Isaiah 49 This is Messiah speaking to his Father, 1-6, and the Father answering, 7-13
1 Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
4 Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
5 And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength.
6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
8 Thus saith the Lord, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;
9 That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted.
12 Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
13 Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Monday, December 21, 2015
Jesus in Genesis: I have waited for thy salvation
In Genesis 49 Jacob prophesies over his sons and in verses 8-12 he reveals that Messiah will come from Judah: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Then, after he addresses Zebulun, Issachar, and Dan, he cries out, I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD (49:18).
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. What an interesting declaration! And, as I hope to point out, what an amazing declaration!
Jacob knew Messiah was coming, and he knew he would bring salvation. Salvation is coming when Messiah comes because Messiah is our salvation.
When the angel explained Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph he said, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus will save his people, he is a Savior - he is our salvation.
When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took him to the Temple to present him to the Lord and we read:
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:25-32)
Wow! Simeon was told he would see the Lord’s Christ and when he saw Jesus he cried out, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Simeon saw what Jacob was waiting for! This is awesome. Thy salvation is the Lord’s Christ, and the Lord’s Christ is Jesus. Amen.
Jacob said, I have waited for thy salvation. Simeon said, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Jacob was waiting for Jesus. Simeon saw Jesus. And here is where it gets really interesting.
The Hebrew word for salvation in Genesis 49:18 is yeshuwah. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is formed from this very word. His name is actually, Yehoshuwa which in the English Old Testament is translated, Joshua. Yeshuwah means salvation, Yehoshuwa means Yahweh is salvation.
Joshua’s birth name was Oshea, a word that comes from the same root as yeshuwah and also means salvation. Moses added “a letter of the incommunicable name of God” to his name to form the new name Jehoshua. As I said, this is most often translated Joshua in our Bibles. It was probably pronounced, Yeshua, because when the Old Testament was translated into Greek, Joshua was translated Ἰησοῦς, in English this is Iesus, or as we spell it now, Jesus.
The salvation of God, thy yeshuwah, is not a thing, it is a person. Thy salvation, thy yeshuwah, is Yeshua - Ἰησοῦς, Jesus. Amen!
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Jacob was waiting for Messiah and he knew the Lord’s Christ was salvation. And in an awesome move by God, the name of Christ the Savior is Yeshua, Ἰησοῦς, Jesus – Yahweh is salvation. Amen and Praise God!
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. What an interesting declaration! And, as I hope to point out, what an amazing declaration!
Jacob knew Messiah was coming, and he knew he would bring salvation. Salvation is coming when Messiah comes because Messiah is our salvation.
When the angel explained Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph he said, And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Jesus will save his people, he is a Savior - he is our salvation.
When Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took him to the Temple to present him to the Lord and we read:
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:25-32)
Wow! Simeon was told he would see the Lord’s Christ and when he saw Jesus he cried out, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Simeon saw what Jacob was waiting for! This is awesome. Thy salvation is the Lord’s Christ, and the Lord’s Christ is Jesus. Amen.
Jacob said, I have waited for thy salvation. Simeon said, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. Jacob was waiting for Jesus. Simeon saw Jesus. And here is where it gets really interesting.
The Hebrew word for salvation in Genesis 49:18 is yeshuwah. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is formed from this very word. His name is actually, Yehoshuwa which in the English Old Testament is translated, Joshua. Yeshuwah means salvation, Yehoshuwa means Yahweh is salvation.
Joshua’s birth name was Oshea, a word that comes from the same root as yeshuwah and also means salvation. Moses added “a letter of the incommunicable name of God” to his name to form the new name Jehoshua. As I said, this is most often translated Joshua in our Bibles. It was probably pronounced, Yeshua, because when the Old Testament was translated into Greek, Joshua was translated Ἰησοῦς, in English this is Iesus, or as we spell it now, Jesus.
The salvation of God, thy yeshuwah, is not a thing, it is a person. Thy salvation, thy yeshuwah, is Yeshua - Ἰησοῦς, Jesus. Amen!
