Good Friday Musings

Today is called Good Friday by many.  Today, as Jesus' first disciples did, we mourn (in a sense) for the happenings of that first Good Friday---that terrible Friday those many years ago when our Lord died on Calvary.

On that day, in that moment, so many things were contrary.  So many things were unspeakably wrong.  The Son of God was put to death by the sons of men.  He who was without sin was made sin for sinners.  The cup of wrath was drunk by one who only would show mercy.  He who only did good received only evil; he who showed only love received only hate.  He cried out, "Father, forgive them!" on behalf of those who deserved to be forsaken; and the only one who deserved the Father's fellowship cried out, "My God, my God; why have you forsaken me?"

The Light of the world hung there, enshrouded by three hours of darkness.  Earth's Cain killed Heaven's Abel; and the sons of Adam crucified the Son of Man.  The hands that formed man from the dust were nailed by a man.  He who commanded the trees to grow was lifted up on a tree.  He who made heaven and earth was hung there between heaven and earth.

So many things were backwards!  So many things were wrong!!  He who was in the beginning said, "It is finished."  The King was crowned but not with gold.  The crown of thorns he wore matched the reed he held; in a hand that holds the scepter of eternity.  His robe clothed a back beaten by his subjects until they stripped him naked for his whole kingdom to see the shame.  Before him pagans bowed: in mockery, not worship.  He who could have called legions of loyal angels to his aid was betrayed by a friend.  Once his disciples argued over who would sit on his right hand and on his left.  Now two thieves hung on his right hand and on his left.  He came down from heaven; and earth put him through a living hell.

Life died on a tree.  Life was buried in a tomb.  The Judge of the living laid down among the dead.  He who called Lazarus out of the grave was put into a grave himself.  He raised the son of a grieving mother; now his mother grieved for him.  He who promised that his followers would never die was dead.

We mourn.  We mourn!  He promised us joy and his death brings us weeping.  Could we have known that his promises of life would end like this?  Could this man really die?  Could he really stay dead?

The Altar

When the children of Israel had just come out of Egypt God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle.  This tent was supposed to be a place where God's presence could come and live among his people.  God told Moses, "let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8).  This tabernacle was called "the tent of the congregation" because here God would live among and meet with the congregation of Israel; God called the tabernacle the place "where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee" (29:42).

In front of the door of this tabernacle, this sanctuary tent, was an altar made of brass.   The Lord ordered Moses, "thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation" (Exodus 40:6).  When a person wanted to sacrifice something to God, they were supposed to bring that offering to this brasen altar at the tabernacle's door (Leviticus 17:5). When a person had sinned, they would bring a lamb, bull, or goat to this altar to take away their sins (4:1-4, 5:6, 9).  The altar speaks of death; when a man brought an animal to offer it, the animal died and was offered on the altar.

 The altar is a symbol for the death of Jesus on the cross.  In the Old Testament men would bring an animal to take away their sins; but Jesus is "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).  Scripture says that the blood of bulls and goats purified the flesh, but the blood of Jesus purifies our conscience from sin so that we can serve God (Hebrews 9:13-14)!  All of the blood spilled at the tabernacle's brasen altar was a foreshadow of the blood that Jesus, our perfect sacrifice, would shed at Calvary.  The brasen altar is a symbol of Jesus' atoning death.

This brasen altar (as I said before) was in front of the tabernacle, the tent that the children of Israel worshiped at while they were traveling from Egypt to Canaan.  The Bible calls this sanctuary "the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness" (Acts 7:44).  As Jews would travel through the wilderness, they would set up the tabernacle tent when they set up camp and they would take the tent down and pack it up when they would travel to the next place.

In Numbers 4 God gave the Israelites very specific instructions on how to disassemble and carry the tabernacle; and these included instructions about how to carry the brasen altar.  When the Hebrews were packing up the brasen altar they were commanded to empty the altar of all its ashes; then they would spread a purple cloth over the altar and cover the purple cloth with badger skins (Numbers 4:13-14) so that the altar could be transported.

