Beautiful Ancient Words

Quotes for the day

2009-05-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

"In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New Testament the Old is revealed."
--Augustine of Hippo (354-430 A.D.)

"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."
--George Washington

2009-03-23T08:40:00.001-07:00

And this morning I saw this

2009-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,
and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
How blessed are all those who long for Him.
(Isaiah 30:18)

A Mighty Fortress

2009-03-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight I've been reading about the anxiety that's in the air these days. I thought it might be a good idea to post this psalm. This lovely psalm has a lot to say about those who run to, trust in, and love God.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust!"
For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper, and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
and under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
or of the arrow that flies by day;
of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
A thousand may fall at your side,
and ten thousand at your right hand;
but it shall not approach you.
You will only look on with your eyes,
and see the recompense of the wicked.
For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
even the Most High, your dwelling place.
No evil will befall you,
nor will any plague come near your tent.

For He will give His angels charge concerning you,
to guard you in all your ways.
They will bear you up in their hands,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread upon the lion and cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you will trample down.

"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him, and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him,
and let him behold My salvation."

Two more quotes

2009-02-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

"I must confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me...."
--Jean-Jacques Rousseau

"I know the Bible is inspired because it finds me at greater depths of my being than any other book."
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Search, and see

2009-02-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

True or false: most people who reject the Bible outright do so because of the creation account in Genesis.

Okay, I don't really know the answer to that. But I suspect it's true, at least in the Western world.

But what if, as you read the rest of Bible, you see over and over again, by a thousand little proofs in the other 1,187 chapters, that it really is true? What then?

Here's one of those little proofs.

One time, the Pharisees were arguing about Jesus:

Nicodemus [one of the Pharisees] said to them..."Our Law does not judge a man, unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?"

They answered and said to him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee." (John 7:50-52)

Very soon afterward, Jesus stood in the temple and said this about Himself, in the presence of the Pharisees:

"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

I think Jesus was reminding everyone willing to listen that the Scriptures did have something to say about Galilee. Something very important. If the Pharisees could have looked up the word "Galilee" in the Scriptures on the spot, they would have seen that the prophet Isaiah had written about Galilee, seven centuries earlier. And in the same chapter, he wrote about the people who walked in darkness, and light of the world who appears to them. We have a copy of that chapter today, dated ~125 B.C., among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Like us, anyone in Jesus' day could have seen for themselves what Isaiah chapter nine says:

....in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them....

Four verses later it continues:

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:1-2,6)

Those words in that Dead Sea Scrolls chapter predate Christ.

Why would Isaiah, a pre-Christian era writer, choose Galilee?

Has there been any other light that has made Galilee glorious?

A couple of interesting quotes

2008-11-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

"There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history."
--Sir Isaac Newton

"The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it."
--Napoleon

A marvelous Stone

2008-10-13T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling overwhelmed today. There are so many things to write about. I've been studying the Old Testament again lately and seeing again how much of it foreshadows Jesus, and God's plans for salvation through faith in Him. Joseph's story. Saul and David. Moses and Joshua. Noah. You name it. Jesus is everywhere.

This morning I was reading about David and Goliath. Talk about symbolism! Anyway, here's a little of it, picking up in the middle of the story. David had just been reassuring King Saul, who lacked the faith of David, that Goliath would be defeated:

And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you."

Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor.

And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them." And David took them off.

And he took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in the shepherd's bag which he had, even in his pouch, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. (1 Samuel 17:37-40)

I think it's significant that the story slows down and gives extra detail there. Here's some more, eight verses later:

Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.

And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.

Thus David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and he struck the Philistine and killed him; but there was no sword in David's hand. (1 Samuel 17:48-50)

With all the detail that he gives, the writer really seems to want to make clear what David's weapons were, and what they weren't. None of Saul's armor; no bronze helmet; no sword, or spear, or any forged weapons. Just five smooth stones and a sling. Really, just one stone.

Saul tried to protect him with man-made things. They just got in the way. The rock that David chose was straight out of a brook. Unaltered by human hands. Doesn't that sound like:

Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar: "You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them....But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." (Daniel 2:34-35. Daniel talking to King Nebuchadnezzar about the king's dream of a statue, which represented four successive kingdoms, starting with his own. God would send a powerful "stone" cut without human hands during the fourth kingdom. The kingdoms were Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.)

It also sounds a lot like this:

"So it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal, these stones, as I am commanding you today, and you shall coat them with lime.

"Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them.

"You shall build the altar of the LORD your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the LORD your God...." (Deuteronomy 27:4-6. Moses talking to the Israelites before they entered the promised land.)

And this:

Therefore thus says the Lord God, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed." (Isaiah 28:16. It doesn't say anything about not being cut by hands, but God is the one who places the "firmly placed" stone, not people.)

