Scott Morrison and QAnon : The true story

 The true story

“This is a politically motivated slur against the Prime Minister and his family by a Four Corners program that is already facing serious questions about the accuracy, bias and credibility of its journalism, that is now giving credence to irrational Twitter conspiracy theorists and raising the profile of what the Prime Minister clearly deems a discredited and dangerous fringe group,” a spokesman for the Prime Minister said.

Discredited. 

Dangerous

Fringe

Irrational

Exactly what else does the Auntie want from Kirribilli House? QAnon is not anything to which Morrison gives any credibility. 

Even so, the ABC spent an hour of prime-time TV tonight linking Scott Morrison to an individual whom he has known for over 20 years long before he was Prime Minister, and tried to slur our government with the nonsense of QAnon.

No reasonable person believes Q.

Come on, ABC, you are better than that. 

Created to Proclaim (Part 2) by Avi Snyder

 Part 2

Avi Snyder's essay entitled "Created to Proclaim (2014)' is worth reposting in its entirety, but I've chosen to break it into several sections. This is Part 2. To read Part 1, click this link: https://bob-mendelsohn.blogspot.com/2021/05/created-to-proclaim-by-avi-snyder-part-1.html

When God called Abram...

 

...He had a worldwide witness on His mind.

 

            The Lord called Abram with the following words:

 

“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse those who curse you; and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).

 

How were the descendants of Abram destined to be a blessing to the world?  The Apostle Paul understood, and he lets the rest of us know.  Writing about us, his fellow Jews, he explains…

 

“...to them [the Jewish people] were committed the oracles of God...to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ [Messiah] came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God” (Romans 3:2; 9:4-5).

            

            I smile warmly when I think of Christians who have told me that thanks to the Jewish people, the world has been blessed with so much artistic achievement, with so much intellectual accomplishment, and with so much scientific advance.  But as much as I admire Chagall (and I do), and as much as I appreciate Spinoza (and I do), and as much as I’m grateful for the Salk vaccine (and I am), I have to say in all honesty that these and other “Jewish blessings” are really secondary blessings compared to what God had in mind.  Paul explains in the above verses that God selected our people to bless the world with His revelation of Himself:  first, through His written or inscribed revelation (what Paul calls the “oracles of God”); and secondly and ultimately, through His incarnational revelation (the Word made flesh, the Messiah Yeshua Himself).  Through the Jewish people, God gave the world the Scriptures, and then the Messiah of Whom the Scriptures speak.  And so, embedded in the call of Abram, we find a glimpse of God’s heart for the nations and the promise of God’s intention to create a people who will be witnesses to the world.

            The fulfillment of that intention to send forth Jewish witnesses to the world becomes clearer and clearer as our history unfolds.  For example...

 

When God redeemed us from Egypt...

 

...He had a worldwide witness on His mind.

 

            Every year we celebrate Pesach (Passover) and remember our miraculous deliverance from Egypt.  But when God brought us out of the house of bondage, was He acting on our behalf alone?  No.  According to the Scriptural account, the events surrounding our redemption from Egypt were intertwined with God’s desire to reveal to the Egyptians -- and in fact, to all the world -- that He alone is Almighty God.  Through Moses, God spoke to a proud and unyielding Pharaoh:

 

“...at this time I will send all My plagues to your very heart, and on your servants and on your people, that you may know that there is none like Me in all the earth...indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” (Exodus 9:14,16).

 

            The plagues, the Passover, the parting of the Red Sea -- God orchestrated all the events of our redemption so that Pharaoh, and Egypt, and ultimately the world might know that He alone is God, and that there is no other.  And God succeeded.  For, even today, in those nations where the Bible is found, the story of God’s judgment on the false gods of Egypt is read and known.  And on the very day of our actual departure from Egypt so many centuries ago, the Bible explains that we didn’t leave Egypt alone.  We left with a “mixed multitude” (Exodus 12:38).  In other words, we were accompanied by Egyptians who made the choice to forsake their pagan gods and cleave to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.   Why did these Egyptians make such a choice?  Because God had used our people and the act of our redemption as a witness to them and to the world.

