Look at These Little Things

I put this on a status in Facebook yesterday.

"As Christmas approaches we will hear the story of the birth of Christ again. We will hear that he was born to a Virgin, Mary, who had never known any man.

But have you noticed that in death Jesus' body was returned to a virgin, a virgin grave, that is? Yes, Jesus was placed in a new grave, which had never known any body.

A little fact seemingly mentioned in passing in Luke 23, generally skimmed over. But have you stopped to consider what importance this little factoid has in the Resurrection story? Give it some though and go ahead, make a comment of what you think."

Here is the passage in Luke that I am referencing: 

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.  It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. (Luke 23:50-56)

We here these passages over and over during the Easter season, but most of the attention goes to either the brutal beatings and cruel crucifixion or to the Sunday when the women discover the empty tomb. Not much, if any, time is given to Verse 53. I mean, really, they took the body, wrapped it up and laid it in a tomb where no one was ever placed before; so what's the big deal?

It is certainly something of a big deal that Jesus was placed in this tomb since it was a final resting placed newly cut out to eventually hold the corpse of Joseph, a wealthy and influential Jewish Sanhedrin member from the town of Arimathea. It fulfilled a 700 year old prophesy concerning the Messiah that was given by Isaiah.

9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,    

and there was no deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53:9 (ESV)

That Jesus' body was taken down by Joseph, with help from Nicodemus, and placed in this tomb is not what the people seeing him crucified would have expected. First of all, Romans were not just satisfied with the agony of a criminal's death on the cross; they wanted to inflict humiliation even after the demise. The body normally would have been left hanging there to rot and after it had it would be carried to a place outside of town and cast into a criminal grave. 

So, one important thing in Joseph using his prestige and standing to obtain permission to remove the body and bury it (a very brave act on his part, by the way) is important because otherwise it is possible no one would have known exactly where he was buried. The women might not have been able to see where he was let alone return to anoint him later.

This preparation of the body is essential to know, too. Jesus was dead and the Jewish preparation was neither an embalming as we do today or a mummification as practiced by Egyptians. Jesus body would not be mutilated any more after his death, but simply wrapped in the grave rags and anointed with oils and perfumes to keep the smell down during decomposition. (Remember those gifts of the Wise Men, Frankincense and Myrrh? These are aromatic herbs often used in anointing oils.) Jesus was wrapped by Joseph and Nicodemus with some speed because Sundown was approaching, which would start a Sabbath. See how the woman hurried to buy the herbs to prepare the body, but had to wait to actually do it because of the Sabbath; thus they went to the tomb on a later day to discover the empty tomb. 

This empty tomb remark brings us back to the end of Luke 9:53, "where no one had ever yet been laid". This little statement that is almost a throwaway line. But nothing in Scripture can ever be taken as a throwaway line. When you see something seemingly unimportant to the story or something a bit out of place you need stop and consider why is it there?

We can say it makes a neat little circle to say Jesus was delivered to earthy life out of a virgin and then removed in earthly death into a virgin, but that isn't the important thing here. Just as having it known exactly where Jesus' body was buried (and it was further clear because it was officially marked by Roman seals); it was also important to know whose body was missing from there three days later.

In those times in that place among these people a private grave was very uncommon. Think of the complications if the tomb had contained other bodies, some perhaps very recently placed there. No, there was no one else laying inside that tomb but Jesus. There was no miscounting, no mistaken identity possible when the ladies discovered the seals broken and the stone rolled away. It was clear that the tomb was once again as empty as before the men carried Jesus inside and the entrance closed. 

Little things often have big meanings.

Illustration: "The Entombment of Christ" by Sisto Badalocchio, 1610.

TORN IN THE FLESH: Part XII of Why Not? - a Perspective on Suffering

We wrote in our previous  chapter about King Saul and how his pride brought him down; he needed to be humbled.

Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

But what about David? Did David also get a bit full of himself, too? Remember in an early part we looked at David and how he seduced Bathsheba and murdered Uriah the Hittite. David was severely punished for what he did as well, but God did not reject David from being King of Israel as He did Saul. What was the difference?

