The Burning Bush: An Advent Study...the Imperative and the Promise

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

When I decided to do the study based on Exodus 3, I had in mind four little posts...perfect for Advent.  But, as I was actually writing it, I realized there is a fifth post that I couldn't ignore.

God told Moses...I have seen, I have heard, I am concerned, I have come.   Those were the phrases that echoed in my spirit as I considered what I would post this year.  Then a couple of weeks ago, another phrase crept in that was just as insistent.

See, He also told him something else...

"So now, go.  I am sending you...." ...And God said, "I will be with you...I will help you." Ex. 3:10a, 12a, 4:12a.

That sounds a little bit familiar, too.  Kind of like

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."  - Matt 28:19 - 20

Here's what struck me...God's presence isn't just to make us feel better or get us out of trouble.

His presence is to empower us to do things beyond our natural abilities, for the purpose of freeing others.

We can't celebrate the coming of the Christ Child without accepting that responsibility.

That's a point that I will probably be pondering well into 2018.

Maybe I should move that bit of artwork to a more prominent place, to remind me that I am not just saved and delivered, I am also sent.

A Merry and Blessed Christmas to my fellow Sent Ones!

The Burning Bush: An Advent Study - "I Have Come"

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So I have come down to rescue them... Ex. 3:8a

Is there a more succinct summation of the reason we celebrate Christmas than that simple statement made in Exodus?

Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.  - Matt. 1:20a-21

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. - 1 John 2: 1a-2

He has come down to rescue us.

Exodus 3 goes on to describe the rescuing that would happen in Moses' day.  Generalizing a bit, God stated he would rescue the people from their oppressors and take them from the place of slavery to freedom in a land of peace and plenty.

Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin...if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.' - John 8:34,36

There is a huge difference between the rescue through Moses and the rescue through Jesus, though; the Exodus records deliverance of a people as they collectively followed  God's voice through Moses.  The deliverance Jesus offers, however, is personal.  Sure, His sacrifice was on behalf of the entire world that was, that is and that is to come, but it is not a collective deliverance.  It is individual.  Available for each person, who must respond from his or her heart.  It's all too easy to focus on Jesus as a baby and forget that he grew up,  deliberately acted to ensure that ALL the scriptures were fulfilled, and died a most gruesome death.  Because he came to rescue us.

So in the midst of the final Christmas preparations, as we commemorate the coming of Jesus as a baby,  let's remember the bit of the story that he told us to remember...His death.

He has rescued us.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' -- which means, 'God with us.' - Matt. 1:23; / Isaiah 7:14.

HE has come.

The Burning Bush: An Advent Study - 'I am Concerned'

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

NIV -  I am concerned about their suffering; KJV - I know their sorrows. (Ex. 3:7c)

Strong's 3045 - Yada' - in the Qal Perfect tense, an action completed -   to know, to perceive and see, find out and discern, to know by experience, to recognize, to consider

Strong's 4341 - Mak'ob - a plural noun - pain (physical and/or mental), sorrow

This whole verse has always been one that gave me a selah moment.  The God of Heaven actually gets concerned about those He loves.  He knows their sorrows.  He is not a disinterested observer.  He cares.

He cared about His people suffering abuse in Egypt.  He cared about His people being oppressed under the Romans.

And he cares...he is concerned...he knows by experience...the grief and pain and sorrow and labor of all of us.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are... (Heb. 4:14a).

He knows.  He understands.  He cares.

The Burning Bush: An Advent Study - 'I Have Heard'

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

'...I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,...'  Ex 3:7b, NIV 84.


Strong's says that 'have heard' is entry 8085, Shama', which means  to hear intelligently (often with the implication of attention, obedience, etc.).  It is the Qal Perfect tense, which indicates a completed action.


'crying out' is actually a noun, Tsa'aqah, Strong's 6818, a shriek.  Bible Study Tools dotcom renders it a cry of distress (especially as heard by God).  

 'because of',  Strong's 6440, is Paniym, which means face, person or presence 

and finally, 'slave drivers' ('taskmasters in KJV and ESV) is Nagas, Strong's 5065, which is, with the participle,  driver, taskmaster, ruler, oppressor, tyrant, lord, exacter of tribute.

I have heard their cry of distress in the face of their oppressors is a fair translation.

They were sorely oppressed by the Egyptians.  The first century Jews were sorely oppressed (including the exaction of tribute) by the Romans.

God heard their cry of distress.

So...what is oppressing you this Advent season?  Is there a tyrant exacting tribute?  Maybe not a person, but...a habit?  A frame of mind?  Fear or anxiety?  Exhaustion?