It is interesting that the brasen altar was covered with a purple cloth.  When the tabernacle was moved, five pieces of furniture were supposed to be covered with colored cloth.  The brasen altar is the only piece of furniture that was not covered in blue; and it was the only piece of furniture that was covered in purple.  This break in the pattern should catch our attention.

Remember, the altar is a symbol of Jesus' sufferings to take away our sins.  The Bible says that when Jesus was about to be crucified, that Pilate delivered him over to the soldiers to beat him.  When the soldiers were beating Jesus, they "plated a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe" (John 19:2).  

Just like the altar where so many sacrifices had died before, our sacrifice--Jesus--was covered with a purple cloth!  Jesus' suffering fulfilled the purpose of the brasen altar.  Under the new testament we have Jesus' blood to take away our sins; we do not have to come to the brasen altar with sacrifices any more.  By God's grace I no longer have to come to an altar draped in purple; now I can come to a Savior draped in purple, and to the cross where he died for me!       ~CJK

New Year's Musings--Passover

A new year has come; and it is common for us to look forward into the new year with expectancy.  Many of us see the new year as a time to make a fresh start of things, to better ourselves, and to get rid of bad habits that we may have in our life.  This is a perfectly natural response, and I believe it is a Biblical response.

As I think about the year ahead, my mind goes to the story of Israel's deliverance from Egypt in the book of Exodus.  The Israelites had lived happily in Egypt for many years; but eventually the Egyptians made the Hebrews into slaves.  Scripture says that the Egyptians "did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens....and the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor: and they made their lives bitter with hard bondage" (Exodus 1:11, 13-14).  The Jews were no longer free, but were slaves to Egypt.

Israel was God's chosen nation, and so he sent Moses to deliver the Hebrews from servitude in Egypt: God said to Moses, "behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:9-10).

When Moses arrived at Egypt the Lord Jehovah poured out many plagues upon the nation of Egypt because Pharaoh would not let the Hebrews go.  Finally God told Moses, "Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go" (Exodus 11:1).  This final plague would be the death of every firstborn child: "all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh...unto the firstborn of the maidservant" (11:5).

To protect the children of Israel from this horrific plague, God gave them specific instructions; instructions on performing the first Passover.  Through Moses, God instructed each household to take a lamb (Exodus 12:3), a lamb that did not have any blemishes or imperfections (12:5).  The people would take the lamb and kill it, and put the blood of the lamb upon the doorposts and lintel of their house (12:6-7).  They would then cook the lamb and eat it as a feast.

The Bible calls this feast "the LORD's passover" (Exodus 12:11).  God even gave them the reason why they were supposed to complete these instructions: God said, "I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt....And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt" (12:12-13).  As a celebration of God's deliverance and protection, God told the children of Israel to keep the feast of Passover yearly; "this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (12:14).

 So we see that God used the blood of the lamb to protect his people from death and to deliver them from bondage in Egypt.  Interestingly enough, when God gave Moses the instructions about Passover, he told Moses, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Exodus 12:2).  In Israel's first New Year, God saved them by the blood of a lamb and delivered them from slavery.  Every new year after that God commanded them to celebrate Passover and remember his salvation.

This whole story of Passover---God delivering his people from slavery with the blood of a lamb---is a grand analogy of what Jesus has done for us.  1 Corinthians 5:7 says that "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us".  Jesus is the lamb; because scripture calls him "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).  Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8).  God delivers us from the bondage of sin through the blood of Jesus.  Because the lamb died for the Jews, they were protected from death; and because the Lamb has died for us, our names can be "written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27).  The plague on Egypt was the death of the firstborn; I find it interesting that Jesus, God's firstborn, died in our place.

The New Year is a time of new beginnings; by making Passover part of the first month God teaches us that new beginnings start with the blood of the Lamb!  