 

When God gave us the Law...

 

...He had a worldwide witness on His mind.

 

The Bible tells us that we were given the Law of Moses for many reasons.  For example, we were given the Law in order to keep us alive -- so that we would not just survive but physically thrive (Deut. 6:3).  Much of the Law contains a crucial hygienic value, especially in regard to the foods that were classified acceptable or unacceptable.  Secondly, God gave us the Law so that we might be blessed as we lived in the Land (Deut. 28:1-14).  He promised that as we kept His covenant, He would acknowledge our obedience with the blessings of fruitfulness, victory, and honor.  Third, He gave us the Law in order to make us distinct from all the nations surrounding us, and indeed, from all the nations of the world (Ex. 19:5,6).  God wanted us to be different from the other nations in every facet of our lives – from the food that we ate, to the way we conducted business, to the manner we grew our crops and treated the land and livestock, even to the way we manufactured our clothes!  Fourth, He gave us the Law in order to demonstrate the holy character of God (Lev. 19:2; Deut. 4:8; Romans 7:12).  The Law is holy, righteous, good, just and merciful – and so is the Lord who gave the Law.  Fifth, God gave us the Law to reveal and teach us about sin, to convict us of our sins, and even to allow sin to increase (Romans 7:7-11).  Sixth, God gave us the Law in order to lead us to faith in the Messiah (John 5:39; Gal. 3:24).    

But there was at least one more reason that God gave us the Law.  Moses explained:

 

“Therefore be careful to observe them [God’s ordinances]; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’  For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is to us, for whatever reason we may call upon Him?” (Deuteronomy 4:5-7)

 

            The word for “peoples” in this passage is the Hebrew word goyim, and in this context, it refers to anyone who is not a Jew.  As startling as it might seem, God gave us the Law as a testimony to the nations surrounding us – because of His love for the gentiles and His desire to see them come to Him.  He gave us the Law so that the surrounding nations could see a reflection of the holy character of God in the ordinances that controlled our daily lives.

            God wanted every sphere of our existence -- our worship, our social relations, our business dealings -- God wanted our total corporate life to shine as a light to the nations; as a witness to the world.  He wanted the nations surrounding us to understand that our God is real; that our God is near; that our God answers us when we call to Him.  He wanted the nations to see and understand this, because He wanted them to turn from their idols and serve only Him, the true and living God.  

In a sense, you could say that one reason God gave us the Law was so that we might provoke the gentiles to jealousy.

            God placed us in the Land and gave us the Law so that we might live as a light to the nations and draw them unto Him.  If we understand the evangelistic relationship between our presence in the Land and our practicing the Law as an active means of proclaiming the Gospel to the nations, then we can begin to understand how deeply we grieved the Lord through our persistent disobedience.  Our disregard for the covenant not only demonstrated our profound ingratitude toward God for all that He had done for us; it compromised His testimony to the nations that He wanted to reach.  

            It’s easy to imagine how our disregard and violation of the covenant grieved God’s heart if we think of modern-day, professing believers whose ungodly conduct compromises our testimony to our friends and family who don’t yet know the Lord.  So many of us have loved ones whom we long to see reconciled to the Lord.  So many of us find these loved ones unwilling to listen or believe when we speak about the difference that Yeshua has made in our lives.  And then suddenly, a prominent believer in the public eye “falls,” and the disclosure of this prominent Christian’s sin seems to make a mockery of our faith.  

Now our loved ones want to talk to us about the Lord.  But they’re not really interested in discussing the claims of Yeshua.  They’re interested in pointing out the hypocrisy of those who claim to follow Him.  “So that’s what it means to believe in Jesus,” they sneer.  Our hearts ache because the conduct of the “fallen” believer has compromised our testimony to the ones we want to reach.

            If we can feel disgrace when our witness is called into question by the conduct of others who claim to believe, then it’s easy to imagine the absolute anguish that the Lord must have felt when we claimed to be His special possession but lived no differently than anyone else in the world.  We spurned His love and polluted His testimony to the nations.  The peoples surrounding us took note of the chasm that separated the claims of our lips from the conduct of our lives.  And as a result, instead of causing the nations to desire and bless the Lord, our conduct caused the nations to mock and blaspheme His holy name.      