He is paying attention to your distress cry as you face your oppressor.  Just has He has indeed seen...He has also heard.

The Burning Bush: An Advent Study - 'I Have Seen'

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people" - Ex. 3:7a, NIV 84

Not really just 'seen', but 'indeed seen' or, as it is rendered in the ESV, KJV, NASB and AMP, 'I have surely seen'.  Mr. Zodhiates shows a verb construction that includes an affirmative complement to the verb, an almost redundant emphasis.

The verb rendered 'have seen' is Strongs' 7200, ra'ah.  This particular tense is rendered as to see, perceive, have a vision, look at, regard, look after, learn about, observe, watch, look upon, look out, find out, consider, give attention to, discern, distinguish, gaze at.  Not a casual glance, but a true comprehension.  Emphasized.  God not only saw, He understood.

 And what is it that He truly saw?

The Hebrew word is 'oniy (Strong's 6040), which is rendered as affliction, poverty or misery.

Affliction - 1) a state of pain distress or grief ; 2) a cause of continued mental or bodily pain
Poverty - 1) the state or condition of having  little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor, indigence; 2) lack of something specified 3)deficiency of desirable  ingredients, qualities, etc. 4) scantiness; insufficiency 
Misery - 1) wretchedness of condition or circumstances 2) distress caused by need, privation or poverty 3) great distress of mind; extreme unhappiness 4) a cause or sources of distress; 5) pain  
(definitions from the Random House Collegiate Dictionary)


All of which applied to the Israelites in Egypt...and, also, by and large, to the Israelites under the Roman rule, paying taxes to the Romans,  being subjected to their rule, having little national autonomy.

In this Advent season, maybe you need a reminder that God has surely seen your misery, affliction, and poverty.  And, just as the Israelites looked forward to the deliverance of God, Advent is our season to anticipate His deliverance in our own lives.

Because, know this:  God has indeed seen.

The Burning Bush: An Advent Study

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I've been pondering the approaching Advent season, wondering what approach I'd like to take in reflecting on the season.

If you've been around here long, you know I tend to be somewhat... unconventional... in my Advent musings.

This year turned out to be no different.  The refrain that I heard repeated in my spirit when I considered Advent was  ...I have seen, I have heard, I am concerned, I have come.

 Of course, this is from Moses' encounter with God in Exodus chapter 3:

The LORD said, 'I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt, I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.  So I have come down to rescue them...'  Ex. 3: 7 - 8a, NIV84

That is a nice little four part statement, worth exploring for the four Fridays of Advent.

Dec 1 - I have seen
Dec 8 - I have heard
Dec 15 - I am concerned
Dec 22 - I have come

Dunno how deep or how profound this will end up, but then, that's the fun of it.

Advent is Upon Us: Not the 'Inn Crowd'

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Ok, I admit it.  The title is a very, very bad pun.

And this is not so much as an Advent musing as a reaction to what's happening during this particular Advent season.

I was never, ever part of the 'In Crowd' growing up.  Something the folks in the 'In Crowd' would emphasize at times, lest I forget.

It's funny, because, you know, that was years and years ago and I thought it was all behind me.

But the news that is so prevalent has stirred it all up again.  Because the same thing is happening on a national level.  I'm not going to get political, but I do have to say this...what I'm seeing and hearing is very very very similar to so much that I experienced in my youth as one of the not-cool-people.

It actually has taken me a couple of weeks to realize that's the echo that's being generated by the current events.  'You're not cool and we aren't going to play with you....'

But, it being the season that it is and all,  I am processing this through the story of a little family from the backwoods...can anything good come out of Nazareth?...who could not find any room amongst caring people.  Not even in a moment of extreme need.  Was it because they were from out of town?  Was it because they were from the wrong neighborhood?  Was it because the rumors of Mary's out-of-wedlock pregnancy had preceded them?  Were they dressed differently, or did they talk funny, or not know the local customs? Or was it just because the folks around them were too pre-occupied with their own busy-ness that no one made it a point to help?  Indifference, rather than outright rejection?

He certainly understands what it feels like to be overlooked, rejected and excluded.  Born in a barn, raised in a small town away from any influential connections,  misjudged and misunderstood...oh, yes, He understands.  But the people who were like Him, the shepherds, the fishermen, even the prostitutes and tax collectors,  all outside of the In Crowd as well, those people were glad of Him.  He didn't even try, really, to win over the In people.  He let them hold their opinions and focused on the folks who followed Him.


The lesson I'm getting from this almost subliminally is that, you know, it doesn't always matter what the 'In Crowd' says and does; my part is to follow Jesus and let Him handle it.