This post is getting long. Last one. Jesus talking to the chief priests, about Himself:

"Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone; this came about from the LORD, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" (Matthew 21:42)

2008-08-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

YEAH!

2008-07-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Greek word agalliasis means joy. But not just plain joy; it means exuberant joy, jubilation. It's the kind where you're sitting in your home stadium and your team does something great, and the entire crowd jumps to its feet and screams "YEAH!" The way everyone in America must have felt on VJ Day in 1945. That kind of joy.

Joy is all over the Bible, but this particular, explosive word for joy only appears twice in the New Testament. The first time concerns Mary (who was pregnant with Jesus) and her relative, Elizabeth (who was pregnant the John the Baptist):

Now at this time Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting. the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy." (Luke 1:39-44)

John the Baptist felt that kind of joy while still in the womb. I guess he was a prophet even at that age!

But "agalliasis" joy becomes more personal for us in the second and only other place it's found in the New Testament. I just love this. The song "I Can Only Imagine" wonders what we'll feel when we're saved and stand clean and forgiven before Him. Will we dance? Be still? Fall on our knees? Sing? We don't have to imagine. Jude's benediction at the end of his book gives us a great picture of what we'll feel:

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.... (Jude 24)

"Who is this Son of Man?"

2008-06-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

The multitude therefore answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up?' Who is this Son of Man?" (John 12:34)

I wanted to call this post "The amazing Son of Man," but it sounded too much like the amazing Spiderman. Oh well. He's still amazing.

When Jesus was on the earth, He called Himself by the name "Son of Man" more than any other name. You can find Him mentioning the name "Son of Man" more than 80 times in the New Testament.

When He does, this is what He's referring to-- something that was written by the prophet Daniel more than 500 years before:

I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.

And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13-14)

I like to try to picture the clouds, picture Him before the throne, imagine Him receiving that kind of everlasting authority. Then with that picture in mind, to read some of the amazing things He said about Himself when He was here, walking among his disciples:

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." (Matthew 8:20)

"...for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40)

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." (Matthew 20:18-19)

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)

"Truly, truly, I say to you; unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." (John 6:53)

According to Daniel's prophecy, Jesus would be an everlasting King...The Everlasting King. The disciples, Pharisees, chief priests and others must have been familiar with the prophecy, at least to some extent. I wonder what Jesus' words sounded like to them?

The view from Mars Hill

2008-05-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've tried to reconstruct the lost post (see below). Here it is:

One time when the apostle Paul was traveling, about 55 AD or so, he made a stop in Athens. He spent time with the people in the market place and told them about Jesus, but got a mixed reaction:

And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"--because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?" (Acts 17:18-19)

I think it's really interesting that they took him to that particular spot. The Areopagus is a treeless marble hill that sits just across from the great entrance to the Acropolis. Inside the Acropolis were the Parthenon, several temples to Athena, sanctuaries for Zeus and Artemis, a theater honoring Dionysus, a few statues and some other things. Paul and the crowd had a perfect view of both the great entrance and the Temple of Athena Nike, already over 400 years old at the time.

You can see what Paul saw, the view of the Acropolis from the Areopagus, here:
http://www.grisel.net/images/greece/Acropolis22.JPG

The Areopagus (or Mars Hill) was used as a spot for trying social, criminal and philosophical questions before the Athenian council.

Anyway, back to the Bible:

"May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean."

(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

I love that part. They'd make good Americans!

And Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

Now imagine being in that setting, with that view, and hearing this next part:

"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things;

and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us...." (Acts 17:24-27)

This is such an interesting passage. Paul goes on to say a lot more, but there's one part in that last paragraph that stands out to me when I read it. He says, "He made...every nation...that they should seek God." It sounds to me like right there he gave the Athenians something they were looking for--the meaning of life.

Argh

2008-05-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe you other bloggers can feel my pain.

I'm home sick today, and had a nice idea for a post. Lots of time on my hands, not much energy but still felt like working...perfect. I spent all this morning and part of the afternoon on my post. It was about Mars Hill, Paul and the meaning of life. I did lots of fun research on the Aeropagus, the Acropolis, Athens. There were masses of Bible quotes. There was even (almost) a photo to go with it. It was beautiful.

I was within a couple of edits of finishing, when I moved my Bible away from my mouse. The Bible cover swung down and hit a random spot on the keyboard--whap! Then the computer came alive and began loading something. That's always a bad sign. Next thing I know, the screen is congratulating me for posting.

My husband marvels at my ability to do computer hyperspace jumps like that. "How in the world did you get there?" is what he always asks. (It's funny, I do just what he suggests and he can't tell me how I got there.)