            What an irony, and what a tragedy.  

In His love for us, and in His faithfulness to our fathers, God had given us the gift of the Land.

            In His desire to see the nations confronted with the reality of God, He had set us up as a living light to the nations -- a light that was intended to shine through the daily outworking of our covenantal relationship with Him.

            In His mercy, He held back the judgment that our violations of the covenant required. 

            In His grace, He sent the prophets to call us to repent, so that the testimony could be restored, so that the light would not be dimmed.  

            Over and over again, He pleaded for us to keep His ways.  Over and over again, He cried out against our faithless behavior and called us to return.  But finally, His justice compelled Him to execute judgment.  So He expelled us from the Land and drove us into the Babylonian Captivity for seventy years.  It was as though He were saying, “Because you would not live in the Land as a light to the nations, I am driving you out of the Land, and you will live in darkness and serve the nations and the false gods that they revere.” 

(To be continued)

God's ways are not our ways; Joshua 16

   Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua

To view this online as a video:  https://youtu.be/R-0_nrlTAg8

Lesson Sixteen:  God’s ways are not our ways

 

A.     Introduction

1.     Greetings

Shalom…

 

Also if you haven’t yet subscribed to our YouTube channel please click that red button on the right below this video and join us, and also click ‘Like” if you don’t mind. That way we will reach more folks like you down the road.

 

2.     Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU  )

B.              Today’s lesson: Chapter 16: God’s ways are not our ways

I’d heard the expression so many times, I wondered which of my grandparents first used it. “God’s ways are not our ways.” I also wondered why my parents used that line on me so often, especially when I wanted or needed or desperately pleaded for something that I ended up not getting. It seemed a cavalier line applied at just the wrong times for me, who was generally interested in both God’s ways and my own ways. I never really saw them in conflict. Not until later.

Little did I understand that my grandparents and their grandparents did not invent this line. In fact, it originated, at least in recorded history, with Isaiah the prophet. 

“Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Is. 55:7-9)

 

There you go. God started that thinking, and it’s an upside-down thinking to be sure. God is supreme; we all knew that, but his ways and his thoughts are above smart people and above creative people and above all of us. So it wasn’t just a trump card on my cleverness in argument with my parents; it was actually divine wisdom.

I see that in our Bible section reminded us today as well. And today we are going to look at geography as well, in fact, let’s start there. But the information we are going to study will lead us into a discussion about God’s ways.

As we saw last week, these two maps are very useful. We see the layout of the land with the Ammonites and Moabites east of the Jordan, then the Philistines over along the Mediterranean Coast, and then the 12 tribes in their locations. This all takes place approximately 50 years after Moses is off the scene, so about 1400 BCE. The 12 tribes are settling 9 and a half on the west side of the Jordan, 2 and a half tribes east of that river. 

We see Ephraim just south of the larger Menasheh. In fact, the southern line of Menasheh forms the northern border of Ephraim. It looks to me like Ephraim is land-locked which is interesting as that will force him and the tribe to depend on other tribes later for trade on the water and for water itself. But that’s for another study. To the west it reaches over towards Dan, almost reaching modern day Tel Aviv and Petach Tikvah. The cities of Jericho, Ai, Bethel and Shiloh are included which makes it seriously significant from our reading of this book already. The author has featured this section of the conquest in the writing so far, and there are reasons for that, I’m sure.

What is interesting to me is the change in the batting order from verse four to verse five. Did you see that when you read this passage? I’m trying to help us see patterns as well as break-of-patterns in Scripture. That will help us to see what God might want us to see. Verse four: Menasheh and Ephraim. Verse 5, the first one given borders is Ephraim and Menasheh doesn’t get his until the next chapter. Why is that?

God’s ways are not our ways. Man’s patterns are fixed and set in stone. Firstborn should always be given priority. Firstborn are responsible for the rest of the children. Firstborn get double portions so that they can provide for the others. That’s stock standard. And usual. But NOT ALWAYS. Our ways are fixed and immovable. God’s ways require regular observations because they might amend. 