I find it interesting that the scriptures say "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Exodus 12:2, emphasis added).  For those of us who have been saved through the blood of Jesus, I feel like it would be appropriate to spend the first part of this new year remembering is death on the cross.  We Christians know best of all how the Lamb's blood saved us from death and liberated us from sin and gave us a new start.  For us, our new life started with "Christ our passover"; and at the beginning of this year we ought to remember these things and think on them.

To my readers who may not yet know the saving power of Jesus' blood: A new start is possible!  Just as Jehovah saved Israel from death by the blood of a lamb, and delivered them from slavery; so he can save YOU from death by the blood of his Son and deliver YOU from the slavery of sin.  In this New Year, know and understand that a new start through Jesus' blood is possible. 

Happy New Year!  I hope that in this next year we all start a new beginning through the blood of the Lamb!!       ~CJK

Godhead Grammar

It is very common for students of the Bible in our modern day to misunderstand certain things from the scriptures, especially when those things involve the original Hebrew and Greek.  One particular source of confusion is the way certain plural words function in the Hebrew language. One website I saw had this to say about the plural Hebrew word for God, Elohim (אֶלהִים):

In the Hebrew language the "im" ending imputes plurality. Therefore, "Elohim" is the plural from of the word "El."

It is interesting to note that each usage of this word throughout the Bible is grammatically incorrect. It is a plural noun used with singular verbs. According to Genesis 1:1, the Creator of the Universe, Elohim, exists as a plural being.

What the author says at first about the word Elohim is true; it is a plural form.  But the author makes a serious error when he says that using a plural noun with a singular verb is "grammatically incorrect".  In English, using a plural noun with a singular verb is a huge grammatical error; but the Hebrew language functions very differently from English.  In Hebrew, there are times when a plural noun can be used with a singular verb and there is no grammar problems at all.

In English (and many other languages) there are two numerical categories: singular , which refers to only one person/thing; and plural, which refers to only multiple persons/things.  In languages that function this way there is no middle ground---if a thing has a plural form then it is numerically more than one and if a thing has a singular form then it is numerically only one.  This is not the case in Hebrew, however.

In Hebrew, there are not two numerical categories, but three.  Just like any other language it has singular and plural; but the third option stands half way in between the other two.  The intensive plural refers to only one person/thing, even though it looks plural in form.  Intensive plurals LOOK plural, but in reality they only refer to one thing; and that is why they can be used with singular verbs, predicate nouns, and adjectives.  The intensive plural form is to express greatness, hugeness, authority, or majesty; not multiplicity.

Let's look a the Hebrew word אָדוֹן (adon), the word for a master, lord, or overseer.  This word will show us that there are certain times when it is perfectly natural in Hebrew to use a plural noun to refer to only one person .

• Singular
  When the children of Heth were speaking to Abraham in Genesis 26 they said "Hear us, my lord (אָדוֹן): thou art a mighty prince among us" (v.6).  Abraham is only one person so they used the singular form of the word. 
  
• Numeric Plural
  Isaiah prayed, "O LORD our God, other lords (אֲדֹנִים) beside thee have had dominion over us" (Isa. 23:16).  In this verse Isaiah is talking about multiple other rulers that have controlled Israel instead of God.  He uses the plural form "lords", אֲדֹנִים (adonim); and he uses it with the plural verb "[they] have had dominion".
  
  In Psalm 136:3 David called Jehovah "the Lord of lords (אֲדֹנִים)".  David is saying that God is the ruler over all of the other rulers that exist; אֲדֹנִים (adonim, "lords") here is obviously numerically plural.
  
• Intensive Plural
  In Genesis 42:30 Joseph is described as "The man, who is the lord (אֲדֹנִים) of the land", Egypt.  This verse uses the plural form אֲדֹנִים (adonim).  But this verse is only talking about one person; that is why the verse uses the singular word "man".  Joseph is only one person!  The intensive plural is used to show that he was a very powerful ruler.
  