I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD. Jacob was waiting for Messiah and he knew the Lord’s Christ was salvation. And in an awesome move by God, the name of Christ the Savior is Yeshua, Ἰησοῦς, Jesus – Yahweh is salvation. Amen and Praise God!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Jesus in Genesis: Abraham
Abraham. A pivotal figure in the Bible and an extraordinary man. He is “father Abraham” – father of Israel, father of circumcision, father of all who believe in Christ. He had a remarkable walk with God, full of grace, faith, promises, and revelations of God. This week I want to consider two incidents in his life that reveal Jesus in Genesis. These two chapters are long and my blog is short, so I am only going to offer a cursory look at them and would therefore urge you to read them in their entirety.
Genesis 18
1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
This is amazing! We read, the Lord appeared unto him and that he saw three men. Did he see the Lord or did he see three men? Yes. Two of these men were angels (19:1), the other was the Lord. And the Scripture is very clear, this was Yahweh himself (whenever LORD appears in the Old Testament in all caps it is the name of God): the LORD appeared to him and ate a meal with him (1-8); the LORD spoke to him about Sarah his wife and the son she would have (9-15); the LORD told Abraham about his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham made intercession for them (16-33). Wow!
No man hath seen God at any time - so how in the world did Abraham see Him, eat with Him, and intercede face to face with Him??? This is the Word of God, the Son of God, “a personal appearance of him who was afterwards incarnated for the salvation of mankind” (Adam Clarke). This is not merely an angel, this is Jesus, the Son of God. And Abraham saw him!
The reason for this visit was to confirm the promised of a son (9-15). This is a great story full of real human emotion: the Promised One reaffirms the promise of a son. Jesus is both the giver of the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. Amen!
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
As the two men (angels) head toward Sodom, the Lord reveals to Abraham what He plans to do to Sodom.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
I realize that to “stand before the Lord” is often metaphorical, but the context indicates that this is physical, Abraham and Christ, the LORD, are standing together discussing the fate of Sodom.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham intercedes for Sodom (24-32). This is instructive, enlightening, powerful!
33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
What a day Abraham had! He met with the LORD face to face, shared a meal with Him, had a promise reaffirmed by Him, and secured Lot’s safety through Him. And in this he encountered Christ, the Son of God.
Genesis 22
Abraham’s faith was tested when God asked him to offer his son. When Isaac asked, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham replied with a declaration of faith and a prophetic word, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Amen!
As Abraham stood there with Isaac on the altar, the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven … And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Abraham offered a ram in the stead of his son. Such a picture of Christ and his death on the cross for us. And this is really cool: “the angel of the LORD” who directed Abraham to the ram was probably Christ himself! Many times in the Old Testament “the angel of the LORD” is Christ, the Son of God. So, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world points out the type, the ram offered in the stead of his son. Amen!
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
This is all a wonderful type of Christ: his death in our stead and his resurrection from the dead. Ah, but where is the resurrection in this? Abraham said, I and the lad will go and come again. The New Testament explains, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
“Jehovah - jireh (Yehovah-yireh), literally interpreted in the margin, The Lord will see; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide. On This Mount The Lord Shall Be Seen. Abraham offered Isaac on that very mountain on which, in the fullness of time, Jesus suffered.” ~Adam Clarke
Abraham lived in the early days of the Bible and yet he enjoyed such a rich revelation of Christ: the promised seed who would bless all the families of the earth, who would be offered in our stead, who would be raised from the dead. And he saw him and supped with him! Amen and amen! This is the very One “who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures”
Genesis 18
1 And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,
This is amazing! We read, the Lord appeared unto him and that he saw three men. Did he see the Lord or did he see three men? Yes. Two of these men were angels (19:1), the other was the Lord. And the Scripture is very clear, this was Yahweh himself (whenever LORD appears in the Old Testament in all caps it is the name of God): the LORD appeared to him and ate a meal with him (1-8); the LORD spoke to him about Sarah his wife and the son she would have (9-15); the LORD told Abraham about his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham made intercession for them (16-33). Wow!