That’s what Jacob, the patriarch did back in Genesis 48. Here’s the relevant section to Joshua’s reading.

“Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. ² When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶ “But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.”

Before this statement by Jacob (also called Israel), he made Joseph swear about Jacob’s bones not staying in Egypt, but that he should be buried in Canaan. After this episode is the famous hand swap. I’ll read it now:

When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were sodim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.” ¹²Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. ¹³ Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.” (8-14)

 

He blessed Joseph, and pronounced a blessing.

 

Look at verse 17   When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰ He blessed them that day, saying, 

            “By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying, 

            ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.” (to verse 20)

The birth order was well known. The patterns of blessing were well established and both Joseph and Jacob knew what it meant. But Jacob, who was himself born 2^nd to Isaac and Rebekah, and yet the one who received the birthright and the blessing, (albeit by trickery), wanted to make his opinion and what he understood to be God’s plan, God’s ways, God’s thoughts, to happen there on his death bed. 

Joseph wanted normalcy. Joseph wanted his older son, Menasheh to receive the double portion and the blessing. The boys were born in Egypt and thus learned Jewish life and culture in ‘enemy territory’ and grew up ‘swimming against the tide.’ That makes a fish tough. That made these two men tough. Interestingly throughout Jewish history, the prayer is as Jacob said, “May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh.” 

Many Jewish people pray over their sons on Erev Shabbat with this prayer. Some in Chabad wait until Erev Yom Kippur for an annual blessing. The point is that we should be like those who are chosen by the Lord, stand against the ways of the world and live God’s ways in our days.  Does that make sense to you?

When Jacob said the older two boys would be his, and the others would belong to Joseph, he was saying that Joseph was being given a double portion of land in Israel. Hence both boys get tribal distribution and Joseph gets none, but really he gets 2. All the other sons (except Levi) get land, but Joseph gets double. 

And then this goes beyond birth.

The Apostle Paul wrote something about God’s ways vs our ways. 

“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; ²⁷ but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no man may boast before God. ³⁰ But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, ³¹ so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (1 Cor. 1.26-31)

God’s ways of wisdom and strength are not human. His ways and his thoughts are above ours. And the point, Paul writes, is so that no one will boast in himself. Boasting makes no sense in the case of having talent or having a gift. Imagine Ephraim boasting, “I got a double portion! You didn’t get as much as me.” Or such. What’s the point of that?  

God chooses the weak to shame the things which are strong. It’s the Steven Bradbury principle. It’s the Jamaican bobsled team. It’s people like me being sent to Australia to launch an organization when there is no natural, no normal, no behavioural reason for that to happen. I knew nothing of AGMs or of creating Boards; I knew nothing of governmental regulations and how to create something out of nothing. God chose this weakness to confound the strong and to make a name for himself, and that’s my story.

James said something similar:

“Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (2.5)

His upside-down kingdom, his upside-down reality is that the poor will be rich, and they will inherit the kingdom, if they love him. Here’s the way this works: God wants to initiate things, to sponsor them, if you will. Then we respond and we join his program. He is the king of the kingdom and we inherit his life and promises.

So we read today in verse four: 

“The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.”

There is the birth order and then what follows is the layout of the land of Ephraim. Yeshua said the ‘first shall be last’ (Matthew 20.16). God will not be put into a box of human categories or human enterprise. He is Lord of all and will complete his task of Kingdom making and then the end shall come. Good news is that both Menasheh and Ephraim get their portions. Both will enter God’s promises and succeed. Down the road of Jewish history, Ephraim is the new name, the dominant name for the sons of Joseph, and he is the nickname for God’s promises to all those in the North of Israel. Not by his own doing, and not by his own strength of will, but by the plan and purposes of God.

In our final verse today, verse 10, we see the ‘ouch’ which characterizes the story, both so far, and going forward. The “you didn’t finish the job” reminder which will haunt the story of the Jewish people even to this day. We’ve already addressed this and will again, but I don’t want us to be distracted from my main thought today. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. 

