Learning from John the Baptist: "He must become greater; I must become less"

Today I read the sad account of John the Baptist beheaded by King Harold. What a waste!

His mother Elizabeth's conception was nothing short of a miracle:
“The Lord has done this for me” (Luke 1:25)

His father Zachariah, a temple priest, knew even at John's birth that he was destined to live a life of an evangelist for Jesus the Savior:
"And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." (Luke 1:76-79)

Although he was to have disciples of his own, he was careful to point them to Jesus Himself:
"I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:28-30)

He was not afraid to speak out against evil, which ultimately led to his beheading (Mark 6:14-29), the account of which I read today. Gotquestions.org has a nice write up about the life of John the Baptist and what we should learn from him. I have summarized the key points with my own reflection here:

• John’s adult life was characterized by blind devotion and utter surrender to Jesus Christ and His kingdom. John’s voice was a “lone voice in the wilderness” (John 1:23) as he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a Savior. Am I living a life characterized by a single-minded devotion to Jesus, despite living in a culture that is mostly blind to His love?
• John’s own coming was foretold over 700 years previously by another prophet. Isaiah 40:3-5  predicted God’s master plan in action as God selected John to be His special ambassador to proclaim His own coming. God has a plan for me too. Much of this plan has been made clear to me through His Word. His eternal purpose will be fulfilled. I would received my share of blessings when I live a life according to His purpose and trusting in His promises.
• John lived a rugged life in the mountainous area of Judea, between the city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. It is written that he wore clothes made out of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. His diet was a simple one—locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). John lived a simple life as he focused on the kingdom work set before him. Can I say that about my life? Am I preoccupied by worldly leisure and ignore the important work God has prepared for me?
• John spoke very boldly to the religious leaders of the day, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, calling them a “brood of vipers” and warning them not to rely on their Jewish lineage for salvation, but to repent and “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:7-10). People of that day simply did not address leaders, religious or otherwise, in this manner for fear of punishment. But John’s faith made him fearless in the face of opposition. I must learn to distinguish what is my life in Christ and my religious life. The former gives life but the latter brings death! Even though I may be part of a church body but what is important is my life in Jesus shared with a community of believers.
• As previously mentioned in this blog, John made clear to his disciples that he was merely a messenger sent by God to proclaim the truth. His message was simple and direct: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2). He knew that once Jesus appeared on the scene, his work would be all but finished. He willingly gave up the spotlight to Jesus saying, “He must become greater; I must become less (John 3:30). Perhaps there is no greater example of humility than the one demonstrated by both Jesus and John in Matthew 3:13-15. As I get more involved in ministries I must be reminded to be humble. I must avoid telling myself "I must become greater and Jesus becoming less". Learn humility from John the Baptist!
• John shows us how to stand firm in our faith no matter what the circumstances. He lived in an occupied country so had to be aware that anything contrary to utter devotion to the king or emperor was asking for trouble. Yet his message was unchanging, bold and strong. It was John’s belief, his message, and his continual rebuke of King Herod that landed him in prison and his ultimate execution by beheading. As Christians we all will have our faith put to the test, and we will either falter in our faith or, like John, cling to Christ and stand firm in our faith to the end. Paul reminded Timothy that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). But for many of us who live in freedom, persecution takes on a very mild form. Will I learn from John the Baptist when I faced with any form of persecution?

 

The Book of Numbers - what happened to the Isrealites 'In the Desert'

Today I started reading from the Book of Numbers. This is from an easy to read commentary with a few of my own comments:

• This book is called ‘Numbers’ because there are many lists of numbers in it. There are two censuses (Numbers 1:1 to 4:49; Numbers chapter 26). These record the numbers of male Israelites who were over 20 years old. These were all the men who could fight in a battle (likely men between the ages of 20 and 50 according to Numbers 4:3; John 8:57). Also, there is a list of men and boys over one month old from Levi’s tribe. The men from Levi’s tribe did not fight. They helped the priests.
• The Hebrew name for this book is ‘In the desert’. This name describes well what the book is about. In fact, the words ‘in the desert’ are in the first sentence of the book in the Hebrew language: "The Lord spoke to Moses in the tent of meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt." (Numbers 1:1)
• The book begins two years after the Israelites had escaped from Egypt. They had been slaves there. They had made a camp in the Sinai desert. God had given the Law to Moses. They were preparing to go to the Promised Land.
• As they traveled, God was with them. He looked after them. He provided food and drink for them (in fact, they saw miracles from God every day!). But the Israelites complained about life in the desert. They did not trust God. They did not obey God. So God punished them. They wandered in the desert for nearly 40 years. All the adults who had left Egypt died in the desert, except Joshua and Caleb. (That's a total of 603,550 counting only men between the ages of 20 and 50 - Numbers 1:46). However, God did not take the Promised Land away from the Israelites. He gave it to their children, who had grown up in the desert. The first generation, the adults who had left Egypt, did not enter the Promised Land. But the second generation, their children, did enter the Promised Land. God always does what he has promised.
• When the book ends, this second generation had reached the edge of the Promised Land.
• The book does not just record what happened in the desert. Also, it contains instructions about how the Israelites should worship God. There is information about purification, sacrifices, and the duties of priests.