I wasn't ready to post, so I went back to delete it and did the stupidest thing I've done for a very long time. I pushed the wrong button and instead of deleting just the post, out went the draft with it. Everything I worked on all day is gone. Irretrievably. All with the touch of a button.

So now I'm venting and hoping to feel better. And trying to get something good out of a really lame decision. I keep telling myself the Lord knew I was going to lose the post, so it's okay. It still doesn't feel okay yet, but that's okay. Maybe He'll show me an appropriate Bible verse.

Here's one that comes to mind:

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.
(Psalm 127:1)

Feeling a little better now. I'm off to go watch "The Lone Ranger" with my son.

A little more about Paradise

2008-04-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

Did you know the word "Paradise" only appears in the Bible three times? The first is in the post below, when Jesus says to the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)

The second is when the apostle Paul says this about himself to the church in the city of Corinth, Greece:

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago--whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows--such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

And I know how such a man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows--was caught up into Paradise, and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. (2 Corinthians 12:2-4)

Some think this happened to Paul when he was stoned by the crowd at Lystra (Acts 14:19).

And then the last appearance is in the book of Revelation. "One like a son of man" (Jesus) is telling the apostle John what to tell the church in the city of Ephesus. Among other things, He says:

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God." (Revelation 2: 7)

OK, here's my question. If:

1) the tree of life is in Paradise, and

2) Revelation 22 says the tree is in the walled city of New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:2, 21:12-13), and

3) "Paradise" means an enclosed garden, or park...

...does that mean the New Jerusalem, which is really huge (Rev. 21:16), is a gigantic, walled garden-city?

Sounds good to me.

Imagine

2008-04-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from Joseph for a bit. I took this photo this weekend of my (new) favorite spot. Isn't it gorgeous? It reminded me of something....

Gk paradeisos; of Persian origin (enclosure): a park, a garden, a paradise.

Imagine being the second man:

And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

"And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Joseph, his coat, and the big picture

2008-04-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

I love the story of Joseph. I think it's one of my favorite stories in the entire Bible. I'd like to take it apart piece by piece so I can show you why.

The setting: Joseph is the next-to-youngest son of 12 brothers. He's daddy's favorite. The brothers are sons of Jacob, a.k.a. Israel, who is the father of the Israelites. The year is 1900 BC, or thereabouts.

Genesis 37, starting with verse 2:

Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.

So why did they hate him? Because he was the favorite son, because he walked around with a visible sign of his special status, and because he brought his father a bad report about them. Then came the last straw.

Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

And he said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

He had a second, similar dream. Then the brothers became murderously hateful. This is just the beginning of the story, but already there's something special going on. The Old Testament was written before Christ, but it is full of references and imagery and symbols of Him. (Jesus Himself said the Old Testament spoke of Him, as in John 5:39.) Joseph's story has everything to do with Jesus' story.

Again, why did they hate him?
Beloved son;
had signs of his status;
told on the brothers to the father;
told them he'd rule over them someday.

What did Jesus say about Himself? Why did they hate Him enough to kill Him?

Keep in mind that this story is among the Dead Sea scrolls, which pre-date Jesus.

Cool, huh?

What's posted on our fridge right now

2008-04-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

"...you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth...."

What does God delight in?

2008-03-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is a profound thing to think about, isn't it? Most of the time I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what He loves, but it's always better to go to the source. What does He delight in? I looked up the words "delight," delighted" and "delights" in my Bible, and here's a (nearly) exhaustive list of what I found (except for the "Thee's" and "Thou's" which I changed to modern English.)

"Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" The prophet Samuel speaking to King Saul. 1 Samuel 15:22

"Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness..." King David praying. 1 Chronicles 29:17

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way." I love that one. Psalm 37:23

"Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight..." Wisdom "speaking" in first person, referring to God. Proverbs 8:30

"A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight." Proverbs 11:1

"The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their walk are His delight." Proverbs 11:20

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight." Proverbs 15:8

"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights." Spoken of Jesus, according to Matthew 12:18. Isaiah 42:1

"'...but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:24

"For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." God speaking through the prophet Hosea. The word "loyalty" there is the Hebrew word "hesed," which means a loyal, steadfast, faithful love (love for God, in this case). It also carries the idea of a belonging together. Hosea 6:6

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love." There's the word hesed again. Micah 7:18

Uprightness. Wisdom. Honesty and justice. Unchanging love. And us! And I'm sure that's just a partial list. "Delight" has many synonyms. If you know of other verses, I'd love to hear about it.

Kindness and Truth

2008-03-27T18:56:00.000-07:00

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man." (Proverbs 3:3-4)

I almost named this blog after these Bible verses. There's so much to talk about in just these two.

What happens if you have kindness, but not the truth? What happens when you're truthful, but unkind? It's interesting to think about people, societies and history with these questions in mind.

What do you think?