When I came to believe in Jesus as our Messiah, I entered into an alternate reality, it seemed. Friends and family which had been normal were no longer considering me to be among them. And a new mishpochah arose which welcomed me into the fold. In synagogue I wore a hat when I prayed; in the new community I was asked to remove my hat on entry. In my hippie lifestyle, whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted was fine; in my new faith there were rules that came from the insdie that shut down self-pleasure and the commensurate self-loathing. The world had turned upside down in a heartbeat, the moment, it seemed, that I prayed and asked God to forgive my sins in Jesus’ name. 

 

 

 

 

Invitation

Maybe that’s how you are feeling just now. Dear friends, do you have such a sense of forgiveness and God’s gracious presence today? Do you know that Yeshua initiated the New Covenant, that which Jeremiah predicted, on Passover nearly 2000 years ago? Have you met the one who was cursed on the Roman tree for you in Jerusalem? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life?   Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? We love Yeshua because in his death he accomplished salvation for all people. He took the curse we deserved to give us his righteousness which he deserved. Forgiveness is available because of the death of our messiah. 

If you’d like to receive him today, just now, join me as we pray.

Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.

If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.

 

Conclusion

We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond.   I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua.  You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Next week we will look at chapter 17, in what I call “Ephraim and Menashe: Part 2” and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from the scenes there!

Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!

 

 

 

Bibliography

Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.

Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.

Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete. 

Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.

Pritchard, James, “The Bible reports on Gibeon.” Penn Museum, Expedition, 1961. Volume 3, Issue 4.

Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.

Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.

Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.

-------------------

D-Groups for this week

1)              Monday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse

2)              Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White

(Contact our office for zoom details)

If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?

 

The Book of Joshua:   Outline.

 

C.     Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)

a.     Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)

b.     Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day 

c.      Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)

d.     Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)

 

D.    Taking the Land (5-12)

a.     Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments 

b.     Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho

c.      Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes

d.     Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant

e.     Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common

f.      Chapter 10: Southern dominance

g.     Chapter 11: How not to win

h.     Chapter 12: God is faithful

 

E.     Possessing the Land (13-21)

a.     Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons

b.     Chapter 14:  Caleb as an example with a side of contentment

c.      Chapter 15: Geography lesson

d.     Chapter 16: God’s ways are not our ways

e.     Chapter 17: Trends of note

f.      Chapter 18: Apportionment (Part 1)

g.     Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)

h.     Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)

i.       Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)

 

F.     Retaining the Land (22-24)

a.     Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?

b.     Chapter 23: Staying on edge

c.      Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant

 

The Seven Nations

 

1.     Amorite

2.     Canaanite

3.     Girgashite

4.     Hittite

5.     Hivite

6.     Jebusite 

7.     Perizzite 

 

 

 

Josh. 16:1   Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² It went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower Beth-horon even to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.

 

Josh. 16:4   The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵ Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹ together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

 

January 6, 2021 Revisited

 Today I read a speech of a man named Stephen. It was a defense he gave while on trial. This took place in Jerusalem. In the crowd was a rabbi named Saul. The courtroom seemed make-shift and the argumentation seemed carefully constructed. In the end, without witnesses or even conviction, the report is that the 70 in the court, as one, rushed on the scene. It was madness. And in the end, Stephen was killed. They rejected his defense. No matter what was true; their minds were already made up.

John McGarvey wrote about this and when I re-read his views, I couldn't help but think of another scene that took place this year, an insurrection madness as I watched with my wife that January day from our hotel room in Orange, New South Wales. That scene took place in Washington, D.C.

"This was a strange way for a court to break up; the whole body of seventy grave rabbis, whose official duty it was to watch for the faithful and regular proceedings of law, leaving their seats, and rushing with the wild mob, amid hideous outcries and tumultuous rage, to the sudden execution of a prisoner absolutely untried and uncondemned. But the maddest pranks ever played upon this mad earth are witnessed when wicked men set themselves in uncompromising opposition to God and his holy truth. So uniformly has this been true in history, that, at the present day, when such opposition is to be sustained, whether, on great or insignificant occasion, no well-informed man expects aught else than disregard of all the rules of justice and propriety. If the infuriated scenes which have been enacted under such circumstances, in the history of Christianity, could be dramatically represented, the performance might be appropriately styled, The Madman’s Drama."