No man hath seen God at any time - so how in the world did Abraham see Him, eat with Him, and intercede face to face with Him??? This is the Word of God, the Son of God, “a personal appearance of him who was afterwards incarnated for the salvation of mankind” (Adam Clarke). This is not merely an angel, this is Jesus, the Son of God. And Abraham saw him!
The reason for this visit was to confirm the promised of a son (9-15). This is a great story full of real human emotion: the Promised One reaffirms the promise of a son. Jesus is both the giver of the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. Amen!
16 And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
As the two men (angels) head toward Sodom, the Lord reveals to Abraham what He plans to do to Sodom.
22 And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.
I realize that to “stand before the Lord” is often metaphorical, but the context indicates that this is physical, Abraham and Christ, the LORD, are standing together discussing the fate of Sodom.
23 And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
Abraham intercedes for Sodom (24-32). This is instructive, enlightening, powerful!
33 And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.
What a day Abraham had! He met with the LORD face to face, shared a meal with Him, had a promise reaffirmed by Him, and secured Lot’s safety through Him. And in this he encountered Christ, the Son of God.
Genesis 22
Abraham’s faith was tested when God asked him to offer his son. When Isaac asked, where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Abraham replied with a declaration of faith and a prophetic word, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Amen!
As Abraham stood there with Isaac on the altar, the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven … And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Abraham offered a ram in the stead of his son. Such a picture of Christ and his death on the cross for us. And this is really cool: “the angel of the LORD” who directed Abraham to the ram was probably Christ himself! Many times in the Old Testament “the angel of the LORD” is Christ, the Son of God. So, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world points out the type, the ram offered in the stead of his son. Amen!
14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.
This is all a wonderful type of Christ: his death in our stead and his resurrection from the dead. Ah, but where is the resurrection in this? Abraham said, I and the lad will go and come again. The New Testament explains, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
“Jehovah - jireh (Yehovah-yireh), literally interpreted in the margin, The Lord will see; that is, God will take care that every thing shall be done that is necessary for the comfort and support of them who trust in him: hence the words are usually translated, The Lord will provide. On This Mount The Lord Shall Be Seen. Abraham offered Isaac on that very mountain on which, in the fullness of time, Jesus suffered.” ~Adam Clarke
Abraham lived in the early days of the Bible and yet he enjoyed such a rich revelation of Christ: the promised seed who would bless all the families of the earth, who would be offered in our stead, who would be raised from the dead. And he saw him and supped with him! Amen and amen! This is the very One “who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures”
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Jesus in Genesis - The Promised Seed
I know the Old Testament can be a confusing book. It is actually 39 books, with so many stories a person can get lost. It is helpful to know that there is a theme running throughout the Old Testament. And what is this theme around which the Old Testament is centered? On the surface, the Old Testament is the story of Israel and her great king, David. But, since the Old Testament continues after the reign of David, there’s something else going on, and David is just a part of it - that greater theme is Messiah, the Promised Savior. And we find this theme running through Genesis
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
As soon as they were discovered in sin, God promised a Savior, who would destroy the adversary and restore the presence of the Lord. This is the first promise of Messiah and it tells us the Promised Savior will be a human.
“And just as through a disobedient virgin man was stricken down and fell into death, so through the Virgin who was obedient to the Word of God man was reanimated and received life” ~Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This is a signal event in the Bible, this is when salvation history kicks into gear. God calls Abram and promises him a land and to make of him a nation - that’s Israel and the “promised land”. Then He says, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. From the beginning, the plan and the promise was “all families of the earth.”
The Promised Savior would come from the family of Abraham. But Abraham had many sons, the two most prominent being Ishmael and Isaac. And God made it clear that his choice was Isaac: And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (17:19; see also 17:15-21, 22:18)
The promise is then renewed with Isaac:
26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and the one expected to receive the promise, but God chose Jacob instead.
In 28:10-15 God renewed the promise to Jacob
28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
The Promised Savior will be from Jacob, who was later named Israel - Messiah will be from Israel.
