Peace On Earth

Luke 2:13, 14 is a well known and often quoted passage concerning the birth of Jesus. “And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’”

This is famously, and melodiously reaffirmed in the Messiah. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth.” But at this time of year, we are bound to encounter a skeptic who points out that there is not now, nor ever been, “peace on earth.” A quick internet search finds much dispute as to whether there has been continuous war, and usually comes down to the definition of war. You might say that there is a verbal war over whether there has been war. But I digress.

The point is that the promise of “peace on earth” seems to have not been accomplished. Let’s examine that in light of Scripture. (Always a good measure to define debate.) Isaiah 9:6 gives us a background for this concept. This is a prophesy of the Messiah.
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

This Son, (the Seed from Genesis 3:15, by the way) will be born and His functions are outlined. He will eventually rule the world and have wonderful names, including Mighty God, Eternal Father, and Prince of Peace. Notice that this Son will be God, incarnate. The Trinity suffuses the entire Scripture, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. The Messiah is God. (Eternal Father is found in Daniel 7:13 as Ancient of Days.)

For our consideration, the Prince of Peace guides us back to the “peace on earth” promise given by the angels to the shepherds. To understand this, we can lean on prophesy, and proclaim that, although it has not yet been realized, it will be when Jesus reigns in the Millennium. But for those poor shepherds and all of those to follow, we have a hopeful future, but not much present consolation.

In fact, Jesus seemed to discourage this in Matthew 10:34 (and Luke 12:51):
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
So the prospect of peace on earth between all of the different creeds, and cultures, and convictions seems to be minimal, and quite possibly impossible. So were the angels mistaken or deliberately misleading?

How often are our conundrums a consequence of our mistaken understanding or perception, rather than errors in fact? This is probably such a case. If we, like the first century Jewish leaders, expect the Messiah to immediately impose a “non-aggression” society on the world, we will be harshly rebuked by the current events–from then until now. Even the “Pax-Romana” or peace of Rome was not really peaceful, but was simply marked by lack of effective resistence.

Our mistaken perception is about the mission of Jesus, the Messiah. It was not to BRING peace on earth, but to BE peace on earth. When He came, Jesus was the embodiment of peace on earth. This is quite stunning when we place it in perspective of His times.

Immediately after His birth, the shepherds recognized Him, and worshiped Him. The two elderly people who met Him in the Temple at His circumcision and dedication also recognized and worshiped. The Wise men, likewise, saw, and worshiped. Herod, on the other hand totally missed it. In fact a second Herod (Luke 23) had a chance to meet Him on the Thursday night and blew it.

Pilate, the “searcher for truth,” (What is truth? John 18:38) stared “Truth” in the face and did not recognize it. Peace also eluded him. (The old saying that you wouldn’t know XXX if it bit you in the “rear end,” seems to perhaps have originated with Pilate. Or it could have.)

The search for peace on earth often seems a futile effort. An old folk song, from 1955, says, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.” That is a great interpretation of what Jesus came to do. We each have a role to play, and peace will “be” on earth when we are at peace. And, now, through the Holy Spirit, He is BEING peace through us.

The ultimate promise of peace on earth is not a “far in the future” hope, but a present, real condition where ever His followers are found. “Joy to the World,” has the words, “far as the curse is found.” And it can be combated. (V. 3) “He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found.” The “blessings” seem to be embodied in peace that we transmit to the world.

And how can we realize peace in our own lives? Again, let’s turn to an old hymn.
Though the angry surges roll On my tempest-driven soul, I am peaceful, for I know, Wildly though the winds may blow, I’ve an anchor safe and sure, That can evermore endure.
Refrain: And it holds, my anchor holds: Blow your wildest, then, O gale, On my bark so small
and frail; By His grace I shall not fail, For my anchor holds, my anchor holds.

The rest of the lyrics* are in a link below. When we are anchored in Jesus, nothing can move us or, as the verse says, “I am peaceful....” Peace on earth is possible. It is available. It must be appropriated. Choose Jesus.

