we find the story of the mother of John the Baptist in Luke 1. she is an old woman and her husband is an old man. well past child bearing years it would seem. her husband is a priest in the temple. the angel Gabriel comes to him to tell him that God has seem his faithfulness and intends to bless him with a special child. this man, Zechariah is his name, doubts that this could be real. and for this doubt he is stricken with silence until the child is born.
it seems that Elizabeth has no such fears and she is thankful and gives God all the credit for this miracle. Luke 1:25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”
she had been looked upon with disgrace because she could not have children. in those times that seemed to be looked upon as though God was not pleased with you. I guess it actually is still looked at as though something is wrong with you. maybe not a curse, but surely as an abnormality.
we often feel as we get older that we are no longer of use to God. or that He will not use us in a spectacular way. instead of doubting God, what would happen if we would all begin to believe all that He puts in our spirit? can you imagine the massive move of God that would transpire if we would just believe Him and take His promises as truth and be thankful.
God chose to use her. He chose to bless her with a favored son and she was thankful.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Judith
okay... this woman is not in the bible we read daily.. she is in the so called Lost Books of the Bible...
she is hailed as a hero.. yet I wonder...
she lived in the time when the Assyrians were attacking Israel.. she is a widow and apparently a beautiful woman... it is first stated that she lived alone, well.. she had a maid that lived with her.. she was left well taken care of by her late husband who had been very wealthy... she was to have given up the rich clothing she wore when she was married and living a meager existance in prayer and supplication... that is the beginning of the story...
in comes this general of the Assyrians named Holophernes... and the Israelites were afraid of him... and they did not go and attack him because of their fear... she hears the Jewish leaders talking and they are not talking of coming against this general who leads under the king Nebuchadnezzar... so as they are not intending to do anything about this man... she takes it upon herself and she goes out of the city gate at night... goes to the Assyrian camp.. and says she has information for Holophernes...
she has put on all her rich clothing that she used to wear when her husband was alive... made herself attractive under the guise of seduction... and is led into this man... he gets drunk... she cuts his head off and carries it back to the Israelites....
okay... here are the questions/issues with this story... that are still in question with us today... does the end justify the means?
women throughout the bible are not given leadership roles... this is just a bible fact.. I am sorry if you do not like it.. a man is to be the head... all the time.. women really were not to be outspoken like we are... they were to be in submission to a man... as are we... so... she had remained humble and lowly all that time.. which was right... then she dresses herself up for seduction... of a 'pagan' man... and cuts his head off... taking the lead role... the role of a liar.. the role of a murderer... yes... she did cut the head off of someone trying to attack God's people... but does that make it right? should it not have been a man that stepped up and led the country to victory? and while we as women like to say that men are not stepping into leadership roles... well of course they aren't.. when do we ever give them an opportunity to? are we quiet enough long enough to allow it to happen? and trust me.. GOD controls the heart of a man... when GOD was ready to step a man up to be against that general... He would have...
Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
Proverbs 7: 10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home; 12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) 13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: 14 "I have fellowship offerings [a] at home; today I fulfilled my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! 16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love! 19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. 20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."
we as women need to be cautious what type of woman we are portraying... are we loud and rebellious, always trying to gain control? or are we God fearing women that allow God to be the true Head of our lives?
she is hailed as a hero.. yet I wonder...
she lived in the time when the Assyrians were attacking Israel.. she is a widow and apparently a beautiful woman... it is first stated that she lived alone, well.. she had a maid that lived with her.. she was left well taken care of by her late husband who had been very wealthy... she was to have given up the rich clothing she wore when she was married and living a meager existance in prayer and supplication... that is the beginning of the story...
in comes this general of the Assyrians named Holophernes... and the Israelites were afraid of him... and they did not go and attack him because of their fear... she hears the Jewish leaders talking and they are not talking of coming against this general who leads under the king Nebuchadnezzar... so as they are not intending to do anything about this man... she takes it upon herself and she goes out of the city gate at night... goes to the Assyrian camp.. and says she has information for Holophernes...
she has put on all her rich clothing that she used to wear when her husband was alive... made herself attractive under the guise of seduction... and is led into this man... he gets drunk... she cuts his head off and carries it back to the Israelites....
okay... here are the questions/issues with this story... that are still in question with us today... does the end justify the means?
women throughout the bible are not given leadership roles... this is just a bible fact.. I am sorry if you do not like it.. a man is to be the head... all the time.. women really were not to be outspoken like we are... they were to be in submission to a man... as are we... so... she had remained humble and lowly all that time.. which was right... then she dresses herself up for seduction... of a 'pagan' man... and cuts his head off... taking the lead role... the role of a liar.. the role of a murderer... yes... she did cut the head off of someone trying to attack God's people... but does that make it right? should it not have been a man that stepped up and led the country to victory? and while we as women like to say that men are not stepping into leadership roles... well of course they aren't.. when do we ever give them an opportunity to? are we quiet enough long enough to allow it to happen? and trust me.. GOD controls the heart of a man... when GOD was ready to step a man up to be against that general... He would have...
Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
Proverbs 7: 10 Then out came a woman to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 11 (She is loud and defiant, her feet never stay at home; 12 now in the street, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks.) 13 She took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said: 14 "I have fellowship offerings [a] at home; today I fulfilled my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you; I looked for you and have found you! 16 I have covered my bed with colored linens from Egypt. 17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 18 Come, let's drink deep of love till morning; let's enjoy ourselves with love! 19 My husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. 20 He took his purse filled with money and will not be home till full moon."
we as women need to be cautious what type of woman we are portraying... are we loud and rebellious, always trying to gain control? or are we God fearing women that allow God to be the true Head of our lives?
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Zipporah
Zipporah was the wife of Moses... I have to give interpretation here because there is conflicting interpretations... the bible only has scripture about Zipporah in Exodus 4 and Exodus 18... surely you should read and determine what you gather for yourself...
Moses married Zipporah from the land of Midian.. her father was Jethro, he was a priest... Moses met her when he fled from the land of Egypt after he killed an Egyptian and was confronted about it by two Hebrews...
she saved the life of Moses... in Jewish law... the male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day... this is the outward sign of man accepting the covenant with God.. and as Moses was working on the whole freeing the people of Israel from Egypt thing... he overlooked this... and God was going to kill him.. (Exodus 4:24-26) but Zipporah, his wife.. took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it on Moses' foot (although some interpret feet to mean on his genitals), covering him in the blood.. and God relented... and didn't kill him..
one of the roles of a wife is to cover her husband.. sometimes he might get so caught up in the day to day working (as providing is their role) that they often forget details.. and if we as wives don't keep them covered... God may strike them down... I don't think women fully understand the role of the wife... sometimes we feel as though our role is not as important because a man is to be the head and we desire to control everything... but that is not our position... that is the responsiblity of the man... but imagine if we are not doing our part... what God has ordained for us to do... covering him in prayer... supporting him in his decisions... (even if we don't really agree) I think women don't realize that your husband will not be all that he can be if you are not all that you are supposed to be...
then.. in chapter 18 (still in Exodus) Moses sends Zipporah back to her father... now that is really disturbing to me... because this is the last time that she is mentioned... and I am wondering if he sent her back to her father to live forever...
later in numbers 12 it says Moses was married to a Cushite woman... now I had always assumed these two women were the same woman but I am unsure if these are the same woman... I am not sure if Cush and Midian would be the same place... some scholars say they are the same woman... others say they are not...
if they are the same woman, Moses later had to deal with Miriam and Aaron being mad about him marrying a dark skinned woman and God came to the rescue and struck Miriam with leprosy... Moses prayed it off of her but it was a lesson hard learned I am sure...
my thought is that while she was not an Israelite woman she was obviously a woman that served the God of Israel.. she was a good wife... there is nothing negative written about her at all... she was a woman that covered her husband in prayer and in action... she dealt with racism and hatred from her own husband's family... above all.. .she was a woman of God...
Moses married Zipporah from the land of Midian.. her father was Jethro, he was a priest... Moses met her when he fled from the land of Egypt after he killed an Egyptian and was confronted about it by two Hebrews...
she saved the life of Moses... in Jewish law... the male child was to be circumcised on the 8th day... this is the outward sign of man accepting the covenant with God.. and as Moses was working on the whole freeing the people of Israel from Egypt thing... he overlooked this... and God was going to kill him.. (Exodus 4:24-26) but Zipporah, his wife.. took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and threw it on Moses' foot (although some interpret feet to mean on his genitals), covering him in the blood.. and God relented... and didn't kill him..