And I need to let every little echo that hammers on that surprisingly still slightly tender nerve to remind me of that.

Advent is Upon Us: Home for Christmas

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

(Micah 5:2, Luke 2:4 - 5, NIV 84)

We have spent our entire married life 3 states away from our parents and most siblings;  generally speaking, December was a time of pilgrimage back to the home state of Indiana.  At first, it was just My Sweet Babboo and me, but over the years we added more kids...and luggage...to the trip.  We've had issues with cars, issues with weather, issues with illness but somehow have managed to make it there and back safely...if a little travel worn...year after year.  We've even added the son-in-law a couple of times.

But schedules...and vacation availability...don't always cooperate.  This is one of those years in which we are not going to make the trip.  Christmas on Sunday is a tough schedule to work around.  And,  I have to admit, not having to deal with luggage, or worry about weather, sicknesses, car reliability, etc has been something of a relief.

But I miss the family.  I miss the traditional Christmas Eve service in the 100+ year old church in Elkhart.  I miss the sights and sounds and amazing smells that always accompany Christmas.  And, despite hating to drive in scary winter weather, I miss lake effect snow on Christmas.

But today, as I was listening to Straight No Chaser's version of 'I'll be Home for Christmas' play through our stereo, it suddenly struck me that Mary and Joseph didn't spend that first Christmas with family, either.

We have the impression that Mary was in the throes of labor when they got to Bethlehem, but the scripture doesn't say 'They arrived in Bethlehem,  and that night....' it just states 'While they were there....'.  I don't know how long the census taking process took; it may be that they had been there as much as a week or two or even longer.  They may have even thought they would have time to make the journey, spend a couple of days registering, and then make it home before the baby came....and then one day turned into another frustrating day turned into another frustrating day...and then it was suddenly Time.

There's a level of stress all its own when things go wrong on a trip.  There's nothing like sitting in a stalled out car waiting and waiting and waiting for AAA to send a tow truck...when you've got four hungry kids in the back.  Or postponing the trip home for a day...or two...because people are throwing up.  I have a feeling that, from the moment Mary and Joseph entered Bethlehem, nothing went according to plan. They were having to improvise just to have shelter.

At least, it didn't go according to THEIR plan.  God's plan was obviously in place and running right on schedule.

So this brings up my Advent pondering...God has a plan, and that plan will always make a way.  Even if it doesn't appear to be convenient,  comfortable or the way I'd like.

Even in years when 'Home for Christmas' means miles away from Christmas as It Used To Be.

Advent is Upon Us: Resurrection is Coming

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Another in the series of Advent Ramblings...

In the denominational church we were in for years and years, there was one section of the hymnal that we sang out of exclusively, starting the Sunday after Thanksgiving through the last service before Christmas, whenever that would be.  You know the section, if you're in a church that uses a hymnal.  The Advent and Christmas- themed entries.  The choir would have been rehearsing the Christmas cantata music since early in September.

But in our non-denominational, contemporary-worship-style church, where the musicians play by the Nashville numbers instead of from music staves,   it is rare that we sing traditional Christmas music at all before the last Sunday before Christmas.

Our choir set this past week was right in that pattern; it was not Christmas music.  In fact,  two out of the three songs (and maybe the third one as well; I can't remember for sure) were songs we've used in an Easter set.  I chuckled to one of my co-choir members as we left the  platform after the worship set second service, 'Only at The Rock would we be singing Easter music during Advent!'

I thought I was making a little joke, but that began to echo in my spirit and I suddenly realized it DOES make at least some sense to sing Easter music at Christmas.  Because, as one of my favorite Christmas songs remind us, Jesus, our Savior, was born for to die....
  
The first song in Sunday's set is soaring, both lyrically and vocally, and is appropriately titled 'Glorious' - 

My God You reign
Forever and ever
How great Your name
Your love remains
Forever and ever
You stay the same

He IS THE SAME.  The same God who took on human flesh and lived among us loves us as much now as he did when He stepped out of heaven and into the limits of physical life with the intention of restoring relationship with us.  The same Jesus who didn't reject any person who came to him but did exhort him/her to leave a sinful lifestyle...whether it was sexual sin or the sins of greed and lack of faith...receives folks just the same.  It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, just that you're willing to leave what is wrong and follow Him.

But that brings up another thought...it's easy for us to get all awe-struck over a baby born in a barn, with angels and heavenly wonders announcing His birth.  He hasn't asked us to do anything hard yet.  But He's the same.  You can't truly embrace infant Jesus if you can't embrace what adult Jesus said...'One thing you lack. Go and sell all you have (or 'go and sin no more')...and follow me'.  What is the one thing (or maybe more than one) that He would say to me, 'That's holding you back from following me fully'....?