We have covered a lot of music and Scripture. The New Year gives us another opportunity to share that with those we meet. “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth.”

Amen.

Selected lyrics for Handel’s Messiah.
https://www.thoughtco.com/lyrics-and-excerpts-of-handels-messiah-723774
* http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/My_Anchor_Holds/
* https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=my+anchor+holds+lyrics&view=detail&mid=965BC797E180E0FCF94B965BC797E180E0FCF94B&FORM=VIRE

The King is Coming

Doug Oldham sang a “signature” song* called, ”The King is Coming.” That song got me through many long lonely hours and days when I first moved to East Peoria, Illinois, after completing graduate school. One meaning of the song that I had not contemplated until now is that the Coming King came a little over 2000 years ago. As we approach and pass through another Advent Season, it is good to look at both ends of the “coming.”

In May of 2015 the world and United Kingdom in particular welcomed a new royal baby. It was not too many years ago that a baby named William was also welcomed into the world, as the next (or next to next) king of England. I “grew up” with a toddler in England named Charles whom we all expected to become king about the time we matured. It seemed that “The Weekly Reader” had a story about him about once a month or so. He is still waiting. But I digress.

The one thing about all of these “royal births” that did not happen is striking. They were all anticipated and celebrated and revered. But not one of them was worshiped. The babies were feted and praised and great things were predicted for them. But none of them had...well let’s see what the record says: (Matthew 1:1, 2)
...magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Emphasis added.)

They showed up on Herod’s door step.
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,”

If Herod had listened to them, he might not have overreacted so violently. He heard, “King of the Jews...” and went berserk. He anticipated competition and immediately moved to, according to the great philosopher Barney Fife, “nip it in the bud.”

He would have been a lot more surprised if he had listened to what they said. “Worship Him.” None of our English royal babes were worshiped. In fact, though some in history have demanded worship, none deserved it. Our study in Genesis 1 has forever spiked that cannon. Only a nincompoop, idiot, or deranged person would deign to claim deity. (Or as C. S. Lewis said about the baby born in Bethlehem, “He was a liar, lunatic on the level of a poached egg, or Lord of All.”

I read a apocryphal conversation between an evolutionist and God.
E. “Give me a hand full of dirt and I can make a man too.”

God. “Get your own dirt.”

End of story. So the accounts of the shepherds, the two people in the Temple, and the wise men,  worshiping this Baby are quite astounding. And as we prepare to celebrate this anniversary of His birth, we bow in honor and obeisance to the One Who created the whole world and universe.

He was foretold in Jeremiah 23:5
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land.

We will not exegete these verses, except to note that they proclaim Him to be King. Micah 5:2 (Did I tell you I have a grandson named Micah? Different guy. But I digress.)
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

This one combines the Kingship with the eternality, or deity, of the coming One. Zechariah 9:9 further identifies Him.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Was He recognized? Look at Luke 19:37, 38
As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

King and Lord are the names applied here. John 12:12-15 echoes these shouts, and John even quotes Zechariah. Was that all? Ironically, the “judge” who condemned Him and the mockers who surrounded the cross repeated this fact. John 18:37
Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Matthew 27:41-43
In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, 42 “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. 43 He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

I just noticed something. There is no conditional, if, in the sentence**, “He is the King of Israel....” They are assuming and conceding that He is the Messiah. Yet they refused to believe Him. What a chilling picture. That reminds me of another, more chilling scenario. Philippians 2:10
so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

We can join those who willingly bowed at His birth, and since, or we will acquiesce when He comes again. The supremely ironic part of the story, is that Herod was also seeking the Baby. But his “seek” was not, as he lied to the wise men, to worship Him. Herod had rejected the Messiah and sought to kill the One Who had come to set him free. Indeed, Herod was so intent on murdering the Baby, that he executed an untold number of baby boys whose only sin was being born in Bethlehem.