I was trying to understand the numbers better. This reference explained what may be the actual number of people who went into the desert:
"But if all the women, children and older people over fifty (or sixty) are included, the number of Israelites who left Egypt must have numbered about two and a half million. This is a vast amount of people going into a desolate desert area east of Egypt. Let us assume for a moment that all the men of the census were indeed living at the time and were not a part of the pedigree records that were mentioned by Moses which also included (the dead and the living). Let us look at the difficulties if we reckon all the men as then living."... "These are some examples of some of the problems with Israel’s population at the Exodus if one does not read what Moses said carefully. Indeed, Moses was including in each of the censuses the pedigrees of the Israelites (and these genealogical tables listed people with the living Israelites who could have numbered the actual amount of men Moses mentioned). In truth, Moses included the dead (the pedigrees) as well as those living in his census accounts." The actual population was likely considerably smaller who entered the desert.

Paul in Corinthians 10:1-13 reminded us that the story of the Israelites in the desert serves as a warning to us: "Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. (verses 5-6)...These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. (verse 11)"
He also ended the warning with a promise:
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

 I look forward to understanding this book better in the days to come. Thank you Lord for the warnings and promises you have made! I now look back with 20/20 vision and give you all the honor and glory for your wonderful plan of salvation through your Son Jesus!

Leviticus Laws and Modern Science

I have been reading through the Book of Leviticus. It is tempting to read through the dietary laws and the laws concerning various diseases with a scientific view point. The dietary laws prescribed which "animals, birds, every living thing that moves about in the water and every creature that moves along the ground" as "unclean" to eat (Leviticus 11:46). For example:
"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. “‘There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you." (Leviticus 11:1-8)
What jumps out on this list is rabbit and pig, which constitute a regular diet for many people. In this article from the Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation (notice this isn't the famous Journal of the American Medical Association or the Journal of American Scientific Research or the really famous Scientific American), the authors (from not particularly authoritative background) concluded:
"Leviticus 11 presents dietary laws, specifying which animals are "clean" (edible) and "unclean" (inedible). Nine major theories to account for these dietary laws are described in this paper, giving arguments pro and con regarding each. The theories discussed are the Obedience Testing, Arbitrary Divine Command, Assertion of Divine Authority, Moral Discipline, Hygiene, Spiritual Symbolism, Pagan Worship, Religious Badge, and Eclectic theories. The authors conclude that more evidence is needed, especially from archaeology, to come to a definite conclusion regarding the validity of any of these theories. They feel that if the original purpose of these dietary laws can be determined, then perhaps we can make modern applications of lessons from them."

The perspective from the Biblical Archeology Society is what I accept at this time: "One possible reason may be that the Israelites wanted some way to distinguish themselves from their non-Hebrew neighbors. Archaeological excavations of Iron Age I sites in Israel have shown that while pigs were a popular part of the Philistine diet, they were entirely absent from the herd-based economy of the Israelites. According to Ronald Hendel, such culinary distinctions soon became codified markers of cultural identity, whereby “the Philistine treat became an Israelite taboo.” Perhaps similar efforts to affirm Israel’s uniqueness lay at the heart of other animal prohibitions."

Leviticus chapters 13 and 14 described in detail the regulations about defiling skin diseases and the cleansing of defiling skin diseases. It is believed to be specifically addressing the diagnosis and treatment of Leprosy which is mentioned at least 40 times in the Bible. This article explained that "The main reason why leprosy is talked about so much in the Bible is that it is a graphic illustration of sin’s destructive power. In ancient Israel leprosy was a powerful object lesson of the debilitating influence of sin in a person’s life." and "Among the sixty-one defilements of ancient Jewish laws, leprosy was second only to a dead body in seriousness. A leper wasn’t allowed to come within six feet of any other human, including his own family. The disease was considered so revolting that the leper wasn’t permitted to come within 150 feet of anyone when the wind was blowing. Lepers lived in a community with other lepers until they either got better or died. This was the only way the people knew to contain the spread of the contagious forms of leprosy." So maybe there is some scientific evidence that these laws can help contain the spread of a very bad infectious disease.

When I was still a medical student I spent a few months with Leprosy Mission in southern Taiwan. I learned how unlikely that I would contract the disease even if I held the hands of patients and how easy it is to treat even if I contracted the disease. Jesus understood that! That's why Jesus would overcome the taboo of His days by touching a Leprous person, as recorded in Matthew 8:2-4 and other places: "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”" The Gotquestions.org article further explained that "The key lesson to be learned from this incident is that sin defiles us in the sight of God, but through Christ, we can be healed of the plague of sin that separates us from God." "When we’ve captured a glimpse of the holiness and purity of God, we have to exclaim as did the prophet Isaiah, “Woe to me … I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). Our attitude toward sin in the light of our Savior should echo the words of Peter: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:1-8). Another key lesson we learn from the leper in Matthew’s Gospel is that just as the leper did, we can confidently approach Jesus in all our need, with all our sin and defilement. When we plead for cleansing and forgiveness, He will not turn us away (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 103:12)."