But Jacob had 12 sons! As he was dying, Jacob gathered his sons around him and prophesied over them, and in so doing he revealed which tribe the Promised Savior would be from:
49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Amen! The Promised Savior will be from the tribe of Judah.
Shiloh is the promised Savior, the Messiah, but what is Shiloh? As Adam Clarke explains:
“The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined: 'the scepter' or it’s civil government, was not to cease or depart from Judah until the birth or coming of Shiloh, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is styled, Hebrews 3:1 (the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus); nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fulfilled in both these respects!
Here then we find the true meaning and derivation of the much disputed term Shiloh in this prophecy of Jacob, which is fortunately preserved by the Vulgate, "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations," and also by a rabbinical comment on Deu 22:7: 'If you keep this precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, who is called Sent.' " (commentary on Genesis)
This theme of the promised seed runs throughout Genesis. This book is not simply interesting stories about ancient people, or even the story of the beginning of Israel. Genesis is the story of the creation of man, the fall of man into sin and death, and the promise of God to send a Savior who will restore man to the presence of the Lord. The Promised Savior will be a human, of the family of Abraham, from the nation Israel, from the tribe of Judah.
And the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus of Nazareth was born of a woman, a son of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah.
Jesus is the promised seed, the Messiah.
Amen.
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
As soon as they were discovered in sin, God promised a Savior, who would destroy the adversary and restore the presence of the Lord. This is the first promise of Messiah and it tells us the Promised Savior will be a human.
“And just as through a disobedient virgin man was stricken down and fell into death, so through the Virgin who was obedient to the Word of God man was reanimated and received life” ~Irenaeus, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching
12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee:
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
This is a signal event in the Bible, this is when salvation history kicks into gear. God calls Abram and promises him a land and to make of him a nation - that’s Israel and the “promised land”. Then He says, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. From the beginning, the plan and the promise was “all families of the earth.”
The Promised Savior would come from the family of Abraham. But Abraham had many sons, the two most prominent being Ishmael and Isaac. And God made it clear that his choice was Isaac: And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (17:19; see also 17:15-21, 22:18)
The promise is then renewed with Isaac:
26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Esau was the firstborn and the one expected to receive the promise, but God chose Jacob instead.
In 28:10-15 God renewed the promise to Jacob
28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
The Promised Savior will be from Jacob, who was later named Israel - Messiah will be from Israel.
But Jacob had 12 sons! As he was dying, Jacob gathered his sons around him and prophesied over them, and in so doing he revealed which tribe the Promised Savior would be from:
49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Amen! The Promised Savior will be from the tribe of Judah.
Shiloh is the promised Savior, the Messiah, but what is Shiloh? As Adam Clarke explains:
“The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined: 'the scepter' or it’s civil government, was not to cease or depart from Judah until the birth or coming of Shiloh, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is styled, Hebrews 3:1 (the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus); nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fulfilled in both these respects!
Here then we find the true meaning and derivation of the much disputed term Shiloh in this prophecy of Jacob, which is fortunately preserved by the Vulgate, "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of nations," and also by a rabbinical comment on Deu 22:7: 'If you keep this precept, you hasten the coming of the Messiah, who is called Sent.' " (commentary on Genesis)
This theme of the promised seed runs throughout Genesis. This book is not simply interesting stories about ancient people, or even the story of the beginning of Israel. Genesis is the story of the creation of man, the fall of man into sin and death, and the promise of God to send a Savior who will restore man to the presence of the Lord. The Promised Savior will be a human, of the family of Abraham, from the nation Israel, from the tribe of Judah.
And the New Testament makes it clear that Jesus of Nazareth was born of a woman, a son of Abraham, from the tribe of Judah.
Jesus is the promised seed, the Messiah.
Amen.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
It's like I grew up on another planet
Sometimes, when I talk with my grandson, it’s like I grew up on another planet. Yes, that’s how different the world was lo these many years ago!
