Musings from Israel, Part Four

Of Olive Trees and Tassels

Another theme that we discussed throughout our tour of Israel was the concept of the grafted branch. In Romans 11, the apostle Paul explains this metaphor this way: the "cultivated" olive tree is Israel. The "wild" olive trees are the Gentiles. Some of the branches of the cultivated tree were broken off, because of unbelief. The Gentile believers were cut from the wild olive trees and grafted into the cultivated tree (11:17). Paul exhorts the Gentile believers in Rome not to "boast against" the Jewish branches (11:18), and he looks forward to the day when Jews and Gentiles will unite together in Christ (11:26-27).


Isaiah 2:2 gives us a picture of this, "Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations (goyim, gentiles) shall flow to it."

Another interesting prophecy by Zechariah reminded us of the tassels we had dicussed earlier: "The LORD of Hosts says this: 'In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'" Some English versions translate "robe" as "sleeve." Others, "hem" or "skirt." I do not think it is a stretch to believe that Zechariah's prophecy is of Gentiles from every nation grabbing hold of the tassel of one Jewish man, believing that God is with Him. And of course, I believe that one Jewish man was Jesus of Nazareth.

Musings from Israel, part Three

Wings

In the area of Capernaum, as we sat by the Sea of Galilee, Yoni related to us a familiar gospel story, with a Jewish twist that I had never before considered. Holding up a tallit, a traditional undergament worn by orthodox Jews, in Jesus' day as well as today, Yoni explained that the corner of the tallit, where a tassel or fringe hangs down, is called the "wing" of the garment. Several days later, in Jerusalem, I snapped the following picture of an orthodox man, where you can see his tassel hanging down beneath his jacket.

The story Yoni told us is found in Mark 5:25-34, and it is the story of a woman who suffered from an affliction, a flow of blood, and wanted only to touch Jesus' garment as He passed by in a crowd. She succeeded in touching His garment, and felt immediately that she had been healed. Of course, Jesus knew what had happened; and a somewhat amusing exhcange with His disciples followed, wherein Jesus demanded to know who touched Him, and the incredulous disciples looked around at the huge throng of people pressing in on all sides, and back at Jesus as if to say, "What on earth are you talking about?" But Jesus knew exactly who touched Him, and He knew exactly why. When the woman came forward and told her story, Jesus commended her on her faith.

Obviously, a Jewish woman who believed Jesus to be the Messiah, would have faith that He had the ability to heal her, but why did she believe that merely touching His garment would be enough? To answer that question, we look to Malachi 4:2, "The Sun of Righteousness shall arrive with healing in his wings." I've heard that verse many times, and, with my Western mind, always assumed the wings were like angels' wings or birds' wings. But to the afflicted Jewish woman, the Messiah would be a Jewish man, wearing a Jewish tallit, and she knew there would be healing in His wings.

Be merciful to me, O God,

Be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

Psalm 57:1

Musings from Israel, part two

Rock of Ages

Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.

This strange account may seem like nonsense, but it is the perfect combination of two important metaphors: the water and the rock.

In our journey through Israel, after we discussed the significance of water, we turned our focus to rocks. We visited Banias, a.k.a. Ceasarea Phillippi, where a large cave opens in a towering cliff face. In ancient times, a spring gushed out from this cave, and it was known as "the Gates of Hades." It was here in this area where Peter declared the diety of Jesus, and Jesus responded, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:17-18)


While there is some debate over whether Jesus meant Himself or Peter when He refered to "this rock," there is no doubt that Jesus is THE rock of our salvation (1 Cor. 10: 4 - "that Rock was Christ.")


So back to the Exodus passage....the picture becomes crystal clear! Just as Moses struck the rock in Horeb and the water flowed out to meet the needs of the people, so too Jesus (the Rock) was struck (crucified) to provide living water for His people.


It is both simple and profound.

Hear my cry, O God.

Attend to my prayer.

From the end of the earth,

I will cry to You.

When my heart is overwhelmed,

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

Psalm 61:1-2

Musings from Israel, part One

(Earlier this year, I had the amazing privilege of attending a study tour in Israel, with our pastor, David Tarkington, and a wonderful group of people from my church. Our guide, Yoni Gerrish, helped us tour the country, and brought scripture to life for us for 10 days.

This is the first of a series of posts which are inspired by my trip to Israel.)

An Ever Flowing Stream

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yeilding fruit.
In the northern part of Israel, we toured the Tel Dan Nature Reserve. The springs of the Dan are the source for the Jordan River (Jor-"Dan"). This was a breathtakingly beautiful area, with rushing streams and waterfalls, and we paused to consider a few verses. In the Jeremiah passage above, the LORD is symbolically represented by the river, the waters. In another passage, Isaiah 58:11, we read, "The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."

Yoni told us that the upper spring in Dan never stops flowing. As we see from Isaiah 58:11, God is our ever-flowing stream. And if we read John 7: 37-38, we see the words of Jesus, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."

Obviously, water is a very important spiritual metaphor. Physical water brings physical life - the flowers bloom, the trees bear fruit. And spiritual water brings spiritual life, not just a little bit, but an abundance..."rivers of living water." With God as our source, our ever-flowing stream, our spiritual life should be one of abundance and continuous growth.