So each time I read these strange ancient text I should remind myself how much God wants me to have a special relationship with Him. He sent His one and only Son to die for me to make it possible to approach the Holy One again. Therefore in some way I l should live a life that is distinguished from the world in which I live - maybe not exactly by obeying some dietary laws or church rituals, but by letting the life of Jesus flow through me.

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. " (2 Corinthians 5:20)

To Mary on Your 90th Birthday

When I became a Christian at the age of 25, I was given a verse which still blesses me to this day. It is from Philippians 1:6. It says, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

Where does this confident come from? It is explained in the verse before it: "because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now" (Phil 1:5)
Dear Mary, you have been a great partner in the gospel! You faithfully come to home church week after week; whether in good weather or bad. You are often quiet in discussion but there is this quiet confidence in you that says "it is well with my soul". You bless everyone by your presence, your smile, and no doubt, your prayers offered during huddle!

So being confident of this, we trust that this same "God, who demonstrated His love towards you in that while you were still lost in your wandering about, He sent His son to die for you on the cross." (Romans 5:8). And if you ever have these moments when uncertainty of what lies ahead troubles you, you can confidently say this: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (Romans 8:35) The answer is of course a big NO! "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For you are convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

And this is a present from your brothers and sisters in home church to you Mary:
"He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give YOU all things? " (Romans: 8:32)

So until the day of Christ Jesus, God has many more good work to be done in you. We are honored to celebrate this important milestone in your life along with your wonderful family.  Since this is your 90th. Let me leave you with a few verses from the Psalmist, taken from Psalm 90 (of course):

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    throughout all generations.
2
Before the mountains were born
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
    that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.

(Psalm 90:1-2, 14, 17)

Bezalel, the Architect of the Desert Tabernacle

This will be a shortened blog as I will be writing a separate blog to honor the 90th birthday of a dear sister in my home church.

Today's scriptural reading was taken from Exodus 36-38 and Matthew 23:1-22. The Matthew reading was especially familiar as I wrote a previous blog on "Seven Woes Against Hypocrisy" (not a bad read if I may say so:). The three chapters in Exodus described in great detail the construction of the Tabernacle, the Ark, all the furnishing and the portable Courtyard that would make up the place of worship while the Israelite were wandering through the desert. What had struck me was the person of Bezalel, considered the architect of the whole project. What can I learn from him?

Wikipedia has a good write up about him. The Rabbinical Literature provides an especially interesting background and I will summarize a few aspects of this man which taught me about being a man of God and my vocation:
"God determined to appoint Bezalel architect of the desert Tabernacle, He asked Moses whether the choice were agreeable to him, and received the reply: "Lord, if he is acceptable to Thee, surely he must be so to me!" At God's command, however, the choice was referred to the people for approval and was endorsed by them." God determined... but it will be the approval and endorsement by men. This shows that God has graciously partner with man to accomplish His will. I have been looking at a number of vocational opportunities and I will entrust myself to the men who are placed in position to determine whether I would be suitable for the work, in God's sovereign control, of course - this is quite a mystery!
"Moses thereupon commanded Bezalel to set about making the Tabernacle, the holy Ark, and the sacred utensils. It is to be noted, however, that Moses mentioned these in somewhat inverted order, putting the Tabernacle last (compare Exodus 25:10 - 26:1, 31:1-10). Bezalel sagely suggested to him that men usually build the house first and afterward provide the furnishings; but that, inasmuch as Moses had ordered the Tabernacle to be built last, there was probably some mistake and God's command must have run differently." God's way may seem peculiar but at the end it always works out. This entire project is meant for traveling in the desert. They are to be taken apart each time they move from one location to another. It is well to consider that my work here on earth is like that of a sojourner traveling through time. What I take and how I pack may make no sense to others.
"Bezalel possessed such great wisdom that he could combine those letters of the alphabet with which heaven and earth were created; this being the meaning of the statement (Exodus 31:3): "I have filled him . . . with wisdom and knowledge," which were the implements by means of which God created the world, as stated in Proverbs 3:19, 20" I must remember that it is God who granted me my wisdom to do His work. Although I am more inclined to think that I have earned all my wisdom and accomplishment through hard work, it is really God who gifted me. Thanks be to God!
"Bezalel is said to have been only thirteen years of age when he accomplished his great work (Sanhedrin 69b); he owed his wisdom to the merits of pious parents; his grandfather being Hur and his grandmother Miriam, he was thus a grandnephew of Moses (from the Rabbinical Bible Exodus 48:3, 4)." Although I rarely thank my parents and their parents for what I am today. God has carefully planned my birth and endowed me genetically through my ancestors although they are little known  to me.

So as I face the next few months contemplating retirement, I can rest assure that God will never leave me or forsake me. He has prepared me for work that will be made clear to me. It's exciting to look ahead to the days to come!