My grandson thrives on technology: video games; satellite TV; DVR; smart phones; laptop computers; kindle; iPad; YouTube. He asked me today what my favorite move was when I was his age. And that’s how it began.
First I said that he has possibly seen more movies in his 13 years than I have in my entire life. That may be hyperbole, but not by much. Then I tried to explain.
When I was young I saw movies. At the local theater. On Saturdays. If we did our chores in the morning, my Dad would give us money and we would walk to the theater. Sometimes the whole family might go to the drive in theater. This was a treat.
And TV. There were three channels that were not broadcasting 24 hours a day. At midnight they would “sign off” and show a test pattern until 5 am, at which time the broadcast day would begin with the national anthem. And that was when we had a TV. There were many years when we didn’t even own a TV. And when we did get one, my Dad put it outside. He wouldn’t have one in the house. When we got it we were only allowed so many hours per week and had a sign in sheet to verify.
No videos either. Well, there weren’t any video playing devices for that matter!
As I was telling him some of this, he asked incredulously, “What did you do?”
We played outside. There was nothing to do inside, so we went outside. Besides, our house wasn’t very big. My grandson lives in a house that may be larger than any I ever saw growing up. For that matter, I now live in a house bigger than I ever had in my entire life. In my family, there were 10 of us (8 children) living in a three bedroom house. Alone time? The only chance for that was outside.
I walked to school and from 9th grade on I had to hitchhike to get to school. When we weren’t in school we roamed. We’d leave in the morning and come back for lunch, then wander around in the afternoon and return for supper. After supper we’d play hide and seek until my parents called us home. We played football in the street. We explored the creek. We’d run up to the school grounds and play football there, or baseball. And got into all kinds of trouble. My mother never knew where I was. I am not saying she was a bad mother. Nobody knew where there kids were. I remember the TV campaign that sought to change that, “It’s 10 O’Clock. Do you know where you kids are?” You should’ve seen Halloween – the streets were full of children wandering around begging candy - no parents anywhere to be seen.
What was my mother doing while we were out roaming? Somebody had to be at the house when the police came looking for me! Actually, she was keeping house and taking care of my younger brothers and sisters. But even when they were young and somewhat yard bound, they wandered largely unsupervised. It’s just the way it was in those days.
When I got older I added surfing to my outside activities. And when I was old enough to drive, I asked to borrow the car to go surfing, but I don’t recall telling her where I was going.
My mother ran a pretty regulated home – we ate lunch at noon and supper at 6. Like clockwork. I remember my Dad laying down the law, “I don't care where you are or what you're doing, I want everybody home a half hour before dinner.” That’s all he said, half hour. We all knew that meant 5:30.
As I got older I added reading to my activities list. My Dad had built a book case that took up an entire wall. So cool. Reading was important in our family. I’ve had a library card as long as I can remember. We had a two-volume dictionary. My brother and I would play a game, each would take one volume and take turns randomly looking up a word and asking the other if he knew what it meant. High tech!
That’s what I did when I was young. Electronics and technology? I didn’t have time for them! I did get into a lot of trouble when I was young. Some of it pretty serious. I probably wasn’t the kid you wanted living next door, when I was growing up on that other planet.
My grandson thrives on technology: video games; satellite TV; DVR; smart phones; laptop computers; kindle; iPad; YouTube. He asked me today what my favorite move was when I was his age. And that’s how it began.
First I said that he has possibly seen more movies in his 13 years than I have in my entire life. That may be hyperbole, but not by much. Then I tried to explain.
When I was young I saw movies. At the local theater. On Saturdays. If we did our chores in the morning, my Dad would give us money and we would walk to the theater. Sometimes the whole family might go to the drive in theater. This was a treat.
And TV. There were three channels that were not broadcasting 24 hours a day. At midnight they would “sign off” and show a test pattern until 5 am, at which time the broadcast day would begin with the national anthem. And that was when we had a TV. There were many years when we didn’t even own a TV. And when we did get one, my Dad put it outside. He wouldn’t have one in the house. When we got it we were only allowed so many hours per week and had a sign in sheet to verify.