Herod now knows the folly of his precipitate act. The other unbelievers at His first coming received a second opportunity. Saul of Tarsus, for instance, refused, then recanted and believed. Even Jesus’ brother, James, did not believe until after the resurrection. God’s patience and long suffering has been extended to the world for now. But there is an assured time coming when it will terminate.

2 Peter 3:9 Warns that the postponement of judgment is not indefinite.
The Lord...is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

As we approach another commemoration of the Coming of the King, let us be diligent on behalf of our own souls and determined to bring salvation to others. This Baby that came in humility will come again and this time with power. No one will seek to kill Him next time. (Well they might, but it will be the height of futility–and stupidity.)

“The King is coming, the King is coming...” Merry Christmas.


** One might infer an implied “if,” but in the English, it is not there. “He said He’s the King...” could be interpreted, but it is not explicitly there. They did not believe it, and giving it a conditional status would expose them to refutation. What if He did come down? So they issued a declarative denial of the point in question.


*n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omc6Z-xE8FY (Skip the ad)
**https://www.bing.com/search?q=doug+oldham+the+king+is+coming&qs=AS&pq=doug+oldham+the+kin&sc=1-19&cvid=88B335C7DF20458D88B8EA42D817F2F0&FORM=QBRE&sp=1

Wise Men Revisited

Normally when I finish and post a lesson, I can leave it behind. But the thoughts on the Wise Men have continued to dog me all week. For one, thing, I heard a guy on the radio presenting the “beliefs of the Magi,” that was pretty outrageous. Plus, the message has gotten a grip on me, and keeps ringing in my soul. As a kid, I recall one night of sleep where I seemingly laid down, closed my eyes, and it was morning. I prayed every night for a long time for a night of sleep like that again. The Magi keep coming back, not to haunt me, but to comfort and encourage me.

With your permission I will revisit and augment the previous study. (Your permission is implied because, without it you would be reading something else. But I digress.) A quick review is appropriate for those who may have missed the earlier discussion and to refresh our thoughts for those who have been here before.

Why would three or more Magi, Wise Men from Babylon or Persia, be interested in the king of Israel? And furthermore, why and how would they know to identify a “star” in the skies with the birth of this baby? Realize initially that they were between 500 and 1000 miles away. Their last known contact with the minute, now invisible strip of land known as Israel was 400 to 450 years ago.

It is like our looking out at the sky tonight and seeing something and identifying it as the star of the new king of Nepal and jump on our “Camel” leer jets and head for Kathmandu. There must be a rational, reasonable motivation for undertaking such a trip. And, we may have uncovered that reason for the Magi to travel to Jerusalem.

It was probably 500 or so years before that at teenager had been deported to Babylon as a slave, and rose to the rank of the highest advisor in the kingdom. Then he survived, not only a regime change, but the complete destruction of the government and its replacement by a hostile, conquering power. He was a highly placed advisor in the successor governments as well.

This Daniel had not been back to Israel for at least 70 years, but was given dreams and visions about the future of this land. One of them related to the finalization of activities related to his people, the Jews. His vision recounted that 483 years would expire before the long awaited Messiah would be “cut off,” and have nothing. This was not an auspicious end. But a 7 year epilogue would follow after certain specific events had occurred, yielding a 490 year outline. And the grande finale would be “worth the wait.”

The initiation point of the 490 years was a decree for the Jews to return to their land, rebuild the city of Jerusalem, and rebuild the temple. Counting backwards from 483 to account for the growth and maturation of the Messiah, we arrive at the approximate date of the Messiah’s birth, or 450 years after the decree. The “450" years had nearly expired when the Magi saw the star.

A little background here: The Magi were star watchers, and based on their movements, made prognostications concerning future events. Daniel had been trained in that art, and seemingly excelled at it. But his ability was not a natural understanding of star patterns, it was supernatural. He interpreted two specific dreams for Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king, and was highly respected by Darius, the Median king. We can assume that Cyrus, the succeeding Persian king inherited Daniel from his predecessor and was guided by him also.