  In Exodus 21:6 a servant's owner is called "his master (אֲדֹנִים)".  This verse is only talking about one owner, because this verse uses the singular verb "[he] shall bring".  The intensive plural is used because of the authority that a master has over his servant.
  
  In 2 Kings 2 there were certain men who told Elisha that God was about to take Elijah, Elisha's master, from him.  These men told Elisha, "the LORD will take away thy master (אֲדֹנִים) from thy head to day" (v.3).  Elijah is only one person, so the plural form אֲדֹנִים (adonim) cannot be numerically plural and refer to multiple people.  It is an intensive plural referring to only one person, Elijah.
  These are only three.  I could list multiple other times when the Hebrew word אָדוֹן (adon) uses a plural form even when it refers to only one person.  

Understanding the intensive plural in Hebrew grammar is important because some teachers (like the website I quoted at the beginning) abuse these plural forms and use them to teach that unbiblical things about God.  Trinitarian believers teach that God is multiple persons because he is described with plural words; and this is simply not the case.

God is described with the plural form אֲדֹנִים (adonim) in scripture; but that does not automatically mean that God is numerically plural or that he is more than one being.  In Malachi 1:6 God says "if I be a master (אֲדֹנִים), where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts".  Psalm 135:5 says, "I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord (אֲדֹנִים) is above all gods".  And Psalm 147:5 says "Great is our Lord (אֲדֹנִים), and of great power: his understanding is infinite".

A teacher who does not know about (or who chooses to ignore) the Hebrew intensive plural may look at these verses and say, "See there!  These verses describe with plural words so he must be more than one!"  But notice what else the verses say.  In the verse from Malachi, God uses singular self-descriptions "I" and "my".  In Psalm 135:5 and 145:5 the Hebrew word "great" is in the singular form.  אֲדֹנִים (adonim) in these verses is an intensive plural; God is only one person, speaks like only one person, and is described as only one person!  He is described with a plural word to show how mighty, awesome, powerful, and big he is.

In closing, there is one thing that you need to keep in mind about plural Hebrew words.  The numeric plural and the intensive plural look IDENTICAL.  The only way to know if you are looking at an intensive plural or a numerical plural is to know who you are describing.  The best example of this is in Deuteronomy 10:17:

"For the LORD your God is God (אֱלֹהִים) of gods (אֱלֹהִים), and Lord (אֲדֹנִים) of lords (אֲדֹנִים), a great God".

If you look carefully at the Hebrew word for "God" and "gods" you will notice that they are identical in the original Hebrew; and so is the word for "Lord" and "lords".  How can this be?!?  It is because the first time (God/Lord) is an intensive plural; it looks plural but actually only refers to one person, Jehovah.  The second time (gods/lords) is a numerical plural; it looks plural and actually does refer to multiple other beings.

If you would like to read more about plural descriptions of our singular God, see my post These Are The Gods.  In the Bible God is certainly described in plural ways; but these plural words are always used to highlight his majesty, might, and glory.  Always remember, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD"!!      ~CJK

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

One day Jesus was walking to Galilee and he stopped by a well in Samaria.  While he was there a woman came and spoke with him; and Jesus asked her for some water to drink.  When the woman hesitated to give him any water, Jesus said " If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10).

This Samaritan lady did not understand what he meant by living water: "The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?" (John 4:11).  So Jesus explained what he meant to her.  I can picture him pointing to the well beside them: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again...But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13-14).

The woman still did not understand what Jesus was talking about; because Jesus was not talking about earthly water.  Jesus was talking about "everlasting life", and the "water" was God's Spirit.  Jesus told his disciples in another place, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" (John 7:37-39).  

Notice that Jesus calls the Holy Ghost living water, the same thing that he told the woman at the well.  This Spirit, this living water, that Jesus is talking about is a gift.  Jesus said to the woman at the well, "If thou knewest the gift of God" (John 4:10).  Jesus is saying that the gift of God is his Spirit, the Holy Ghost, which "they that believe on him should receive".

