. So far I’ve talked about Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and Anna. For part three of this series, I’m going to bring out two of the primary players in this story: Mary and Joseph, Jesus’ parents.

    Who Were They?

    So beyond the obvious of being the parents of the savior of the world, who were these two people? Honestly, they’d be considered nobodies. Neither of them were wealthy or prominent. We know that because Luke records that they brought either a pair of doves or a pair of pigeons (Luke 2:24) and according to Leviticus 12:8, either of these are acceptable offerings if the mother cannot afford a lamb.

    But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons

    Leviticus 12:8a (NIV)

    We also know that they lived in Nazareth in Galilee (Luke 1:26). And they were both descendants of King David – Matthew and Luke both record lineages. But what else can we glean – either explicitly or not – from the Bible? Let’s examine each in turn.

    Mary

    Who was Mary? What do we know about her? Here’s the introduction that Luke gives her.

     In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

    Luke 1:26-28 (NIV)

    So from Luke’s introduction, we can see that she lived in Nazareth of Galilee, she was still a virgin, and she was pledged to be married to Joseph, who was a descendant of David. Another thing we can glean from Gabriel’s greeting is that she found favor with God. When the Bible talks about people finding favor with God, that is a strong indicator that they were upright people who held to the law and had a tender heart to God. God saw them as people He could use more effectively because they’d be more willing to listen and were generally more sensitive to hearing His voice speak. We don’t know if Mary ever heard God whisper to her, but she likely had a more sensitive spirit so when He did start speaking to and through her (I’ll get to that later), she listened and obeyed.

    We also know that Mary was a descendant of David based on Luke’s lineage of Mary as well as Gabriel telling her that Jesus would sit on the throne of his father David. Since no man would be involved in Jesus’ conception, it makes sense to conclude that Mary also came from David’s line.

    Something else we know about Mary is that she was very young. In that day, many cultures married off the women as teenagers, as young as 13. So Mary very well could have been only 13 when the angel paid her a visit. Even if she was a bit older, I reckon not any older than 16. That’s still very young.

    Servant of God

    I talked already a bit about her sensitivity to God and willingness to listen and obey. Here’s a statement recorded by Luke straight from Mary’s mouth.

    “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

    Luke 1:38 (NIV)

    We can see from here that Mary was willing to submit herself to God’s plan even though it would cost her greatly. What do I mean by that? In Jewish law, a woman found to be pregnant out of wedlock was to be stoned. And since she was betrothed, all Joseph would have to do was deny that the child was his and Mary’s life was forfeit. Being pregnant and unmarried set Mary up for long period of hardship where people would shun and reject her. And at this time, she had no clue what Joseph would do. Would he believe her story? If not, she knew he could have her stoned or at least reject her and break off their engagement. Mary probably suspected she would live long enough to give birth – since Gabriel promised as much – but beyond that…

    The last little bit I want to touch on with Mary as a servant of God is found in Luke 2. It’s referred to as Mary’s Song. When Mary visited Elizabeth (her relative, I go over their relationship in my post on her and Zechariah), Elizabeth’s unborn baby leaped within her and she greeted Mary with a Spirit-filled greeting. This prompted a Spirit-filled song (like one of the Psalm’s) to burst forth from Mary. This is a great example of Mary being sensitive to God’s Spirit and hearing His voice and responding.

    Mary’s Confusion

    Luke also records a bit of confusion and seeming doubt on Mary’s part.

     “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

    Luke 1:34 (NIV)

    Mary’s question here is valid. As a teenage girl, unmarried and still a virgin, this makes no sense. So she asked for clarification. And the angel explained to her that Holy Spirit would be the agent by which it would happen. Mary accepted this explanation and accepted God’s plan for her. This is distinctly different from when Zechariah questioned Gabriel. When he questioned the angel, he wanted a sign that it would happen. Despite the presence of the angel, he refused to conceive of the idea that now in his and Elizabeth’s old age after decades of praying for a child, God would show up and do it – despite all the times God has done such things in the past.

    That’s why Zechariah was made silent and Mary got a proper answer to her question. She didn’t doubt that God would do what He said – nor demand an additional sign – she just wanted to understand the mechanism by which He would do it since the concept wasn’t computing. In short, Zechariah just refused to believe because he lost hope (and was probably a bit bitter) and Mary just didn’t understand the how.