The second song in the set, 'Your Love Awakens Me', reminds us that because He is alive, we live.    It leans a little more into the theme of resurrection.. 

Hear the song awaken
All creation singing
We're alive
Cause You're alive
  
But the closer of the set is full on Easter morning:
The Anthem [Lyrics]
 by Jonathan Hunt, Henry Seeley, and Liz Webber

By His stripes we are healed
By His nail pierced hands we're free
By His blood we're washed clean
Now we have the victory

The pow'r of sin is broken
Jesus overcame it all
He has won our freedom
Jesus has won it all

Hallelujah You have won the victory
Hallelujah You have won it all for me
'Cause death could not hold You down
You are the risen King
Seated in majesty
You are the risen King

Our God is risen
He is alive
He won the victory
He reigns on high

 It's good to remember the why of the manger while we're focusing on preparing to celebrate His birth.  Because...without the 'why', we've really no reason to celebrate.

Advent is Upon Us: Let Your Light Shine

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Sigh.  Wrong watermark.  Ohwell...


At choir practice last night, our worship pastor made the statement that 'This year has gone by faster than any year has ever gone by!'   I kinda think I agree with him.  I'm shifting all kinds of paradigms now to try and get my spirit, my subconscious, my house and my gift giving preparations all caught up to the fact that it is December 2, the first Friday in Advent.

The antique aluminum tree was the first actual decor of the season that went up at our house.  I've had it for about 6 years...it came from a hoarder's stash... but didn't put it up until last year.  I was waiting on the completion of the sunroom rebuild.  My grandmother had a tree that was the dead spit of this one when I was a kid...and there's just something about it that makes me smile.  My Sweet Babboo will put an American Flyer setup under it and our nostalgia corner will be complete.

Now, I've been mulling what to do for this suddenly arrived Advent season.  I've done a couple of studies in years past, and I still enjoy reading them.  I had an idea for a study this morning, but realized I didn't have enough time to put it together like I really wanted to.  Maybe that's next year's plan.

So, this year...it's going to be a little more, um, inspired. And what has inspired my thinking for today is my rather pitiful little aluminum Christmas Tree.

The passage that got my attention today is Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV 84):

You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they  may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

The Advent season, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is the darkest season of the year. The days are getting colder and shorter.  In the US, we have had an election that has exposed the deep rift in the beliefs and priorities of the populace.  Anger has surfaced and has sometimes turned violent. The media, in pursuit of notoriety, sensationalism and the accompanying advertising income, has proven itself untrustworthy to proclaim the truth.  Reason and common sense seem to have taken an extended vacation.  It is dark in these parts...very dark.

But what does Jesus tell us? To be light.  No,wait; that's not quite right.  He doesn't tell us to be light, He says we ARE light.    Set on a hill.  Or, like my shiny tree in the sunroom windows, on display.

But here's the kicker, and this is why the aluminum tree inspired this train of thought...look at that photo.  The tree is lighting up the room, not because it is light, but because it is reflecting light.

And the reason it is reflecting light is because it is appropriately located near the source.  And I realized that letting my light shine is not so much about doing as it is about being.

Am I positioned near enough to the Source of All Light that I am reflecting that light out into the darkness around me so that folks will know the Source?

Season of Promise: The Shepherds...and all of us

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Luke 2:8 - 14  is one of the most well-known passages of scripture, thanks to Linus:

It's King James, of course, which is actually my favorite rendering of that passage, just because it's so poetic.

I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people (v. 10)

We have gone full circle...back to Eve's promise that the deliverer would come and Abraham's promise that his offspring would bless all nations.

The message of joy is for all people..the Savior has been born.

I'm reminded of God's words to Moses in Ex. 3:  I have seen...I have heard...I know their sorrow...I am come...

The promise that He would come was fulfilled that night; now we are standing on His promise to return.

Advent is not just about anticipating the coming of the Baby...it is about anticipating the coming of the Savior.

Another favorite King James passage...John 14: 1 -3:

Let not your hearts be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would've told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may also be.

Approximately 2000 years had passed between the promise to Abraham and the angel's announcement of the great joy, to all people.  Now another 2000ish years have passed, and we are waiting for another joyous, time-changing appearance of the Savior.

Surely, I come quickly.  Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  (Rev. 22:20b)

Season of Promise: Mary

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

(All scripture today from the 1984 edition of the New International Version)

Of all the promises of the coming deliverer, none were so personal and intimate as the promise given to a little Jewish girl living in a small town well away from the focal point of Jerusalem.  Nazareth was in Galilee...a place considered backward by the folks who were In Charge.