The word for gift here in the original Greek New Testament is δωρεά (dorea).  Interestingly, the word δωρεά is used multiple times in the Bible to talk about people being filled with God's Spirit.  Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says that δωρεά is used "with an epexegetical gen[itive] of the thing given, viz. τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος [the Holy Ghost]" (p. 161).  To put this in every-day terms, the word "of" explains what the gift is.  So when the Bible talks about the "gift of the Holy Ghost", the gift IS the Holy Ghost living inside of us.  The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament says, "In [the book of Acts] the Spirit is called the δωρεά of God" (vol. 2, p. 167).  When the scriptures refer to "the gift of the Holy Ghost", it means "the gift that is the Holy Ghost".

 The very first time Christians received this gift--the Holy Ghost--was on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  They were gathered together in an upper room when they heard a sound like a rushing wind, they saw little flames of fire sitting on each other's heads, and "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (See Acts 2:1-4).  When people heard these Christians speaking in other languages, a crowd gathered and Peter preached Jesus to them.  When they asked how to be saved he told them "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift (δωρεά) of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).  The word for gift here is the same word that Jesus used when he talked to the woman at the well.  Peter said the same thing as John 7:37-39: that converts would receive the "δωρεά of the Holy Ghost" as part of the salvation experience.

The Bible tells us that after the church was established at Jerusalem, Philip began to preach in Samaria and the people believed his preaching (Acts 8:4-6).  Not only did they believe, but "they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (8:16, see v. 12).  So far this matches exactly what Peter told the people at Jerusalem; but the Samaritan converts had not received the Holy Ghost yet.  So Peter and John came and "prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them" (8:15-16).

When they laid their hands on the people they received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  And there was obviously some outward sign that they had received God's Spirit, because a Samaritan sorcerer named Simon offered the apostles money and said "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost" (8:19).  Peter rebuked him: "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift (δωρεά) of God may be purchased with money".  The Samaritans had received the same δωρεά gift that Peter had preached about in Acts 2.

I submit that the initial outward sign that the Samaritans had received the gift of the Holy Ghost was speaking in other languages.  When the Apostles received the Holy Ghost in Acts 2, the Bible says "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (2:4).  

In Acts 10 Peter was preaching to the Roman centurion Cornelius and his household.  "While Peter yet spake...the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word" (10:44).  The other Christians who came with Peter "were astonished...because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift (δωρεά) of the Holy Ghost" (10:45).  And how did Peter's associates know that they had received the δωρεά gift?  It says "they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God" (Acts 10:46).  When Paul laid his hands on some new converts  the Bible says "the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues" (Acts 19:6).  When Peter was questioned later, he said that God gave the gentiles "the like gift (δωρεά) as he did unto us" (Acts 11:17).  When the apostles received the Holy Ghost they spoke in other languages; and the gentiles received the same gift in the same way.

So we see from the scriptures that God's Spirit in us is a gift.  Hebrews 6:4 calls it "the heavenly gift (δωρεά)"; Jesus and Peter both called it the "the gift (δωρεά) of God".  It is living water and eternal life in us.  This gift is necessary for salvation; Romans 8:9 says "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his".  In other words, if you do not have God's Spirit (and remember, the gift IS his Spirit), then you are not God's; you have not been saved.  

When the Bible talks about people receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, the Bible says multiple times that they spoke with other tongues as the initial evidence.  This lets us know that a Christian will speak in another language when he first receives God's Spirit.  So let me encourage you; if you have never spoken in tongues then you have never received the δωρεά gift of God's Spirit.  Pray and ask God to fill you with his Spirit and earnestly seek for it; speaking in tongues will occur when God gives you the gift of the Holy Ghost.  

God's Spirit is a wonderful gift, it is necessary for salvation, and if God has it for me I want it!  The first time Christians received the Holy Ghost was Acts 2; and it was then that Peter said, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).  We modern-day believers are certainly "afar off"; but the promise of the Holy Ghost with speaking in tongues is still for us today!  I hope that "the Lord our God shall call" you to experience this wonderful gift!