When we become full of our selves, we lead our selves into trouble and we may also decide we are better than others. We may even begin to abuse others. God may allow some suffering to remind us we are but humans and to keep us humble. We may suffer even greater outcomes if we refuse to be humbled.

The people we looked at so far were humbled because of some sin on their part or because they turned away from God and put themselves up on a pedicel. But what if someone has been forgiven by God, been saved, is putting God first and serving Him faithfully? We have said we all suffer in this world, God pours rain on all and the sun shines on all, the good and the bad. But can even the faithful Christian suffer for the reason of humbling?

Is there Scripture to support this? Did you ever consider the Apostle Paul? Look at Second Corinthians 12:7-10.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Who is saying this?

Paul, who had many reasons to brag. If Paul had to be given a thorn of suffering to keep him humble and focused, then how much more someone like me. I am far weaker than Paul. I dread to think of the monster I would have been if not for certain afflictions I have, weak eyes, psoriasis that mars my skin and many other failings of mind and body.

Sometimes asking the question, "Why me?" is something we should attempt seriously to answer. We may not have done anything to deserve it. It may be what we would do if it didn't happen. Like pain may be a warning to examine the body, suffering may be a warning to examine our faithfulness to God and not to our selves.

In 2012, I became caretaker to both my mom and dad over the last six months of their lives and there was a lot of suffering involved by a number of people, my parents, of course, and me and my wife, and a number of others. It was the Grace of God how things worked out through that ordeal that often seemed hopeless and impossible. It was also a very humbling experience for me and it brought home the passage about the farmer who stocked his barns to overflowing. It also directs us back to that Rich Young Ruler who couldn’t pass up his riches to follow Jesus and what his future really held, plus it made another bit of scripture very clear, real and meaningful to me. It is from the Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 6:19-21.

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

My mother was 92 and my father 94 when they died. Their house was full of all they had accumulated over the 72 years they had been married and individually over more than 90 years; I mean the rooms were full, the attic and the basement. But in the last days of their lives, as my mother died and then less than three weeks later, my dad, all of it was gone. Their car sold, their house sold, all the furnishing, knick knacks, pots and pans, old paint, tools, stored away mementos, everything hauled away. Only the clothes taken to the nursing home remained and after they died even these were gone, given to charity.

I saved only all the photographs and some important papers, and two of my father’s hat, one he wore often in age and his Sailor hat from World War II. Those things were of little value in the end, but what was of value is knowing they both knew the Lord and they were not gone like their possessions, but lived on in Heaven, where their real treasure is.

We begin this journey of life
Down a road we do not yet know.
We see the blossoms of the moment,
Costumed in dancing colors
That entices us like the bees,
To their perfumed petal traps
And we lust to gain their beauty,
 To glisten like the rose after a rain.

We watch the sun rise upon the distance city,
Turning the towers of glass to gold,
Shimmering like a river of riches
And our eyes serve us our breakfast of wants
Sprinkled with the sweet sugar of excess.
We glutton for the fat of the land.
Our stressed hearts beat faster
As the grasp of our hands
Fills our veins with the empty
Calories of success.

We ignore the storms of warning
That dare darken our skies and the path
To our ever bigger car and grander house.
We fill our rooms with non-necessities
To gorge our obese egos
And we ignore the dust specks of reality
That swirl about the air to settle
Lightly upon our treasures
As if in echo of some ancient tome.
Not Home Sweet Home,
But ashes to ashes and
Dust to dust.

We do not see the light for the shimmer.
Our eyes are always to the rainbow,
An illusion of sun and water,
A trick of diffusion
And a lure to delusion.
We cannot own the colors,
But can we the Pot of Gold at its end?
But where the rainbow ends
Lies the mire of despair and truth.
When we reach the distance touchdown point
The rainbow fades away
With all we ever gathered
And we are left naked before the eyes of God.

"At the Rainbow's End", Written June 2012


We have looked at suffering for various reasons, because of sin and thus punishment, sometimes as a means of discipline and now to keep us humble. But can we suffer for other reasons? Can we suffer when we haven’t committed a sin, are not really in need of punishment, have been well disciplined and are humbly serving God? And if so, can such suffering serve a purpose or be fair? Or is such suffering a reason to disbelieve in God?