Scholars believe that she was in her early teens, engaged but not fully married, when Gabriel was sent to her with the announcement.

All the reading I've done...not research, mind you, just reading of period fiction and history...has given me the impression that the Jews of that day, by and large, interpreted the 'virgin shall conceive' prophecy from Isaiah to mean that the deliverer would be conceived in the usual fashion, at the consummation of a marriage.  Apparently no one considered that it might mean that the child would be conceived completely apart from human activity and born to an actual virgin.

Which, in my mind, is one of the things that makes the Biblical text so intriguing.  Fiction would not have thrown something so miraculous and completely unexpected into the plot.  A virgin conceiving was...inconceivable.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God - Lk 1:35

Holy one.  Set apart. Special. Not ordinary.

He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.  - Lk 1:32 -33

We see the promises in reverse order...the promise to David, the promise to Abraham through Jacob, the promise to Eve in that her seed would completely overthrow the serpent.  All in the promise to a girl who was a nobody in a backwoods corner.

I have heard the theory that Mary was not the first girl to whom Gabriel was sent...she was the first one to agree.  But I don't think God would've wasted His time or Gabriel's missions by asking any girls who did not have the willing faith and intestinal fortitude to respond as Mary did.

I am the Lord's servant.  May it be to me as you have said.

Mary had found favor with God; He was with her.  Before Gabriel came to her, that was true.  She didn't earn God's favor and presence by agreeing to His plan; He included her in His plan because she was the very person who would do precisely what was needful. AND...she fit the prophetic description:  she was descended from David through Nathan, Solomon's full-blood younger brother; and she was marrying a man who was descended from David through Solomon, who had the legal right to the throne.

And, she was living at the precise point in history when a promise given to an insignificant person in a remote area could hit the Roman world and spread.  There was common language, there was transportation, there was relative peace.

The only requirement that rested on her was that she be willing to walk God's plan out...regardless of what anyone thought about her or how anyone treated her.  She had God's promise that He was with her.  That was enough.

Season of Promise: David

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Yes, chronologically, there were promises made between Abraham and David.  But I only have 4 Sundays in Advent, and David is another level of promise from the rest.

David's promise is Kingship.

We know, from Eve's promise, that the Deliverer is Coming.  We have pinpointed his nationality by the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know the tribe from the promise to Judah.

But the promise to David is not just that the Deliverer will be born to his descendants, but that his descendants...including the coming one...will be kings.

The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish you a house for you: when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom...but my love will never be taken from him, as I took it away from Saul...your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.  (taken from 2 Samuel 7:11-16)

We see the selection process....if Eve's Offspring was to be everything God intended, He would be a king.  But to be truly established, a king must have a people to be king of, and he must be born to a royal line.  So God's promises have selected, from all the people of the earth, one nation for the deliverer; and from all the families in that nation he has declared one family to be the royal family.

Always, always, God points to the deliverer to come. David's promise applied to himself and his son immediately...but it also applied to generations he would not see.  The lineage of the king would not fail.

What a blessing!   Can you imagine receiving such a promise from God...that your children and your children's children and your children's children's children and...and...would always be God's special, chosen, anointed,  and guarded servants?  What more could a parent ask, really?

The deliver, the one who claims the authority the enemy has usurped, the one with a new name written. is coming; he will not only be king-like but, being in David's lineage, he will legally be the king.

Season of Promise: Abraham

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Eve's promise tells us the deliverer, the savior, the one who will defeat the serpent, will come.

The next promise tells us his nationality...as God establishes and confirms His covenant with Abraham (Abram) (all scripture today from the ESV):

And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. -- Gen 12:2-3

I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.  And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. -- Gen 22:17-18

And we also know which son that covenant would be reckoned through:

God said, 'No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.  I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.' - Gen. 17:19

Lest there be any confusion, God designated Isaac by name, as Abraham had other sons; not only Ishmael, from Hagar, but he took a second wife, Keturah, after Sarah died and had children with her also; her sons were named Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian(who was the father of Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah), Ishbak and Shuah.

All of these were given the same treatment as Ishmael...they were given gifts and sent away from Isaac, through whom the covenant would be established.

And, notice...we have a singular pronoun again in 22:18... And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies...  'his' not 'their', and 'gate', not 'gates'.

We are still looking at a one-on-one battle; one offspring, one gate.

But we have narrowed the field a bit.  Whereas Eve's promise was equally likely amongst all her children, Abraham's promise now states that the Enemy-defeater would be born to the children of his son Isaac.

In other words, now one nation is selected from all the nations to be the one from which the promise will come.