No videos either. Well, there weren’t any video playing devices for that matter!
As I was telling him some of this, he asked incredulously, “What did you do?”
We played outside. There was nothing to do inside, so we went outside. Besides, our house wasn’t very big. My grandson lives in a house that may be larger than any I ever saw growing up. For that matter, I now live in a house bigger than I ever had in my entire life. In my family, there were 10 of us (8 children) living in a three bedroom house. Alone time? The only chance for that was outside.
I walked to school and from 9th grade on I had to hitchhike to get to school. When we weren’t in school we roamed. We’d leave in the morning and come back for lunch, then wander around in the afternoon and return for supper. After supper we’d play hide and seek until my parents called us home. We played football in the street. We explored the creek. We’d run up to the school grounds and play football there, or baseball. And got into all kinds of trouble. My mother never knew where I was. I am not saying she was a bad mother. Nobody knew where there kids were. I remember the TV campaign that sought to change that, “It’s 10 O’Clock. Do you know where you kids are?” You should’ve seen Halloween – the streets were full of children wandering around begging candy - no parents anywhere to be seen.
What was my mother doing while we were out roaming? Somebody had to be at the house when the police came looking for me! Actually, she was keeping house and taking care of my younger brothers and sisters. But even when they were young and somewhat yard bound, they wandered largely unsupervised. It’s just the way it was in those days.
When I got older I added surfing to my outside activities. And when I was old enough to drive, I asked to borrow the car to go surfing, but I don’t recall telling her where I was going.
My mother ran a pretty regulated home – we ate lunch at noon and supper at 6. Like clockwork. I remember my Dad laying down the law, “I don't care where you are or what you're doing, I want everybody home a half hour before dinner.” That’s all he said, half hour. We all knew that meant 5:30.
As I got older I added reading to my activities list. My Dad had built a book case that took up an entire wall. So cool. Reading was important in our family. I’ve had a library card as long as I can remember. We had a two-volume dictionary. My brother and I would play a game, each would take one volume and take turns randomly looking up a word and asking the other if he knew what it meant. High tech!
That’s what I did when I was young. Electronics and technology? I didn’t have time for them! I did get into a lot of trouble when I was young. Some of it pretty serious. I probably wasn’t the kid you wanted living next door, when I was growing up on that other planet.
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Jesus in Genesis
A couple of weeks ago I asked my pastor about his plans for Advent. He said he was still working on it. When I got off the phone I asked myself, “What would I do?” My first thought was, Jesus in Genesis. I often used that theme, “Jesus in…” a particular book or section of the Old Testament but I never got around to Genesis. One of the recurring themes in my teaching was this, The Old Testament is a Jesus book, and I was always eager to point out the prophecies and types of Christ in the Old Testament.
I won’t have the opportunity to preach this Advent season so I thought I would use my blog to point to Jesus in Genesis. This is a long book and Jesus’ shadow and footprint are all over it. For this first week of Advent I will consider Genesis 1-8
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The Bible opens with a bang and Jesus is right in the thick of it! Right at the beginning of the Bible we find the Word, the Son of God, Christ, Jesus, who in the proper time came to the world to bring salvation. How can I say the Son of God is in verse 1 when the verse clearly says, God created?
First, the word for God is Elohim. It is a plural word. So from the very beginning of the Bible there is this idea of plurality in God. It runs throughout the Old Testament and is fully revealed in the New Testament.
Second, the Gospel according to John begins, In the beginning was the Word… John’s “in the beginning” is the same as Genesis and explains this plurality: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Amen!
This first chapter describes God’s creative activity. Ten times we read, And God said. Hebrews 11:3 tells us, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Framed by Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:15-17). Our Savior is the Creator of the world!
1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Who is this “us”? Some people say he is speaking to angels; others say it is the plural of majesty, a royal we. No. It is the Father speaking to the Son. "It was not angels, therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God, nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things. For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done…. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, "Let Us make man after Our image and likeness” Irenaeus
And concerning this “image” Irenaeus said . . . “For in times long past, it was said that man was created after the image of God, but it was not [actually] shown; for the Word was as yet invisible, after whose image man was created... When, however, the Word of God became flesh, He showed forth the image truly, since He became Himself what was His image…”
There are two other “us” passages in Genesis: 3:22, 11:7 These are also references of the Father speaking with the Son.
