August 17 – What We Have Been Given

        Psalm 16:2 – "I said to Yahweh, 'You are my Master; apart from you, I have no good thing.'"

        Most of us find ourselves living our lives within the financial class in which we were born. When one is wealthy, it is a little easier to give up that corresponding lifestyle. When one is poor, it is very difficult to improve one's condition, as it takes much hard work and fortuitous circumstances.

        Today's thought has to do, however, with what we have, and more specifically, with what we have been given. I have always said that I possess things by two means – that which I have been given, and that which I have been allowed to have. I Corinthians 4:7 states, "Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did not receive it, why do you boast as if you did not (i.e., why do you boast as if you earned it)? So, there really are two ways of possessing things – by gifts or by earning. However, God is the one who gives us the ability to earn. Deuteronomy 8:17, 18 states, "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.' But remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth..." The previous verse also states that it was God who faithfully gave daily manna "in order to test you, so that it might go well with you in the end." God's gifts and abilities are sometimes given to test our gratefulness to him, because everything we have ultimately is due to him.

        James 1:17 agrees with all the verses above. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of the heavenly lights..." Let us remember to give thanks to God for all the things in our lives, both great and small, common and special.

July 12 - Thinking Metaphorically

       Psalm 132:11-12 - "Yahweh swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: 'One of your own descendants I will place on your throne; if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever."

        There are many scriptures in the Old Covenant, referencing the "covenant" that God made with David, promising a descendant who will always reign on his throne. 2 Samuel 7:12-16 is the original promise. Psalm 89:3, 4, 35-37 also references this covenant, quite emphatically, while leaving out the conditional phrase of obedience. Of course the reference in Psalm 132 above does contain the caveat "...if your sons keep my covenant." We know that the final descendant to be a physically-reigning king was Zedekiah, who was taken captive into Babylon, when Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem. There is no further reference in the sacred writings, alluding to a descendant of David – except for Jesus. So, how can these "promise" scriptures be true?

        The first answer has to do with the condition in the promise. The descendants of David were not faithful in keeping the laws of the Mosaic covenant, either personally or socially (meaning, nationally – as the leader of the nation). This in itself would render the promise null and void. But what about the references that allude to perpetual reigning, yet leave out the condition necessary for it?

        We know from the genealogy in Matthew that Jesus was descended from David, but not necessarily from Zedekiah's line. This fact at least stays true to a descendant of David always reigning on this throne. But wait! Jesus himself said in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest from the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place." Jesus takes the old promise and puts a metaphorical twist on it. The old promise becomes a double entendre – in other words, it has more than one meaning. God does this throughout the history of the Old Covenant. Take Daniel, chapter 12 for example. If we would look at some problematic scriptures through spiritual eyes, most of the head-scratching would be relieved in some fashion. 

       Jesus himself talked metaphorically quite often with his extensive use of parables. He even did so in the presence of his disciples. Look at John 16:17-31. Jesus states in verse 25, quite interestingly: "Though I have been speaking in allegories, a time is coming when I will no longer do so, but will plainly speak to you of the Father." How many times did Jesus say after speaking the parables: "For him who has ears to hear, let him hear"? He was obviously couching spiritual truths in ordinary language.

         We true "latter-day" believers have the luxury of hindsight, with the explanations of the fulfillments of the Old Covenant, fleshed out, in the writings of the apostles. Paul explains one double entendre in Romans, chapters 9-11. He clearly talks about the physical nation of Israel, being a metaphor for the church, the body of Christ, and how the body of Christ is actually the true Israel. Take for example Romans 9:6 – "It is not as though God's word had failed; for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." This shift in emphasis in the New Testament writings to the church of Jesus is basically the foundation for why I do not adhere to the modern-day teaching of God fulfilling last-day prophecies through the current physical nation of Israel.

        The previous specific argument obviously needs much more reasoning and scriptures to back up my position. Space does not allow for that in this post, nor is that the goal in this writing. I am only trying to help you think outside the box, while still staying true to the integrity of God's word.