But this is still a promise for all mankind:
...all families of the earth shall be blessed...all the nations of the earth shall be blessed...

Because, you know, in that culture the gates represented authority.  He is going to possess the authority that had been given to his enemies.

In Advent, we anticipate the coming of the one who will  destroy the serpent and bless all people by possessing the authority that had been given to the enemy.

Season of Promise: Eve

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi 

Advent Musings 2015 Week 1

Easing back into the blogsphere slowly as things settle into their place little by little, I find myself on the threshold of another Advent season...and thinking about the people who received a promise anticipating the coming Messiah.

I think it's kinda wonderful that the first person who received the promise was Eve, after her devastating failure and loss, even if it was a kind of backhanded promise given in the form of judgement against the serpent:

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;  he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. - Gen. 3:15, NIV 84

This first promise, that a specific offspring of the woman ('he' not 'they') would deal a death blow to the serpent who deceived her, was to Eve and her descendants... really to the entire human race.  The battle with the enemy will not go on forever, and, while he can and does wound, the ultimate victory in that battle will be his final defeat.

Folks, this is hope.  In all the pronouncement of judgement and consequences, God proclaims hope.  There won't always be a battle.  The enemy will be defeated.  Oh, it will come at a terrible price...which is only hinted at here as a heel that will be struck...but God himself had already determined to pay that price.

In Advent, we anticipate the coming of the one who will deal that death-blow to the enemy's head.

The Expectant Season: An Advent Study We've Been Waiting....

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Lesson 4: Dec. 16 We've Been Waiting....

There was one other advent carol in the hymnal of the church in which I grew up...'Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus', written by Charles Wesley and set to the tune 'Hyfrydol.' It was one of my favorites, too...another good alto line.

But, if you look at the words, it is not about a coming baby...although it does reference His birth:

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free.
From our fears and sins release us
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation
Hope of all the earth thou art,
Dear desire of ev'ry nation
Joy of ev'ry longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver
Born a child and yet a king,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

Now, look at them again. It isn't even about a physical kingdom...on earth OR in heaven...at all.
set Thy people free...release us from our sins and fears...deliver us, reign in us forever...bring your kingdom...rule in our hearts, raise us to your throne.

This is about the Kindgom Jesus talked about over and over in his earthly ministry. Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you." - Luke 17:20-21 NIV. The kingdom is, as I've heard said, wherever the King reigns.

So...if I say 'Come, you whom I have been expecting for a long time,' I kind of have to admit to myself that maybe I've been just expecting Him to come when I should've been opening the door upon which He has been knocking.

I once had a dream that was rather odd in many ways, but I remember one line that has stuck with me. Someone in the dream asked me what I thought about the kingdom of God, and I replied, 'Jesus said the kingdom of God is within us...so I think that it behooves all of us to do what we can to enlarge His kingdom by bringing more of ourselves under His authority and dominion.' I've pondered that and pondered that...I can enlarge the Kingdom of God by allowing Him to increase in my own life.

Or, as John the Baptist put it when he was looking for the coming of the Messiah, 'He must increase and I must decrease'.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit -- 2 Cor. 3:18 NIV

And I look at my house, which is not exactly modeled after Better Homes and Gardens (someday I want to subscribe to a magazine titled Good Enough Homes and Gardens) and I look at how I have spent my last few days...weeks?... running to do What Must Be Done, and I see a lot that is not terribly glorious.

But you know, it's not so much the circumstances that need to change, it's my attitude. Because I kind of have the feeling that once I bring *that* completely into His kingdom, the rest will follow.

So yes, Lord, come into my perspective, my perception, so that I see circumstances through Your eyes. Bring Your kingdom into my actions and reactions. From my fears of rejection and judgment, and my sins of selfishness release me, so that I can find my rest in You in the midst of whatever I have to deal with each day. Unseat my 'self' so that you alone rule in my heart and I know who I am in You...one who has access to the throne itself.

And God Raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. - Eph. 2:6-7

Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus.


Syllabus:

Introduction: Nov. 18

Lesson 1: Nov. 25 Prepare Ye

Lesson 2: Dec. 2 Look at that Rose

Lesson 3: Dec. 9 The Chant

The Expectant Season: An Advent Study The Chant

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The Expectant Season: A Blogged Bible Study

Lesson 3: The Chant

One of the few advent carols in the hymnal of the church in which I grew up is adapted from plainsong or gregorian chant, which, according to Wikipedia, is the oldest music known as it is the first repertory to have been adequately notated in the 10th century. The haunting minor melody, in the rise-and-fall cadence of the chant, has always evoked a contemplative mood. That it is still part of the Advent/Christmas tradition all these centuries later is testimony to the continuing pertinence of both the melody and the lyrics.