It also seems not to be a stretch to surmise that Daniel taught other Magi about Israel, and about his prophesies. Couple that with Numbers 24:17, and we have a perfect explanation for why these men, remote in time and space, would be interested in the King of Israel.
A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel.
Moreover, Daniel would have told them of the “seed” in Genesis 3:15 which would crush the head of Satan and redeem the world.

Ironically, they were better “believers” than many of the Jewish people themselves. We know Simeon and Anna, the believers who met the baby Jesus in the Temple were believers. (Luke 2:25-38) The account also reports that others shared their anticipation of the “redemption of Jerusalem.” But they were in the minority.

Now to continue the thought. As I mentioned, a follower of “the Magi” reported on the radio that their beliefs did not include Jesus as God. He was merely a great teacher. I googled them on the internet and uncovered a site detailing some of their beliefs. At the heart of their presentation was a circle composed of all the religions of the world with their version of the golden rule. (Do unto others as you would have them do to you.) Based on this similar, “fundamental statement of beliefs” they assert that all religions are equivalent and equally efficacious. (Efficacious for what is not necessarily defined. Just to get along with each other, I guess.)

They are right...about getting along. But if religion is only to help us get along with others, it is pretty worthless. Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 15:19
If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. 
We are like pigs drowning in a mud hole. We may “get along” well in here, but if we do not get out, we will all end up dead.

As I mentioned these beliefs to my wife, including the belief that Jesus was only a great teacher, she blurted out, “But how could they know He was only a great teacher? He was only a baby.” Well, I was planning some elevated theological rebuttal and she made it totally unnecessary. I will complete it, just in case you encounter someone who is a little dense and needs erudite explanations of easily evident information.

So they evaluated the potential of a 1 to 2 year old child and elevated Him to sainthood, but not Deity. Pretty astute boys, weren’t they?

Second, how did they know about Him in the first place? Did they get advance notification of the birth of Mohammad, Gandhi, Confucius, Buddha, et al? The notice was specific enough to tell them where, Jerusalem, and who, the king of Israel, was to be born. The third question is why travel so far just to say “Hi” to a good teacher? Surely they had innate knowledge of the “good teaching” that He would present. No need to bother with the arduous trip of up to 1000 miles to the Mediterranean Sea.

The answer, and dagger to the heart of the arguments, is what they did when they got there. Matthew 2:11
Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him.

No offense to these “Magi followers,” but if they are truly “followers” they will follow in worship. Otherwise they are exposed as poseurs, pretending to follow and believe, but not being convinced. Another word is faker and hypocrite.

Back to Paul. If Jesus is not the Lord of the universe, and indeed raised from the dead, we all are doomed to death in the “mud hole.” A quick look at the circle of religions (see link) will convince us that there is no other way. No other teachings will overcome the problems of our world. And they certainly cannot combine to guide us to the one shining path anywhere.

Christ is our only hope in all the world, and the Magi, of all people, knew it. Christmas is our time to celebrate and, more critically, circulate the message. There is a way out. It is Jesus, the One born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. The Magi traveled 1000 miles to see and worship Him. We look back 2000 years, but need not go back. He is here now. What a Gift to the world.

Gloria in excelsus Deo. Follow the real Magi. Merry Christmas.

Wise Men Seek Him

Matthew 2 records a story that is not repeated in any other Gospel. This is interesting in and of itself, but more so, since the focus of the Magi was to worship the new King of the Jews. And Matthew’s focus was to tell the story to the Jews, and to illustrate that the object of the story was actually the heir to the throne of Israel. I heard two presentations on this topic this Christmas season and frankly had not given it much thought before.

It is time to change. This is fascinating. There are several astute studies explaining the appearance of the star.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
First, a meteorite is pretty easy to rule out. Herod and evidently very few others in Jerusalem noticed the “star.” A meteorite or comet would both be evident and the object of much wonder. The magi would have been able to ask about anyone about it.