one of the roles of a wife is to cover her husband.. sometimes he might get so caught up in the day to day working (as providing is their role) that they often forget details.. and if we as wives don't keep them covered... God may strike them down... I don't think women fully understand the role of the wife... sometimes we feel as though our role is not as important because a man is to be the head and we desire to control everything... but that is not our position... that is the responsiblity of the man... but imagine if we are not doing our part... what God has ordained for us to do... covering him in prayer... supporting him in his decisions... (even if we don't really agree) I think women don't realize that your husband will not be all that he can be if you are not all that you are supposed to be...
then.. in chapter 18 (still in Exodus) Moses sends Zipporah back to her father... now that is really disturbing to me... because this is the last time that she is mentioned... and I am wondering if he sent her back to her father to live forever...
later in numbers 12 it says Moses was married to a Cushite woman... now I had always assumed these two women were the same woman but I am unsure if these are the same woman... I am not sure if Cush and Midian would be the same place... some scholars say they are the same woman... others say they are not...
if they are the same woman, Moses later had to deal with Miriam and Aaron being mad about him marrying a dark skinned woman and God came to the rescue and struck Miriam with leprosy... Moses prayed it off of her but it was a lesson hard learned I am sure...
my thought is that while she was not an Israelite woman she was obviously a woman that served the God of Israel.. she was a good wife... there is nothing negative written about her at all... she was a woman that covered her husband in prayer and in action... she dealt with racism and hatred from her own husband's family... above all.. .she was a woman of God...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Hosea
Hosea was a prophet... he was called by God to go and marry a prostitute... and he really did it... and she was unfaithful to him... he even went to get her back from off another man... and he had to BUY her back...
before I even start on the spirit side of this... let's look at the human side... have you ever had someone cheat on you and sleep with another person? there are not many things that are as devastating as that... it seems to go much deeper in you than the physical betrayal... it causes you to doubt your self worth... your looks.. your value in general... it also causes you to doubt that this person ever really cared about you to begin with... we can say that it is just a physical act but when you really love someone... it is hard to push that thought from the brain into the heart... and this man is called by God to go back and get her again... does he trust her? could he possibly? does he still love her? can you imagine the amount of love and commitment it would require to actually go through this?
now spiritually... this is what each and every one of us has done to the God that we supposedly love... we keep putting the calling He has placed upon our lives on hold so that we can continue doing what we really want to be doing... this is spiritual adultery... and we expect Him to be faithful... to be there every time we call on Him... we expect Him to love us despite what we do or do not do... but are we loving anyone in that same manner that we want to be loved...
it has been said that this didn't really happen... that it is just an analogy used to help us to understand what God feels about us sometimes... I don't believe that.. I believe that each and every one of us... in our relationships in life are living out an example of what goes on with God and man... but we don't see it that way... if we take the focus off of us and onto God... what would we see? how do we treat God in comparison to how He treats us...
the story never tells us if the woman changes her ways... it doesn't tell us that she ends up loving Hosea... he may have lived his entire life fathering children that were not his in the name of the Lord... he may have lived his life with a woman that never loved him... never wanted him.. to be an example of the love of God to God's people... how many of us love God this seriously?
before I even start on the spirit side of this... let's look at the human side... have you ever had someone cheat on you and sleep with another person? there are not many things that are as devastating as that... it seems to go much deeper in you than the physical betrayal... it causes you to doubt your self worth... your looks.. your value in general... it also causes you to doubt that this person ever really cared about you to begin with... we can say that it is just a physical act but when you really love someone... it is hard to push that thought from the brain into the heart... and this man is called by God to go back and get her again... does he trust her? could he possibly? does he still love her? can you imagine the amount of love and commitment it would require to actually go through this?
now spiritually... this is what each and every one of us has done to the God that we supposedly love... we keep putting the calling He has placed upon our lives on hold so that we can continue doing what we really want to be doing... this is spiritual adultery... and we expect Him to be faithful... to be there every time we call on Him... we expect Him to love us despite what we do or do not do... but are we loving anyone in that same manner that we want to be loved...
it has been said that this didn't really happen... that it is just an analogy used to help us to understand what God feels about us sometimes... I don't believe that.. I believe that each and every one of us... in our relationships in life are living out an example of what goes on with God and man... but we don't see it that way... if we take the focus off of us and onto God... what would we see? how do we treat God in comparison to how He treats us...
the story never tells us if the woman changes her ways... it doesn't tell us that she ends up loving Hosea... he may have lived his entire life fathering children that were not his in the name of the Lord... he may have lived his life with a woman that never loved him... never wanted him.. to be an example of the love of God to God's people... how many of us love God this seriously?
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