However, this truly is an Advent carol...not speaking of the coming of a baby at all, but of the coming of Messiah

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Of course, when this particular set of lyrics was written (the hymnal I have in front of me attributes the words to the Psalteriolum Cantionum Catholicarum of 1710), Israel *was* in exile...there was no Jewish homeland. Now Israel is once again a nation, but it is pressured on every side and fights daily for its survival.

But this is not just a look for the Messiah to deliver Israel...

O come, thou Dayspring, Come and cheer
Our spirits by thine Advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

O Come, Thou Wisdom from on high
And order all things far and nigh
To us the path of knowledge show
And cause us in her ways to go.

O Come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

We all yearn for the day when 'deaths dark shadows' are put to flight, but...consider what the impact is of the coming of Messiah. If He orders all things far and nigh, that includes each of us. How willing are we to be ordered? Even by the Son of God? We forget the price of Christianity; it has become so easy to declare oneself a Christian and believe one fulfills one's duty to God simply by attending church services regularly but continuing to live our lives as we please, telling ourselves 'God understands.' But look at that third verse...we ask to be shown the paths of knowledge and then be 'caused' to go that way. That means we cannot plead ignorance of what God expects. Do we want God's Kingdom? Can we stand being one heart with all peoples? Lay down our individual rights? Because if Heaven's peace is going to reign, it's going to be according to Heaven's standards...not mankind's.

Yet it must be Heaven's peace that fills the world; history shows that mankind's peace lacks staying power.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27, NIV

This Advent season I'm finding myself confronted over and over again with my own selfishness...not big, obvious, loud, demanding, overriding selfishness that makes others cringe, but the small, moment-to-moment selfishnesses that keep me from fully walking in Heaven's peace in my own heart. Things that grieve me at the end of the day because I frittered it away on insignificance.

So, in my own heart, my prayer is 'Oh come, Thou Wisdom from on high...order me inside and out, so that I walk in accordance with the knowledge You have already given me. Do not let me fail to do the good that I know to do.'

But the song reminds us with every chorus:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Because when He comes for Israel, He also comes for all who believe:
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. - Ephesians 3:6, NIV

He does know my weaknesses, but He will give me knowledge that I do not have to be bound by my weaknesses forever. And, if I'm willing, He will cause me to walk in the way of knowledge...and that is the where His peace is found.

With all my heart, I want to be willing.

Syllabus:

Introduction: Nov. 18

Lesson 1: Nov. 25 Prepare Ye

Lesson 2: Dec. 2 Look at that Rose

Lesson 3: Dec. 9 The Chant

Lesson 4: Dec. 16 We've Been Waiting....

The Expectant Season: An Advent Study Look at that Rose

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The Expectant Season: A Blogged Bible Study

Actually, this is more like 'An Advent Reflection' than it is a 'Study', but, well, it's what seemed to work...

For several years (over 20?) one of the events of the season was a caroling party. My Sweet Baboo's family is *extremely* musically talented, and one couple among his folks best friends and their children were (ok, are...) also *extremely* musically talented. The year before MSB and I got married, my inlaws and this couple and their respective early adult kids decided to go Christmas caroling to some of their mutual friends. My Sweet Baboo, who became my Dear Fiance over that holiday, was the only offspring not there. As it happened, they had such a good time that they decided to do it again next year and it was a highlight of Our First Christmas Together...and an event that repeated itself until the logistics of collecting far-flung families with children became too complicated to work out.

But we all met at my DInlaw's house one night just before Christmas 1980 for a yummy meal, then carol books were pulled out, passed around and we divided ourselves into sections (let me think...there were 7 of us and 6 of them...13 people that year, I believe) to practice just a bit before we headed out in a borrowed church van.

I ran upstairs for something as they were completing the organization and as I returned they started singing the first carol:

Lo, how a Rose upspringing
On tender root has grown:
A Rose by prophet's singing
To all the world made known.
The Rose 'midst winter's cold,
A lonely blossom bearing,
In former days foretold.

I was struck dumb on the stairs. I was familiar with the carol; it happened to be in the hymnal of the church in which I grew up, but hearing my new family and their friends singing it a capella in four-part harmony in the living room literally took my breath away. It was beautiful. I'd always sort of liked it (it has a very nice alto part), but at that moment it jumped to one of my favorites and has stayed there ever since.

Not so much an Advent carol about expecting the Messiah, but certainly a song reflecting the prophetic groundwork laid for His coming.

