Bibledoorajar: Physical Appearance And......?

  Next, Israel brought his son Napthali forward to hear about his future. Israel said this:

         

  "Naphtali is a doe set free that gives beautiful words."

  

It is almost like Israel was saying to him that his clan was going to be mighty pretty and artsy too. And then you wait for the rest of their contribution like mightiness or boldness or... But nothing else was forthcoming. Just beautiful people who in the main would be artsy. Some of this tribe were used to supply the pretty parts of the temple but there is no mention of their ongoing commitment. As a matter of fact, artisans from Tyre had to be sent for to accomplish the major artistic accomplishments that God himself required. Beauty and artsiness can lean to vanity and perhaps Israel had a notion about Napthali's crowd. They never succeeded in capturing the land they were given in the Promised Land and they lived among pagan Gentiles. Their habitation ranged from the north down to the Sea of Galilee.  When Deborah sent for Barak who was from this tribe to come and conquer the enemy, he would only go if she went into the battle with him. He was pretty; she got the honor. He is an example of how the tribe had their ups and downs with courage. Sound familiar?

Years later, Jesus started his ministry with disciples from this area and He preached and worked miracles there often. He got a little perturbed with their attitude despite their artfulness and beauty. He told them that if what He was saying had been said to the artisans of Tyre they would have surely repented. Exactly He said, "It will be bad for you Chorazin. It will be bad for you Bethsaida. I did many miracles in you. If those same miracles had happened in Tyre and Sidon, then those people in Tyre and Sidon would have changed their lives a long time ago. Those people would have worn sackcloth and put ashes on themselves to show that they were sorry for their sins"(Matthew 11). It's not all about beauty and flowery words. Here is what Isaiah said about the coming Messiah who would be born in that parched land.

"He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him"(Isaiah 53). 

By the time the little babe born in that parched land (not much light) was grown his physical appearance was one of a beaten, whipped and bloody man. He wore no beautiful adornments, but He gave the ultimate gift of light through His wounds and bruises.. And with the eyes of faith we see the true beauty revealed there today. Thank you Father for Your wonderful gift of Love.

We have a beautiful little 20 month old spending the Holidays with us. My prayer for him is that he will by faith find the Beautiful One of God one day. Happy Holidays to all!

---

Bibledoorajar: What is Luxury to You?

 Jacob had told his sons to listen carefully to what their futures held. For Asher, he said this:

       "Asher's food will be rich;
       he will provide delicacies fit for a king."

Then Leah, Asher's legal mother,  said, "How happy I am! The women will call me happy." So she named him Asher. Oh how happy Leah would have been to hear Israel say that her son and his clan would be called happy by others and that their bread would be rich and highly favored by his brothers. So good would it be that it would yield royal dainties beyond the everyday necessities. In Deuteronomy 33 Moses declared that Asher's foot should be allowed to be dipped in oil and his "feet" would become strong as metal. To have their foot dipped in oil implied that their worth would include the ordination of spiritual duties. At best, we know that virgin olive oil was used with various scents or balms for the consecration of spiritual objects.

The myrrh brought by the kings to the Nativity was oil mixed with balm or scent. The Babe was anointed and consecrated forever to be Christ, the Anointed One. Though a babe, His feet would become as strong as metal and He would be able to provide consecrated bread for all who would believe. This bread remains highly favored among Christians to this very day providing not only everyday necessities but also dainties beyond description.  For the Lord Jesus Christ is the living bread of eternal life, able to give health to body and soul.

"Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word!

Thou art the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
Thy holy Word the truth that saveth me;
Give me to eat and live with Thee above;
Teach me to love Thy truth, for Thou art love."
  
                                          Mary Lathbury

Bibledoorajar: "Until the victory is won"

Last week we spoke of the tribe of Dan. They could not get what God said they needed so they took what they could find. But Israel prophesied that Gad would do well in attaining the victory over the Canaanites. They would be able to move about in the land unharmed and repeatedly protect the other tribes from their enemies. They were indeed a great asset to the fledgling kingdom when the "troops came."

     Merida: "I want my freedom."
     Queen Elinor: But are you brave enough to fight for it?"

                                                 From the movie, Brave

Gad was the son of Zilpah, the maid servant of Leah and was born before the children of Jacob's beloved Rachel. He would have known how much Israel loved Joseph and Benjamin and it must have been heartening to him when his father cemented his brave nature that he would carry into the future. Can't you just see Gad when he learned he was going to be brave enough lead his people against the onslaught of troops for the sake of freedom? The apostle Paul told his son in the faith,Timothy, the same thing and said that he had not been given a spirit of fear but of great might.

     "....I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you so that by following them you may fight the good fight holding on to the faith and a good conscience."
                                                                                                     1 Timothy 1: 18ff

This is the bravery challenge for us all. We have been given the strength through the work of the Holy Spirit, but we have to be willing to fight the good fight. Imagine taking the victory and then moving about the kingdom saving others from the enemy. Now, can we make our imagination real?

Bibledoorajar Speaks of Dan

When Huck Finn asked Tom Sawyer who Robin Hood was, Tom replied, "Why he's one of the greatest men that was ever in England. And the best. He was a robber." Huck asked who did he rob? Tom said, "only sheriff's and bishops and rich people and kings, but he never bothered the poor. He loved 'em. He always divided up with 'em perfectly square." This was the Robin Hood I watched on T.V. as a girl, but years later I had a hard time finding him in the reputable classic edition of Robin Hood that I read. Trying to figure out Israel's tribe of Dan is a bit like that. Stories aboud about their destiny, many based on very extensive research. When Bilhah delivered him, Rachel, his legal mother, named him Dan because God had judged in her situation.  But he was born from a jealous act no matter how "legal" and he seemed to have trouble from the beginning. When Israel blessed him he said he would judge the people and be a serpent along the way.  His tribe was the smallest and never did completely subdue the land intended for them. So they, like Huck's Robin Hood, raided and robbed a northern idolatrous city (Lacish) and demanded that their idolatrous priest become their spiritual leader. So, they had a great hand in muddying the spiritual waters of the northern part of Israel. However, the tribe did produce many judges perhaps the most renown being Samson. Probably many of the tensions he had to judge stemmed from the muddied waters brought about by his own people  intermarrying with the idolatrous people of the area. Later, when the nation of Israel frought with civil and spiritual tensions and divided into north and south it was the ten northern tribes who seceded. Remember, the kings always came from the tribe of Judah in the south and sometimes the behavior of those kings toward the northern tribes was disastrous. Remember, Jereboam taxed them so much for the care of the Temple that the result was the building of an alternative place of worship in Dan. This less than noble spirituality trailed along just about everywhere the people of Dan migrated and they emphasized it by renaming places with the name of Dan (as they did with Lacish). Because of the ungodly aspects of the "trail" they left, some scholars say that the AntiChrist will come from this tribe. But I will leave that up to the Writer of The Standard Edition. However, this we can learn, once you open the door to idolatry and introduce alternative worship, it means trouble with the Writer and Judge. As we begin the Advent Season we should all work hard to not leave a trail or join a trail with an antichrist spirit. Look to Bethlehem. Follow that trail.