It could have been a supernova. But that would not have “behaved” like this star did. Another option would be a supernatural event and all of the conditions would have been satisfied. But in that instance, the Magi would not have been anticipating it, and why would God have shown it to them, way over in what was ancient Babylon? They came to worship, but others could have been shown the miracle also. It seems to be implied that they were looking for something, and when they saw it, they knew it was the King of the Jews. How could this be?

And here, we run into a fantastic confluence (pun intended, it will be obvious later) confluence of events and circumstances that culminated in the Magi traveling to Jerusalem, then Bethlehem to see this wonder. It is pretty well accepted that they came from Babylon or that area.

Why were the wise men looking for a sign? I think that we can turn back to the book of Daniel for an explanation. Daniel 1:20 begins the explanation: (Daniel and his friends are examined by Nebuchadnezzar.)
As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm. (Note: Magicians and conjurers watched the stars.)
Then the four of them became personal advisors to the Nebuchadnezzar. And we know from chapters 2, 4, and 5 that Daniel would interpret dreams and visions. He also had visions that consisted of detailed prophesies of what would happen in the future. We will only consider chapter 9 here. We will not explore it in depth, but just the relevant items to our study.

First Daniel is given a vision of 70 weeks, or 70, seven year periods: 490 years. The beginning of this would be from the “decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” We are not going to repeat the study of this timing, but you can check it out on your own. (See note below.) That decree to return home was given by Cyrus, the king of Persia. The command to rebuild and city and temple came later. (There is some dispute as to which command exactly was the one, but for our purposes that is irrelevant.)  The time line was to run for 490 years. Verse 24 outlines it as applying to Israel and Jerusalem and it would bring a culmination to the story that began back in Genesis when the Lord chose Abram, renamed him Abraham, and established a covenant for land and his offspring. Genesis 12 begins the narrative.

So Daniel was shown the final stages of God’s working with men, through Abraham and his offspring. Do you imagine that he was somewhat elated and rejoicing. Look at the wording in verse 24. Here is what will happen: it will
...finish the transgression, make an end of sin, make atonement for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.

We again, will not exegete all of the details, but everything will be wrapped up. What a blessing. And it will only be 490 years from the “decree.” Or will it...?
Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,
You can figure out the timing, but it amounts to 483 years after the decree, the metaphorical clock will stop. Then some very disturbing events occur.

First, “the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This has to occur after week 69 and before the 70th week, thus demonstrating that the 490 years are not consecutive. From Daniels’ perspective, the city and sanctuary were already destroyed. This implies that the intervening 483 years will find it rebuilt and now destroyed again. “And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” (We know this happened in AD 70.)

All of this sounds devastating, again. Daniel was less than 70 years removed from witnessing the first destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Now it will be repeated. There is more:
And he (the prince) will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, (seven years) but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

It sounds like things are going to become even worse than when Nebuchadnezzar decimated the city. Again, we will forego the explicit explanation, but this leads us into our story. We do not know if Daniel witnessed the command to return to Jerusalem. But we do know that he was an advisor to Cyrus, and he had counted the years, 70 to be precise, from the time that Jerusalem was destroyed and he had been taken captive. The command should be near. It was.

Now back to our story. I do not consider this to be too much of a conjecture. Daniel was the “top dog” of the “wise men” under Nebuchadnezzar and probably under the subsequent rulers of Media and Persia. Is it too far fetched to venture a guess that he taught his “followers” about Israel, and the Jews’ God? And he could point back to prophesy that had been fulfilled, up to his personal deportation from Jerusalem. So when he got the “new message,” he would have been impelled to share that with his team, and the message was passed down through the years.

Now would it be surprising that some “wise men” in Babylon were looking for a sign of the coming King? We can estimate that about 450 years have passed since the decree, and many generations had perpetuated the “watch.” Maybe only a few faithful ones remained, and they were the ones who noticed the star and had to go see for themselves. This could account for the number of seekers. We call them wise men, because they were seeking the Messiah, the King.