3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Isn’t this a beautiful description, they heard the voice of the Lord God walking? This is clearly the Word, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (called Christophany). Why is it clear that this is the Son? In John 1:18 we are told, No man hath seen God at any time. Yet the Old Testament has many accounts of people seeing God. How can we explain this? No man has ever seen the Father, all such appearances have been the Son, Christ, Jesus. Despite the beauty of the word picture, this is a sad verse: Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God. Say what you will about the pleasures of sin, the effect of sin is you hide yourself from the presence of the Lord, who is light and life. We need redemption. We need a Savior.
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Amen. This is known as the Protevangelium, the first gospel or promise of redemption. As soon as they were discovered in sin, God promised a Savior, who would destroy our adversary and restore the presence of the Lord.
Chapters 6-8 The Flood. This foreshadowed salvation through Christ: by entering the ark we are saved from the judgment of God, and when we pass through the waters (of baptism) we begin a new life (1 Peter 3:21)
Next week I plan to trace the promise of a Savior through Genesis.
I won’t have the opportunity to preach this Advent season so I thought I would use my blog to point to Jesus in Genesis. This is a long book and Jesus’ shadow and footprint are all over it. For this first week of Advent I will consider Genesis 1-8
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The Bible opens with a bang and Jesus is right in the thick of it! Right at the beginning of the Bible we find the Word, the Son of God, Christ, Jesus, who in the proper time came to the world to bring salvation. How can I say the Son of God is in verse 1 when the verse clearly says, God created?
First, the word for God is Elohim. It is a plural word. So from the very beginning of the Bible there is this idea of plurality in God. It runs throughout the Old Testament and is fully revealed in the New Testament.
Second, the Gospel according to John begins, In the beginning was the Word… John’s “in the beginning” is the same as Genesis and explains this plurality: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. Amen!
This first chapter describes God’s creative activity. Ten times we read, And God said. Hebrews 11:3 tells us, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Framed by Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:15-17). Our Savior is the Creator of the world!
1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Who is this “us”? Some people say he is speaking to angels; others say it is the plural of majesty, a royal we. No. It is the Father speaking to the Son. "It was not angels, therefore, who made us, nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God, nor any one else, except the Word of the Lord, nor any Power remotely distant from the Father of all things. For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done…. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, "Let Us make man after Our image and likeness” Irenaeus
And concerning this “image” Irenaeus said . . . “For in times long past, it was said that man was created after the image of God, but it was not [actually] shown; for the Word was as yet invisible, after whose image man was created... When, however, the Word of God became flesh, He showed forth the image truly, since He became Himself what was His image…”
There are two other “us” passages in Genesis: 3:22, 11:7 These are also references of the Father speaking with the Son.
3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Isn’t this a beautiful description, they heard the voice of the Lord God walking? This is clearly the Word, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (called Christophany). Why is it clear that this is the Son? In John 1:18 we are told, No man hath seen God at any time. Yet the Old Testament has many accounts of people seeing God. How can we explain this? No man has ever seen the Father, all such appearances have been the Son, Christ, Jesus. Despite the beauty of the word picture, this is a sad verse: Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God. Say what you will about the pleasures of sin, the effect of sin is you hide yourself from the presence of the Lord, who is light and life. We need redemption. We need a Savior.
3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Amen. This is known as the Protevangelium, the first gospel or promise of redemption. As soon as they were discovered in sin, God promised a Savior, who would destroy our adversary and restore the presence of the Lord.
Chapters 6-8 The Flood. This foreshadowed salvation through Christ: by entering the ark we are saved from the judgment of God, and when we pass through the waters (of baptism) we begin a new life (1 Peter 3:21)
Next week I plan to trace the promise of a Savior through Genesis.
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