    Takeaways

    So what are some takeaways from Mary’s life (at least this part)? First and foremost, submission to God. Mary submitted to God’s plan for her life. She chose to be His willing servant and bear the Messiah. She knew it would not be an easy life, but she was willing to go through with it.

    Second, take courage that God is with you. Several things happened that reminded Mary of God’s love for her and that He was with her. The angel indicated as much by telling her about Holy Spirit coming on her, I believe Elizabeth’s Spirit-filled greeting served as an encouragement to her, and not to mention the encounters with Simeon and Anna in the temple also would have served to remind her that God sees her and is with her. No matter the difficult journey (also hinted at by Simeon).

    Third, it’s okay to be confused. God will not be upset if you are confused the first time He tells you something. God says a lot of things that we just can’t comprehend. His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. So if God tells you something and you’re confused, seek clarification. If you honestly don’t understand, ask Him. He may not answer immediately, but He will guide you when you need it. When whatever He spoke to you comes to fulfilment, He will let you know. You can also seek out wiser mentors who might be able to bring clarity. They also might affirm that you just need to wait, but at least you can have greater confidence that God will bring the clarity later.

    Joseph

    So, now what about Joseph? Who was he? I already referenced Luke who says he was a descendant of David. And since we know he met Mary and her family and got betrothed to Mary, he also would be living in Nazareth. The other big thing we know about Joseph doesn’t come from his introduction here, but rather when Jesus preached in Nazareth many years later. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” they ask (Matthew 13:55 NIV). Now, the Greek there actually more accurately translated as “craftsman” rather than “carpenter”. So Joseph – and Jesus before starting His ministry – were some sort of builder. They likely worked in multiple materials depending on the job. We traditionally call Joseph a carpenter and while he probably worked in wood, I imagine he also worked with stone – another very common building material.

    Moving on, Matthew’s intro to Joseph has this to say about him.

    Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

    Matthew 1:19 (NIV)

    Some translations say “righteous” instead of “faithful to the law”. And while they essentially mean the same, righteous does have a connotation that extends beyond simply adhering to the letter of the law. And we see that in the next statement that he did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace. That’s a testament to the kind of man Joseph was. He had every right under the law to drag Mary before the religious leaders, reveal her pregnancy, call her adulterous – because the child wasn’t his – and have her stoned to death. But he didn’t. He instead decided he would simply end the relationship quietly. So like Mary, he was a person who was ripe for God to use.

    Spirit-Sensitive

    Joseph also seemed to be sensitive in some way to the voice of God. But like Mary, we don’t know how much experience he had prior to this time, but I like to think that both of them had some history with it. Joseph, at least, I think had dreams or visions in the past that prepared him for an angel appearing to him in a dream – unlike in the middle of the day like Mary – and telling him to take Mary as his wife because the child was from God. And he listened! He didn’t chalk it up to anything else. He immediately recognized it and obeyed.

    And he had several more such dreams after this. An angel directed him to go to Egypt, while in Egypt and angel told him it was safe to return to Judea, and when returning to Judea, an angel told him to settle in Nazareth again. Man, I would love to have those kinds of dreams. Or wide awake visitations from angels.

    Anything Else?

    There’s not a whole lot else we can glean about Joseph from the Christmas story. Or even from Scripture in general. We assume that he passed away at some point since he never appears again. And Jesus likely took over the family business after that until He started His ministry at 30. At which point His brothers probably took over.

    Takeaways

    So what takeaways do we get for Joseph? First, like Mary, submission to God. He too had a choice and when confronted by an angel and commanded to take Mary as his wife, he obeyed. This put him under fire as well. Nobody would believe that a virgin conceived a child and yet Mary – I’m sure – denied committing adultery. Joseph probably denied being the father and also denied Mary’s affair. But most people would believe that somebody’s lying. And because Joseph still took Mary as his wife, many probably assumed he was actually the father of the child and they just got started a bit early.

    Secondly, showing kindness, compassion, and mercy. Even when someone wrongs you – or you perceive that they wronged you. In Joseph’s case, he initially perceived that Mary had betrayed him, but rather than getting full justice, he chose to show compassion and mercy by ending it quietly. That way Mary could be free to raise the child and even marry the man with whom she had the perceived affair.