The King's Crossing

David was without doubt one of the greatest kings of Israel.  During his reign the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were reunited into one realm (2 Samuel 5:1-5); and his forty years as king marked a sort of Golden Age for the nation that only grew and came into its  fullness under his son Solomon.  This does not mean, however, that David's monarchy was entirely without turmoil.  Just the opposite is the case.  David would see a time in his reign when the entire nation was in rebellion against him.

It was David's own son that lead the revolt.  Through craftiness and flattery Absalom turned the nation from David; "Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel" (2 Samuel 15:6).  Absalom was very effective in his attempt to usurp his father and become king: "the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom" (15:12).  By an irony was this traitor, this author of treachery, named Absalom; because the Hebrew name Absalom (אַבְשָׁלֹום) means "father of peace".

When David realized the rebellion he knew that his time was short.  He quickly set his house in order and told his servants, "Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom" (2 Samuel 15:14).  The departure of the king caused great grief among his loyal subjects; many of them left with the king or came out to mourn and watch his flight from Jerusalem. 

David went out of Jerusalem and assembled a small band of loyal followers.  Then "the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness" (2 Samuel 15:23).  After crossing the Kidron river king David "went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up" (15:30).  When David got to the top of the mountain he worshiped there (15:32).



So far all this seems like just a story from the Bible; a storm in the life of David.  But it is a beautiful storm.  Events from David's life take on a new significance when we understand that David was used as an allegorical reference for the Messiah.  God inspired two different prophets to symbolically describe Jesus as "David":

Jeremiah prophesied of a day when Israel would be released from the bondage of his enemies.  They would no longer serve their enemies; instead "they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them" (Jeremiah 30:9).  Jeremiah was talking about the coming Messiah.  Jeremiah could not possibly have been talking about literal David because Jeremiah was not even alive during the reign of actual David.



Hosea likewise prophesied of a day when Israel's worship would be restored.  "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days" (Hosea 3:8-9).  Again, Hosea could not possibly have been talking about literal David.  Hosea's prophetic ministry did not start until over 250 after king David's death!  This prophecy is an obvious reference to the Messiah.  Notice how he says that these things would happen "in the latter days".



With this in mind think again about this story from David's life.  The king was dealing with a nation that was in rebellion against him, trying to kill him.  He left Jerusalem and assembled a small group of loyal followers.  With this group he crossed the Kidron river and climbed the Mount of Olives.  Once at the top he worshiped God.  The amazing thing is that all of these events in the life of literal David are played out in the life of symbolic David, Jesus.


When Jesus came to this earth he came to a kingdom that was in rebellion against him.  Jesus was the King of Israel that came in the name of the Lord (John 12:13); but even still, he "came unto his own, and his own received him not" (1:11).  David had a small band of loyal followers that were not part of the rebellion; and so did Jesus in his disciples.  But rather than fight against the rebellion like the first David, Jesus submitted to it; he told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36).  The first rebellion attempted to kill the king; the second rebellion succeeded.


Right before the crucifixion Jesus assembled a small band of loyal followers, his disciples, and left Jerusalem.  After leaving the city he "went forth with his disciples over the book Cedron" (John 18:1).  Cedron is an alternate spelling for Kidron.  When he had crossed the Kidron river he "went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives" (Luke 22:39) where he prayed with his disciples.  The events of Jesus' life as he prepared to leave earth directly harmonize with the events of his archetypal forefather David has he prepared to leave Jerusalem.  The storm from David's life beautifully weaves itself through the life of the Messiah that David symbolized.


In conclusion, this parallel is made all the more beautiful by a fact that should be ever present in the mind of Christians.  David had to go away from Jerusalem, it is true.  But there came a day when David had returned to Jerusalem in power, having his enemies defeated.  The king did leave his followers; but the king came back! 