The Madman's Drama. 

By the way, the story of Stephen and Saul is recorded in the Bible, in the 7th chapter of the book of Acts. In a landmark decision, and as McGarvey said, "untried and uncondemned," Stephen is stoned and dies there having been rushed outside the city gates. 

The frenzy of a mob with a stirring speech as impetus and wrong judgment in their hearts, that seemed to describe what we saw on the television that January day. I would add to McGarvey's words that the crowd in Jerusalem was ignorant and had already made up their mind, no matter what was said or no matter what was true. 

That certainly seemed to fit the Madman's drama of 6 January.

I tell you this to say that nothing is new under the sun. History repeats and history repeats and history repeats again and again. Only sensible people standing for the right will make a difference. God help you to be a Stephen, to be a difference-maker, to listen to the truth and follow it with all your heart. No matter the consequences; no matter the opinion of the impending crowd. 

Most of us will not die for our faith. Most of us will not suffer persecution for what we believe like Stephen did.  By the way, that Saul ended up becoming Paul, the apostle, and suffering greatly at the hands of many raging foes. History can repeat. 

When I revisit 6 January 2021 and watch the continuing discussion or the attempts to prevent such, it saddens me that what happened there could happen again. Mob rules are never good. 

God help you to make a difference, to be a Stephen or a Paul, and to listen to and follow the Truth. 

A recipe when depleted

 "Lemon, definitely lemon," she suggested.

"Don't forget the onion and ginger," he added.

These two were giving me ideas to help me get my voice back. I was at a wedding reception in Sydney. In fact, I had participated in conducting the wedding itself which ended half an hour earlier. Unfortunately, my voice was weary; I had preached three times two days earlier and was depleted. My voice was shot and my usefulness in the wedding ceremony itself was minimized.

At the pharmacist earlier that morning, I had purchased a spray product. Why? I asked the chemist for a suggestion to help me since I had lost my voice and needed help getting it back. "I recommend this one," as he pointed quickly and carefully to a product whose manufacturer I had never heard of. Even before I got back home, I opened the spray bottle and squirted four shots into the back of my throat. That was soothing, but not sufficiently therapeutic. 

All day, I alternated between squirts of spray, bites of fresh-off-the-tree oranges, and cup after cup of lemon-ginger tea (with honey at times). I felt the medical assortment should have sustained me, but in the end, I only slightly improved.

At the reception, the couple with whom I was sitting gave unsolicited advice, which was not at all unwelcome.  And on my way home, I pondered their thoughts. I had heard others too, who joined that conversation. One suggested, "Garlic; it's the key." Another added, "Don't just use ginger powder, you have to use fresh ginger." And on and on it went.

The previous day I had gone over the figures of the ministry's budget with our office administrator and our volunteer treasurer. And the dollars were going out faster than they were coming in. We were depleting, although not as quickly as my voice was deteriorating. What is the recipe for fixing this problem?

My pondering of the recipes when depletion exists led me to this thought. Everyone has ideas about how we should get more income, or to slow the expense drain. And I don't find any of them wrong, in and of themselves. 

When we had troubles every once in a while in years past, when we told our friends on the mailing list, and brought the problem to them, they were not only appreciative of the difficulty, they were appreciative of our bringing it to their attention. So I guess that's what prompted this blog and letter-to-come. If you are able to support us just now, with a one-off donation, to our organization, this is a great time to do so. 

In the USA, use this link: http://j4j.co/bob               In Australia, use this link: http://www.jewsforjesus.org.au/giving          Thanks!

The Bible says, "Lift up your voice." In fact, we used that verse as a launchpad for our ministry over the course of 18 years ending in Jerusalem three years ago. 

"Get yourself up on a high mountain,  O Zion, bearer of good news,  Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;  Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” (Isaiah I40:9)

When depleted, when needy, we are reminded by the Lord to "ask and it shall be given to you." (Matthew 7). We need funds. We need to lift our voices. Is now a good time for you to join us? If so, let me say 'thanks' and if not, please know we are grateful for your being part of our team nonetheless.