    Wrapping Up

    The biggest takeaway in common between Mary and Joseph is their submission to God in the face of trials. They both knew the road ahead would be difficult. But they chose to obey in spite of that. I think we all could do better in that. I know I sure could. God help us all to hear your voice and obey more quickly, more readily, and not let the fear of man overcome that. Amen.

    Despite it being January, I’m not done with my Christmas Characters yet! Lol, stay tuned for my next post where I finally tackle the groups of characters that we all know and love. The Shepherds and the Magi. I’m eager to share with you what we can learn from them – as well as learn about them.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Christmas Characters: Part 2

    Christmas Characters: Part 2

    Intro

    Thanksgiving is over and December is here, therefore Christmas season is in full swing and officially here! (Though it did seem to be in full swing even before Thanksgiving with all the decor in the stores, but that’s another story.) I’m glad you came back to read part two in my four part series: Christmas Characters. Today’s characters I’m looking at are Simeon and Anna. These two people worshipped in the temple daily for decades. Both were incredibly prophetic and had some amazing (and hard) things to say to Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus. So let’s jump right into it.

    Who Were They?

    These two Christmas Characters could actually be considered barely a part of Christmas. After all, they didn’t come to see Jesus and it’s 8 days after His birth before they do see him. But that doesn’t really matter. What matters more is that they recognized Jesus as the Messiah while He was still an infant. This is going to be the common thread for all the Christmas Characters.

    Back to the characters, I already hinted that both Simeon and Anna were incredibly gifted in prophecy. And both were also pretty old. Though the Bible only calls out Anna as old. It doesn’t give any indication on just how old Simeon was. But there’s a couple of specific lines in there that I believe suggest he was getting up there in age. I’ll explain more about that later. But for now, ladies first.

    Anna

    There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

    Luke 2:36-37 (NIV)

    We know a bit more about Anna than we do Simeon. For instance, Anna came from the tribe of Asher and her father’s name was Penuel. We also know that she got married and lived with her husband for seven years until he passed away. Plus, Luke records her as a prophetess. And finally, she lived at the temple and prayed day and night until she was 84. The original text could actually be translated as saying she was a widow for 84 years after her husbands death. That would put her over 100 years old by this point! Either way, Anna spent the majority of her live devoted to God, fasting, praying, and worshipping at the temple without ever leaving. That’s powerful.

    I find it interesting that she didn’t actually leave. Did the priests give her living quarters because they recognized her as a prophetess? In those days, widows were supposed to be taken care of by family if they never got remarried. So the fact that she lived at the temple could also suggest that there was no family nearby who could help her. Perhaps her family lived too far from Jerusalem and the temple that she so longed to be near. Or perhaps most of her family wasn’t living or were unwilling to help. Who knows. In any event, she lived in the temple day and night and devoted herself to God.

    The results of being totally devoted to God were that she was regarded as a prophetess by all and she immediately recognized Jesus as being the Messiah. Verse 38 tells us that when she saw baby Jesus “she gave thanks to God” and then proceeded to talk about Jesus to ” all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

    Takeaways

    As with my last post, I will point out key takeaways from the lives of each Christmas Character. For Anna, I think it’s pretty obvious. Living a life of devotion to God. Now that doesn’t mean you should go and live at your church and do nothing else but worship and pray (and eat and sleep, presumably). For one, I don’t know about your church but ours doesn’t have showers, so if you don’t go somewhere else to take one periodically….

    But barring that, each one of us can still live a live of worship that is devoted to God. Walking in step with Holy Spirit and doing all that He calls us to. And when we do, we become more and more sensitive to His leading and His speaking and we will recognize and see things in others that we can call out and encourage them with. That is one of the main reasons the gift of prophecy exists. Did you know that? We are to call out the gifts and abilities that God places inside each one of us and encourage each other to use them. I can only imagine how uplifting this experience was to Mary and Joseph.

    The other key takeaway is that Anna told everyone who would listen that the Messiah had arrived. And that’s another thing that we need to do. Tell people about Jesus. Jesus commands it in Matthew 28.

    Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

    Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV)

    Simeon

    Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

    “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
    For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
    a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

    The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

    Luke 2:25-35 (NIV)

    As I hinted earlier, we don’t know a whole lot about Simeon. And yet, he gets more verses than Anna does! But what we do know is powerful. First we know he was a righteous and devout man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel – one among many. Luke also states that Holy Spirit was upon him and moved him to go to the temple that day – the fact that Simeon responded suggests strongly that this was not the first time and probably happened with some regularity. We also know that Holy Spirit told him he would not die until he saw the Messiah. When I take this line with what Simeon says upon taking Jesus in his arms – “you may now dismiss your servant in peace” – I see an elderly man who has lived his life and is ready to go home.

    When we read Simeon’s statements, we can also discern that he is a very prophetic man as well. Which makes sense since Holy Spirit is upon him and Simeon is frequently moved by Him. Like Anna, he immediately recognizes Jesus as the promised Messiah and declares Him to be God’s salvation, a light to the Gentiles, and the Glory of Israel. And then his prophetic message takes an interesting turn. He states that Jesus will cause the falling and rising of many (likely indicating that some will see Jesus as the Messiah and others will not), will experience opposition, and will reveal what’s in the hearts of many others. And we can see this throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry. Lastly, he tells Mary that a sword will pierce her soul. Many, including myself, see this as a direct reference to the pain she will bear watching Jesus be crucified.

    Takeaways

    So what are the takeaways from Simeon’s life? I see a few things. First, even though Luke doesn’t state it, we can surmise that if Simeon is so in tune with Holy Spirit, then he – like Anna – must’ve be devoted to pursuing God. Second, we see that when Holy Spirit moved, Simeon obeyed. We need to move and obey God when He directs us to. Third, we should be willing to be used by God. And lastly, never give up hope for the fulfillment of a promise from God. Simeon had a direct promise from God that he would see the promised Messiah before dying. And he held onto that promise and saw its fulfillment. This one is similar with the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Elizabeth held onto hope while Zechariah lost hope. Despite his age, Simeon did not lose hope in God’s promise.

    Wrapping Up

    Have you noticed some themes cropping up from these first two posts about Christmas characters? A lot of old people!

    In all seriousness, there’s a few common themes I see. First, all these people were righteous, devout people who sought God and waited for promises. And there’s a theme of hope woven throughout their stories. Anna and Simeon held hope in the promised Messiah – and both got to see Him before they passed. Elizabeth held hope that she would bear a child. Zechariah had that same hope at one time, but lost it.

    The last thing I see are a lot of prophetic voices. Holy Spirit moved on all these people. We see Elizabeth recognize that Mary carried the unborn Messiah and declare her the “mother of her Lord”. Zechariah prophesied that his son, John, would become a prophet, prepare the way of the Lord, and teach people salvation and forgiveness of sins. Simeon prophesied that Jesus’ ministry would be opposed, would teach truth, would reveal the hearts of many, and would suffer – bringing pain to Mary. We don’t see Anna – a prophetess – declare any type of prophetic message over Jesus or His parents, but – like Elizabeth and Simeon – she immediately recognizes Him as the Messiah through Holy Spirit and proceeded to tell everyone who would listen about Him.

    As I continue through the next two Christmas posts, I think these same themes are going to continue to come up. And these themes of hope in God’s promises, seeking God as righteous and devout people, and being sensitive to Holy Spirit’s leading and speaking are all things we need to day in our lives. Think on them and pray for them in your own lives.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Christmas Characters: Part 1

    Christmas Characters: Part 1

    Intro

    Hold up! It’s not even Thanksgiving, what am I doing talking about Christmas already? Compared to the retail stores, I’m actually behind (and now the Menards Christmas jingle is stuck in my head). And with only doing two posts a month, I’ve got to get started early if I want to cover multiple Christmas posts! This Christmas season, I wish to talk about several characters we find in the Christmas story. Who they were and their significance and contribution to the overall story. For this one, I’m focusing on Zechariah and Elizabeth. Let’s jump right in.

    Who Were They?

    So let’s get the obvious part of the answer out of the way. Zechariah and Elizabeth were the parents of John the Baptist. I think most people know that about them. That’s really all you hear about them in the Christmas season. When you read their part of the Christmas story it’s like, they were old and unable to have children and then an angel appeared to Zechariah and said “You shall have a son”, he doubted and became mute, and they had a son and he could speak again. That’s the cliff notes of the cliff notes version of the story. I’ll get into more detail later.