And what caused them such excitement? Again, several suggestions are proposed, but the one I like best is that two planets, Jupiter and Venus came so close to each other that they seemed to merge into one, very bright star. They did not eclipse one another, because that would have blocked the light of one. But coming so close to each other in conjunction would produce the brightest light in the heavens. Recall that they are actually billions of miles apart, but “line uup” in our perspective on earth as they orbit the sun.

And, because of the apparently odd behavior of planets in the sky, Jupiter appeared to circle around in the heavens and return to the place where it had appeared. (Retrogression is due to the earth and the planet both orbiting the Sun and our perspective changes.) This very unusual conjunction of Venus and Jupiter and the apparent circling of Jupiter was what attracted their attention. Nothing like this had occurred in their memory or records, so it is not surprising that they noticed it.

And, again in conjunction with the prophesy in Daniel, these extraordinary events captured their imagination and lives, for a while. Their “understanding of prophesy” is not stretching the facts, because Simeon, a devout Jew also “saw” this. Luke 2:25, 26
25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
Somehow, perhaps using Daniel’s prophesy also, he had estimated the time of the Lord’s coming. The Holy Spirit could have used the same message to reveal the “time” to him. (The Lord uses the Scripture to instruct us today, too. What a blessing. But I digress.)

Did you notice the term for Simeon’s search? He was...”looking for the consolation of Israel.” What could that mean? Interestingly, it turns us back to Genesis 3:15. The key phrase is:
“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

My mother quoted this verse often when a snake crawled into our farmyard. She would chop off its head with her garden hoe, declaring that old snakey would not get her heel. It was kept 4-5 feet away. My brother quipped that a snake in the yard was like Christmas. “Hoe! Hoe! Hoe!”

The Lord was talking to the serpent, who is identified for us in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2. He is the Devil, Satan. So Eve’s “seed,” or son would crush the serpent’s head and be injured, Himself.  Seems “interesting” that Christmas, or Christ’s coming would unite Genesis and Revelation. Now Easter is included. I think that conjunction was planned What a story.

So Simeon joined the crowd of wise men. (Just for the record, there were many in the OT, including Daniel.) Imagine their elation when they actually encountered the Baby. “This is HE!”

Let’s go one step farther. Luke 2:36-38 introduces
...a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. 38 At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

This is an additional “conjunction” as they “just happened” to be in the Temple when Mary and Joseph brought the baby. We could learn from Anna’s devotion, but look at her outreach. She spoke “to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem was still there, but under Roman domination. Did she just want the Romans gone, or something more significant? Editorially, I do not think that she was thinking about a liberated Jerusalem in the condition it was then. An ordinary baby would not have elicited such a response.

But the “seed” from Genesis 3:15 surely would. Now we have wise women seeking Him. This story is getting better and better. It never grows old. We dare not ever let it grow common or routine or tedious. The delirious excitement we experienced during our early Christmas celebrations should grip us more powerfully than ever before when we consider what this means.

The wise men traveled many miles over the Middle Eastern desert to get there. Their homeland is variously identified as from Babylon (as we did here) or as far away as Iran. That varies from 500 to over 1100 miles. Either way, that was an arduous journey in those days. (And with the current political climate, it is not a “friendly” one today.) They were serious about finding the Messiah.

Here is another conjunction. Their route from Babylon to Jerusalem probably coincided with the one Abram followed when he left Ur, of the Chaldees, and transported his household to the promised land. I wonder if they pondered that.

Simeon and Anna had not traveled such a distance, but, apparently they had devoted a major portion of their lives in the quest. And now we get the opportunity to follow in their steps. Is there a conjunction that will guide us?

One last thought. From Genesis 3:15 to the birth, people were “looking for” the Savior. (Or Messiah) Once He went back to heaven His believers have been “looking for” His second coming. But what about the guys on earth when He was here? He was HERE! They could look for Him right there. So for all eternity, man has been watching for the Coming One. We are coming close to the end of that watch. He is coming again.