May we always remember that our King Jesus is coming back!  It is true that the world is in rebellion against him now; it is true that he has left us for a time now.  But as surely as David left he returned in victory.  And as sure as Jesus ascended into heaven he will return a second time in victory and in power!  May we be like David's faithful servants who loyally waited his return to Jerusalem; may we always be watching for our king to come back!

The Nail-Jesus and Jael

The history contained in the book of Judges was one of great turmoil for the nation of Israel.  During this time many foreign invading countries came to fight against Israel, and Canaan was no exception to this.  In response to this invasion God raised up the prophetess Deborah and the military leader Barak to fight against the Canaanite general Sisera and his army.


Typically, in the Judges narratives, men are the iconic heroes who drastically defeat the enemy.  The story of Deborah and Barak is somewhat of an oddity because the capstone of Israel's military victory is accomplished by a woman; and the woman is not even Deborah!


The prophetess Deborah was probably a judge of civil matters at this time.  Doubtless under divine inspiration, "she sent and called Barak" (Judges 4:6) and began to explain to him Jehovah's wishes.  God wanted Barak to go to Mount Tabor, assemble an Israelite army from the tribes Naphtali and Zebulun, and join battle with Sisera and King Jabin's army at the Kishon river.  God promised that the Canaanites would be defeated.  But Deborah also told Barak plainly, "the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman" (4:9).


Barak did as the Lord instructed and Sisera and the Canaanites were conquered just as Jehovah had said.  "Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left" (4:16).  But, in the middle of the battle, general Sisera jumped off of his chariot and ran on foot out of the battle.


"Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite" (4:17).  Sisera came to Jael seeking refuge.  Jael took in the general and gave him warm milk and a comfortable place to rest.  Weary with the battle Sisera quickly fell asleep.  "Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand...and smote the nail into his temples" (4:21).  Not long after this Barak arrived to find Sisera dead in the tent.  Jael, the woman of Deborah's prophecy, killed the enemy of Israel with a nail.


It was not uncommon in those days for victors to sing for joy after their military triumph; "Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day" (Judges 5:1).  What is so interesting to me is how they describe Jael: "Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent" (5:24).  Jael is described as "blessed above women"; does that sound familiar?


Jael is not the only woman in scripture who is described in this fashion.  When the angel Gabriel came to Mary he said to her, "blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:28).  As similar as these two descriptions are in English, they are almost more so in Biblical Greek:

εὐλογηθείη ἐν γυναιξὶν Ιαηλ [Jael] (Judges 5:24 LXX)

 εὐλογημένη σὺ [thou=Mary] ἐν γυναιξίν (Luke 1:28 GNT)

Notice how Mary is directly paralleled to Jael; they are both described in almost identical fashion.


Think again about Jael's story.  As a woman she participated in the deliverance of God's people from their enemy.  She is called blessed among women, and she kills Israel's enemy with a nail.  Now compare that to what we know of Mary.  As a woman Mary was involved in God's plan to bring in the Messiah who would deliver God's people from their enemy: sin and death.  Mary too is called blessed among women; and Jesus (Mary's son after the flesh) kills sin--the enemy of God's people--with a nail.


Keep in mind, I am not encouraging Mary-worship.  Nor am I saying that Mary was a co-redeemer with Jesus.  Mary was not directly involved in deliverance in the way that Jael was.  I am just drawing our attention to a breathtaking example of God's foreshadowing in the scriptures.  I do not think Gabriel's words to Mary were accidental.  By describing her in this way a connection is established between Mary, Jesus, and Jael.  Just as Jael helped deliver Israel from a military enemy, so Mary gave birth to Jesus; and Jesus delivered his people from the eternal enemy of death.


I am so thankful that God came to be born of the virgin Mary in the person of Jesus Christ.  And I am so thankful that Jesus, as was foreshadowed so long before, defeated my called sin when he alone died for my sins on the cross.  Mary and Jael were both blessed among women; and God's people were saved with a nail.
~CJK