    Elizabeth

    Elizabeth was a woman from the tribe of Levi (a descendant of Aaron specifically) married to a priest named Zechariah. The Bible refers to her as “righteous” and “blameless” (Luke 1:6). That’s high praise. But that’s also an expectation of a priest and his wife. Sadly, however, Elizabeth was barren. This must’ve been very difficult since infertility was often looked at as a type of judgment from God. And yet, I already mentioned the Bible calling her out as “righteous” and “blameless”. So confusion must’ve set in as well as a degree of disappointment. After all, in those days one of the women’s primary roles was to raise the children of the household.

    However, she did not give up hope. Even in her old age when no one expects to have children, she prayed. She knew the story of Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) and probably clung to that. After all, she likely hadn’t reached the age of 90 just yet!

    And when she heard of Zechariah’s encounter with the angel and her subsequent conception, she gave glory to God – testifying to her faith in a miracle-working God. Though she did choose to stay in seclusion for the next several months. Interesting, but given her age, there’s certainly a higher likelihood of losing the child – especially with the way they traveled in those days. So she probably wanted to take precautions. It was Mary’s visit that finally broke that seclusion. And that’s an interesting part of this story.

    Mary’s Visit

    Elizabeth and Mary are said to be related in the Bible. Their exact relationship is not known since the word sometimes translated as “cousin” in this passage (Luke 1) is better translated as “relative” – which you’ll see in some translations, including NIV which I tend to favor in my posts. But this brings up a problem. I already said that Elizabeth comes from the tribe of Levi. And we know Mary descends from King David, so that makes her from the tribe of Judah. So how can they be related? Fortunately, there’s a pretty simple explanation. In the Jewish culture, people came from the tribe from which their father came. So, through their respective fathers, Mary and Elizabeth most certainly would be from the tribes of Judah and Levi. However, their mothers could have been related to each other and been from either Judah or Levi.

    Back to the visit. As soon as Mary greeted Elizabeth, the unborn John the Baptist leapt in the womb. Elizabeth – knowing nothing of Mary’s pregnancy yet – exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” Filled with Holy Spirit in that moment, Elizabeth was granted special knowledge that Mary was pregnant. And not just with any child, but with the long-awaited Messiah. That’s pretty incredible.

    Birth of John

    When her son was born and she was questioned about his name, Elizabeth said his name was to be John. Family and friends were confused since there was no one in either her or Zechariah’s family by that name. But she insisted on that. And finally brought Zechariah to back her up. And when he did, something miraculous happened. But I’ll go into that when I talk about him.

    Takeaways

    So, what’s the key takeaways from Elizabeth’s story? That God can still use you when you are old. I say that slightly tongue in cheek, but it’s also a powerful truth. Many elderly feel that God can no longer use them because they lack energy, health, etc. Or they feel that they can’t relate to young people anymore, and that’s who needs Jesus the most, right?

    It’s certainly not easy getting old and can make it more difficult in some capacities to serve the Lord like you used to. However, that just means that God can use you in a different capacity. One that you may never have thought about. Keep praying and seeking guidance. Talk to your pastor and see if there’s any needs that you can fill. You might be surprised.

    Secondly, don’t give up hope. If there’s something you are praying for and believing God for, keep praying and keep believing. As long as you have breath in your lungs, no matter your age, God’s not done with you. He can and will still use you and if God laid this desire on your heart, then it will come to fruition.

    Zechariah

    Now on to Zechariah. Zechariah came from the tribe of Levi and was a descendant of Aaron. He had to be both since he was a priest serving in the temple. Furthermore, Luke states he came from the division of Abijah. What’s that, you ask? After King David crowned Solomon as his heir, he chose 24 descendants of Aaron to lead 24 divisions – or clans – of priests to perform priestly duties at the tabernacle and later the temple that Solomon built. Zechariah came from Abijah’s division. The divisions all came together at three major feasts to serve at the temple – Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles – and rotated their duties throughout the rest of the year.