After the Nature Reserve, we visited the Hermon Stream Waterfall. This gorgeous waterfall is referenced in Psalm 42, which also employs the water metaphor.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?...

O My God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the Hill Mizar. Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and billows have gone over me.

Psalm 42:1-2, 6-7

Friendship

I am blessed to have many wonderful friends. I know a large group of ladies who are strong, Godly, and fun women that I enjoy spending time with. But lately, I’ve been wondering how I can grow even deeper in these relationships. God created us to be relational, and we as women especially desire those personal connections. There are several reasons why I haven’t taken my friendships to a deeper level. One is time. We are all so busy, with our husbands, our kids, our jobs, our church and community activities, that it is difficult to carve out the time to connect deeply with other women. Another reason that I sometimes hold myself at arms’ length from others is fear. I’ve experienced betrayals of friendship in the past, and it is hard to break out of that self-protective mode. Lastly, like many other women, I suffer from a lack of self-confidence. I allow the enemy to convince me that I have nothing to add to the lives of others, so I withdraw.

This is hard for me to write, and put out there for others to see, but I am doing so in the hopes that I am not the only one struggling with this issue. Maybe my struggles can help somebody else who reads this today. I have a feeling that there are quite a few other women out there dealing with this same feeling of loneliness, even in the midst of a crowd.

What does God say about friendship? First, and most importantly, He wants us to be in relationship with Him. Jesus told his disciples in John 15:15, “I no longer call you servants…instead, I have called you friends.” This is foundational. We cannot have a deep, spiritual friendship with anyone if we do not know Jesus as Friend first. In fact, if we try to find our meaning and our value in our human friendships, rather than in the Savior, we will end up disappointed and disillusioned.

Second, we must realize that friendship ought not to be self-focused. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reminds us “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Even our friendships are to be lived out for God’s glory.

So how do we do that? Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) says, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly…” In order to develop new friends, and deepen existing friendships, we need to reach out first. Instead of waiting for others to reach into our lives and bless us, we ought to focus on how we can be a blessing to others first. This can be scary, because it involves opening ourselves up to others. But fear is the enemy of friendships. 1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love.” If we are willing to put aside our self-focus, to love others and minister to others, the fear will be driven away. “Perfect love drives out fear.”

I’m challenging myself to move deeper in my friendships this year. I want to grow deeper in that foundational Friendship first of all, but also in my other friendships. Would anyone else like to take up that challenge with me?

Walkin' Down the Heavenly Road

Walkin’ down the heavenly road, I’m gonna lay down my heavy load,
‘cause Jesus said He’d walk along with me. Praise God! Glory, hallelujah!
I’m singin’ all the way; I’ve got sunshine in every day.
So why not come along and join me walkin’ down the heavenly road?

We used to sing that happy little chorus in prayer group when I was in college. It’s got a catchy tune, and upbeat lyrics, and was a general favorite on campus. But it’s not altogether true, is it? I suppose we are, figuratively, walking on a heavenly road, but it’s not all sunshine and singing along the way. The counterpoint to this song is found in Psalm 23:4, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Some days are sunshine and singing, sure. Other times and seasons feel more like the valley of the shadow. The important part, though, is that He is there, walking with us, through all of it.
It’s interesting to me that we refer to a relationship with God as a “walk.” We get that from Scripture itself, of course. Throughout the Old Testament, the righteous are described as those who “walked” in the ways of the Lord. And in the New Testament, we are instructed to “walk” in the light. I think that Scripture uses the word “walk” so much because our relationship with God is not static. There is momentum involved. We are in motion, pressing toward a goal, as the apostle Paul might say (Phil. 3:14). And walking along with us, in good times and bad, is our Savior. As the song says, “Praise God! Glory, Hallelujah!”

Fear

For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. 2 Timothy 1:7

Fear is an insidious thing. I haven’t written anything new in months, and I can make excuses, and blame the business of life, or I can be honest and admit that I’ve been fearful. I’ve been fearful of having nothing to say, or of not being able to artfully express what I do have to say. I don’t even know who, if anyone, reads what I write, but I’ve still been fearful of what others might think of me. It looks silly when I type it all out like that. Self-centered and foolish. But it’s the truth, and this fear has kept me from doing what I know God wants me to do, which is to write. It’s not often that I know for sure what God wants me to do. I believe He gives me a lot of freedom to choose what I want to do in my life, where I work, and where I live, for example. But when it comes to where I fit in the body of Christ, and what ministry He has given me to do, I know for sure that He wants me to write. This became clear to me over a year ago, and I pursued it eagerly at first. But then I let fear creep in. The enemy whispered in my ear that I’m not a good enough writer, and that I’m not a good enough Christian to write devotions for women. And I’m not. That much is true. But I let the enemy twist that truth, the simple truth that I am not perfect, and turn it into shame and fear. In reality, no one is “good enough,” but God still wants to use us anyway. In fact, it seems He delights in using “the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” (1 Cor. 1:27)
Today I am making a new commitment to pursue this ministry that I believe God has called me into. I will not allow fear, and a shallow, self-centered fear at that, to keep me from doing what I know I need to be doing. My ministry may not affect many people, but since God called me to do it, I know He has a purpose for it.

The Lord is my light and my salvation,
Whom should I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life,
Of whom should I be afraid?
Psalm 127:1