This makes me think about all the prophecy in the Old Testament that proclaimed the coming of the Savior.

And about all the scholars of Scripture who missed it.

When the Magi showed up in Jerusalem, the scholars were able to tell them exactly where the Holy One would be born...but they didn't make the short journey to Bethlehem to see if what these foreigners were talking about had any merit.

Why?

Because they had it Figured Out. Reading the Scripture through their own experience and expectations, they were expecting Messiah to come...differently. Certainly not as a normal-looking baby born in a barn to poor parents. And certainly not without God telling *them* it had happened. A sign, there should be a sign! (That was what the Pharisees kept demanding from Jesus later..."Give us a sign!")

He told them exactly what the sign would be, but it wasn't the one they were looking for and they rejected him.

This tends to make me just a little pensive...

In what way have I got it 'Figured Out' how God will come and work in my life? What if He doesn't come as I expect, and do what I'm looking for? How will I deal with that?

Look at that Rose...it is not a triumphant king, not yet, but a thing of tenderness and purity. I can't remake Him to suit my expectations...I have to allow Him to remake me.

Syllabus:

Introduction: Nov. 18

Lesson 1: Nov. 25 Prepare Ye

Lesson 2: Dec. 2 Look at that Rose

Lesson 3: Dec. 9 The Chant

Lesson 4: Dec. 16 We've Been Waiting....

The Expectant Season: An Advent Study Prepare Ye

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

(My only blog post this week! Happy Thanksgiving!)


Prepare Ye the way of the Lord;
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord!

Stephen Schwartz begins the musical Godspell with those lyrics. That's the whole song; just those lines repeated several times.

And, although it isn't exactly an Advent carol, it is definitely a song of the season. It's taken from Isaiah chapter 40:

A voice of one calling in the desert:
'Prepare the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God.' - Is. 40:3 NIV

I've mentioned before that Godspell has some personal significance for me. Among other things, it became the first announcement of the turning of the seasons toward the celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The small church we were in for years always sponsored a Fall Festival on Oct. 31, to give kids an alternative to trick-or-treating. Each Sunday School teacher was responsible to host a game of some sort in his/her classroom. I was the youth teacher, and year after year I'd go in, clear the room, tape clear-contact-paper covered numerically adorned cards to the floor in a circle, place a huge bowl of fun-size candy in the middle, plug up my cd player, and invite kids to walk the circle for a piece of candy (there was no charge, although we did use some tickets that had to be earned in another area to do minimal crowd control). For one ticket, anyone could come in and circle the numbers until I stopped the music. Then all the walkers stopped and I drew a number -- the person standing on that number got to choose a piece of candy from the bowl, and I started the music back up and began it again. It was a sure thing...but sometimes it took a while for someone to actually end up on the number that won. The kids enjoyed it, and I usually ended up listening to the cd about 3 times through in the evening.

I think the second year we did it I took in my Broadway cast recording of Godspell and enjoyed it so much that from then on that was the Candy Walk music. So now that music is permanently attached in my brain to fall and the shift from 'Fall thinking' to 'holiday thinking'. We're in a much larger church now and, while we still do a fall festival, it is completely different and there is no Candy Walk, so at some point I have to pull out the Godspell cd and listen to it in the sewing room, just to help my internal calendar recognize the season.

Which is really the purpose of Advent celebrations, anyway, right? To mark the changing season...to get ready for what's ahead. Prepare the way of the Lord; prepare our hearts to make room for Him, prepare our ears to hear Him, prepare our spirits to follow Him.

Perhaps the wilderness in which we are to make the highway straight is our own self-serving thought patterns...how much easier for us to respond to God when we are not caught in the midst of our own agenda.

It's interesting that 'Prepare Ye' does not only appear in the beginning of Godspell...it's also at the end. After the Resurrection, we hear once more:
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord,
Prepare Ye the way of the Lord!

Advent doesn't end with the birth of Christ; we are *still* preparing the way. With maturity, Advent becomes a daily discipline...daily preparing, daily listening, daily following. The point is not that we only prepare for the few weeks in front of Christmas...the weeks of Advent on the calendar are now a good time to evaluate and reflect: Am I really actively preparing the way...or am I subconsciously on auto pilot? What am I doing to prepare the way of the Lord in my daily life? How does my life reflect an expectation of the coming of Christ so that others can see that straight road?

Syllabus:

The Expectant Season: A Blogged Bible Study

Introduction: Nov. 18

Lesson 1: Nov. 25 Prepare Ye

Lesson 2: Dec. 2 Look at that Rose

Lesson 3: Dec. 9 The Chant

Lesson 4: Dec. 16 We've Been Waiting....