    Twice a year each division would serve for one week on the same rotational schedule. And we actually know that Abijah’s division served sometime between mid-May and mid-June most years (I say most years because the Jewish calendar is lunar and our is solar so there are differences from year to year) and then again between mid-December and mid-January. The May-June timeframe coincides very nicely with a September-October birth for Jesus (which if you read my post from last year, you’ll know I favor). How so? Zechariah serves at the temple, comes home, Elizabeth gets pregnant in June. Six months later Mary visits as newly pregnant – now we’re in December. Count forward nine months and we’re now in September of the following year – which I believe to be 2 BC.

    Gabriel’s Visit

    Luke tells us that while Zechariah was in the temple performing his duties, an angel appeared to him.

    Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 

    Luke 1:11-13 (NIV)

    Zechariah’s first response mirrors the response many people throughout the Bible have when encountering an angel: fear. And like clockwork, the angel’s first words are “Do not be afraid”. But then the angel goes on to tell Zechariah that his prayers have been heard and will be answered. His wife, Elizabeth, will give birth to a son. However, rather than being joyful and praising God, notice how Zechariah responds.

    Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

    Luke 1:18 (NIV)

    Zechariah, in his doubt, asks the angel for a sign (How can I be sure of this?) and then gives his reasoning for needing a sign (my wife and I are old). This reveals something about Zechariah. Despite the fact that he prayed for a son, he didn’t believe it would happen. He lost hope somewhere along the way. It’s hard to blame him after years and years of praying. But at the same time, a literal angel is standing in front of him declaring that he will have a son. What other sign do you need? As a priest he knows the intricacies of the Old Testament and would know all the stories of barren women conceiving – Sarah (even older), Hannah, and Rachel. If anyone should have had the faith, it would be a priest of the Lord.

    As a consequence of his doubt and his questioning, the angel rebukes Zechariah by declaring that he is the sign and that Zechariah would be unable to speak until John was born (ironically becoming a sign to everyone else).

    The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

    Luke 1:19-20 (NIV)

    When he left, he had to use gestures and writing to communicate with Elizabeth to inform her of Gabriel’s message. She received it much better than he.

    The Birth of John

    After John’s birth, when Elizabeth was asked about a name, she said “John” in accordance with Gabriel’s message. Everyone thought that was weird and thus consulted with Zechariah. To his credit, somewhere in those 9 months he regained faith and was determined to play out Gabriel’s message, by naming his son John. After writing this down on a tablet, Zechariah’s mouth was opened and he immediately began praising God and then prophesied over his son. He declared that John would be a prophet of God, prepare the way for the Lord, and bring the knowledge of salvation to people.

    Unsurprisingly, all the neighbors and people in the area marveled at this and correctly suspected that this would be one important child.

    Takeaways

    So what are some takeaways from Zechariah’s story? I could say something similar about old age here like I did with Elizabeth, but that would be redundant. Instead, I want to comment on two things. First, don’t lose hope like Zechariah did. The fact that he kept praying without believing is the reason I think Elizabeth didn’t lose hope. She probably continued to urge him to pray. And to his credit, he did; but he didn’t believe it would do any good. Don’t fall into that. Don’t lose hope, keep believing and things will change.

    Secondly, if an angel appears to you and gives you a message, just accept it. Don’t be struck mute or blind (think of the angels at Sodom who struck people with blindness). But in all seriousness, this was an indicator that Zechariah’s heart was slowly hardening with doubt and despair. Luke declares him a righteous man, but his heart was on the decline. After all, an angel appeared to him to tell him he’s going to have a son – the very thing they’ve been praying about for years – and he immediately doubts and looks to the natural circumstances (we’re too old). Don’t let your heart get to that point. Keep holding on like Elizabeth.

    But don’t worry, if you do get rebuked for your doubt, take encouragement from the fact that Zechariah turned it all around and prophesied over his son. And God can do that with you in your circumstances and He can turn your doubt into faith and joy.

    Wrapping Up

    So this Christmas season as you reflect on the Christmas story, remember Zechariah and Elizabeth. And remember that God can use you in whatever season you’re in. No matter your age and no matter how much doubt or faith you have, He can still use you. And lastly, don’t give up hope for that thing you’re praying and believing for. Keep holding on, keep praying, keep believing and God will answer you. After all, Christmas is a season of hope and answered prayer.

    Merry Christmas!! Oh wait, Thanksgiving still needs to happen. Happy Thanksgiving!

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!