The wise men, Simeon, and Anna were seeking the Messiah to worship Him. Herod was seeking the Baby to murder him. What are you seeking? Who are you seeking and why? Christmas reminds us that He came, but more that He is coming again. Maranatha

Wise men seek Him.


https://www.gotquestions.org/seventy-weeks.html
I was going to let you look, but when I did, there were so many bogus entries that I decided to save you some time. Contact me for more if needed. JRL

Hot Water

Hot water is a nice luxury. We found this wisdom in a personal event yesterday. We were just ready to kick off our on-line Bible study and I went into the garage to retrieve a bottle of Orange Crush (blatant product placement) for one of our in-person guests.

I heard an ominous and disquieting “hissing” sound. This was not “snakes in a garage” for those of you who have watched our lesson. I began to reconnoiter. (Our military friends call this, “recon.”) I immediately noticed that the water heater was wet from the top down, and some boxes on an adjacent cabinet were soaking wet. A little bit of “feeling detective work” led to the positive conclusion that the leak was the supply pipe and not one of the pipes going into or out of the body of the heater.

Turning the shut off valve to “full off” terminated the hiss and the leak. PTL for small miracles. After finishing the study broadcast and fellowship time we ventured into the garage to assess the damage and the potential for repair. (Shameless product advertisement: The fellowship cake was a Pepperidge Farms fudge cake. Don’t you wish you had been there?)

I removed all of the “stuff” packed on top of the water heater and that stored around it and transported it outside. More on that later. Then with unhindered access to the supply pipe, I was able to ascertain that it indeed was a leak in the pipe where it underwent a sharp bent to reach the connection. Only need a supply tube and we are back in business.

Side comment. Bev asked if we should postpone the repair until the morning. “If you want to skip a bath or take a cold one,” I replied.

“Go ahead and fix it.”

A quick search through the reconfigured garage, (Thanks to my organized son) I discovered, to my delight, a brand new hot water supply hose in the drawer where it was supposed to be. (Another miracle? Garage Sale Supply INC came through again.) Guess where my first stop will be when I venture out today? Yep, Home Depot for another water supply hose which will replace the other one, which was installed at the same time the faulty one went into service.) (More product placement.)

The 1 1/8" nut on the hose stared at me as I rummaged through my large wrench kit. One inch, one and one quarter inch, but nothing in between And all of my crescent wrenches were scattered throughout various “job sites.” But I did find an adjustable large wrench which I have never had to use. It fits larger nuts, including 1 1/8" ones. Another miracle, thank You.

A few twists and both nuts were off, teflon tape attached to the ends of the pipes, and new hose nuts tightened to the “no leak” point. Hot water is now available. PTL.

Cleanup time. I glanced outside and decided that the bright moon in an only slightly cloudy sky meant that this stuff can wait until tomorrow to come back inside.

Fast forward to about 12:30 AM. Groggily I became aware of the pitter patter of rain on the roof. I slipped outside, not waking the sleeping wife next to me, and returned the perishable items to the shelter of the garage.

As I slipped back into bed, the pitter patter on the roof turned into a torrential downpour. Back in Nebraska, we called that type of precipitation “gully washers.” I slipped into a deep sleep until after 6:00 am. Thank you for the extra protection, Lord.

Oh yes. We did take a nice hot bath last night. Ahhhh.....

Free Will

With the latest church shooting, mass murder, we will inevitably hear the question, “Why would God give man free will if He knew that man would sin?” Without going into the specifics of this particular incident, we can address this very insightful question.

A recent call-in program featured an 8 year old boy asking, “Since God knew that man would sin, and the devastation that would be brought onto the world, why would He give man free will? If I were a parent, I would not give my child an alternative that would hurt him.”

The commentator kindly pointed out that we are dealing with two different situations. By refusing to let a child eat candy all the time, we are counting on the fact they he or she will someday understand that it was for his own good, and because the parent loved him. In fact, we all, as parents, have reasoned the same way.

But with God and man, the situation was different. Adam and Eve did not have a conscience nor any concept of love. Just as a pet, and I know I will get into trouble with this, a pet does not experience love for an owner who feeds and cares for it. I will concede that animals can recognize care and kindness. Maybe we should make our “pet” a snake, a turtle, or a spider. They have no concept of care or concern. (I say this assuredly, as I read of a 20' python found in a home with the owner inside. Obviously deceased. No caring response there.) Animals act on instinct.

(Please do not send me the story of a lion cub raised and then turned loose into the wild who had a “loving” reunion years later. I would aver that the care provided by the master had so imprinted on the animal, that he did long to return to the “easy times.” More often we read of a domesticated animal turning on an owner. The experts tell us that this is a wild animal, regardless of the altered circumstances from “in the wild.” But I digress.)

Adam and Eve had no “freedom” to love God until they recognized that it was a choice. Maybe this will be a better example. Your computer does exactly what you “command” it to do. You may not have written the exact code, but someone did. And when I push a key on the keyboard, I am certain that I will always see the associated character appear on the screen. (We will abstain from discussing “random lottery” picks that most states use to reward the few lucky suckers who spend money on this “rigged” game.) (You might be able to guess my position on the topic.)

Adam and Eve were given the choice of whether to love God or not love Him. Without that, they were simply human automatons, incapable of any choice or action outside of their programming.

Jesus even spelled this out for us in John 14:15. (In fact this is an Old Testament concept as well.)
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
Without love, there will be no true obedience. And without obedience, we have evidence of no love.

So why did God give us free will? Not so that He could have someone or something to love. It was to give us the unparalleled, in the universe, unparalleled opportunity and blessing of loving Him. My computer does not love me, even though it does what I command. It has no choice. (Absent an electrical surge or some other shock.)

We can love God, because we have the freedom not to love Him. Even like our candy-denying parent, it is for our own good. God loved us so much that He took the risk of us not loving Him. It was not because it would have “cost” Him something. He is totally complete. But it does cost us everything if we do not love Him.

I choose to love Him.

Answer A Fool

Proverbs 26: 4 and 5 appear, at first glance, to be a contradiction.
Proverbs 26:4 Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him..

Proverbs 26:5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes.

Remember that these proverbs are given to guide a wise man in how to act, particularly in relation to a fool. (26:1-12) I counted 11 mentions of how a “fool” acts in these 12 verses. This twin couplet occurs about in the middle of the passage.

Verse 4 says not to answer “according to” or like the fool. You will appear to be a fool also. And you probably are. It may have been my Dad who told me, “Never argue with a fool. All you get is two fools fighting.” The recent demonstrations in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro may be a good example of how not to respond to a “fool’s” actions. Anyone who attempted to rebut either side surely found themselves in a foolish argument. Another witticism that applies is, “Never try to out shout a shouter.”

But, there are times when the foolish actions or words are presented in a framework that has the cachet of respectability or even erudition. If these instances are left unchallenged, at least the fool thinks he is wise. The written statements of the demonstrators may at times require a refutation. The foolish may not gain from this, but he does not, at least, walk away thinking that he has posited an unanswered argument.

I remember the very first debate tournament which the LeTourneau debate team entered. We came out of all four rounds exulting that we had certainly won them all. Our coach, Dr. Terry, did not comment on our evaluations until we had a chance to read the ballots. We lost them all, and lost badly. He said that he had expected this, because it was the first time we had ever debated.

We did not know enough even to know whether we had won or lost. We did learn, and became fairly proficient. (Shameless self congratulation.) The point is, that we might answer a fool, yet he does not perceive that he has been refuted, like we “debate fools.” But the “coach,” or outside advisor does see what has happened.

Many of our cultural clashes involve these two Proverbs. We must be wise enough to distinguish whether to apply verse 4 or verse 5. Never be foolish in answering a fool.

But we may reasonably produce an answer for anyone else who may witness the confrontation. In fact, it seems incumbent that we do answer such nonsense.  That is my excuse for answering people who proclaim that the earth is a flat disk. And that one race is superior to another. Or that abortion is a positive thing. Or...you fill in the blank.