There was something else noted here that is a clue for the next post , but for homework discipline, read Psalm 19, Luke 13 and also find out what happened at Dunkirk and what Churchill said about it as more clues to another reason we suffer, which will be the next posts' lesson.

References: Proverbs 16:18, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Matthew 6:19-21

Illustration:

The photo at the top of this post is of my ankles taken by me in

August of 2013. During my daily morning as I circled the Kitchen Garden at Rockwood Museum Park a rose bush branch snagged my bare legs. I could not shake the branch. It dug in and slice up doth my lower extremities.  It really hurt, too. 

Even More what Scripture says about our suffering:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me. “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 5:15-6:3

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end. Lamentations 3:22

SILOS AND TOWERS: Part XI of Why Not? - a Perspective on Suffering

FULL BARNS

There is dust across the fields tonight.
The moon shines upon a forgotten plow.
Tomorrow in the dawn nothing changes.
The furrows remain unseeded, unattended.
The crop brought a banner yield at harvest
And the farmer took his rest.

He tore the old ones down and built anew.
Big sturdy silos and heavy wooded stalls
To hold all the grain and produce
Through the year and seasons to come.
He planned a banquet every day
And drank wine the very best.

He worked the summer long in the heat and dry,
Plowing in the spring and weeding through
Until the corn grew tall, the apples sweet,
For the cool crisp autumn harvest where
He took in his bounty of the labor.
And tore the old ones down and built anew.
“I’ll grow fat now”, was his jest.

So he filled the cribs to the breaking point,
He stacked the fruit up to the ceiling
And scattered wheat across the threshing floor.
“I’ll live a life of ease and merriment,”
And with that cry he challenged God.

Now these wait full for the burrower and thief,
Fine food to feed the pests.

by Larry Eugene Meredith, April 2012

Published "Poetry Vortex" 2012

Wilmington, Delaware

Dallas Kirk Gantt, editor

A quick review: Sin entered the world because Eve and Adam using the gift of free will were disobedient to God. Disobedience to God is the definition of sin. Commitment of a sin brought its own suffering in shame, mental anguish, regret and fear. However, man after a short time was able to rationalize his behavior and diminish the influence of conscience. As a result, punishment was needed to deter sin. Punishment, in whatever form, involves the infliction of some kind of suffering.

Sometimes people didn't commit a sin, but were making choices that could result in sin or less than the best for the people involved. These people needed some guidance. Guidance sometimes involved suffering to show their way wasn't the best way.

Sometimes suffering was brought on by folly, by our own stupidity or stubbornness. We decide we can beat the train to the crossing and end up with a smashed up car and an ambulance ride to the hospital, or perhaps to the morgue. It was foolish behavior and we suffered for it.

It is not always a clear-cut distinction between these reasons why we suffer. Any of them can involve a sin; some may not involve sin every time. Punishment may also be a form of guidance and discipline may or may not include punishment. We come to a fifth reason we may suffer and it could involve sin, but it ain’t necessarily so.

It is not at all unusual to see some person become so sure of their self they overreach their ability and fail miserably and come to ruin just like that particular farmer in my poem.

And he [Jesus] told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’Luke 12:16-21.

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

It didn’t take long after the Creation for man to become obsessed with his own powers. Remember  the offspring of Cain. (Genesis 4:17-24) His descendents looked to success in earthly pursuits and turned away from God and what did that lead to? A big puddle of water that washed away all those people accomplished. Still, it didn’t take long after Noah landed up on Mount Ararat (Genesis 8:4) until we come to this in Genesis 11:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a

plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Genesis 11:1-4

What happened next?

God looked at what man was doing and put a stop to it. He caused the various people to begin speaking in different tongues so they couldn't understand each other and he scattered them over the whole world.

What are your thoughts about this?

Do you think God was afraid man would become more powerful than He when He said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them?"

What would have happened if God had left man finish that tower and not change the language?
I think men would have become so full of them selves they would went on disobeying God in a grand style until they brought it right back where it was before the flood. God stepped in to prevent this for the sake of mankind.

By the way, man's plan for Babel was already a grand sin of disobedience. God had ordered early man to fill the whole world, not consolidate in one place. This may be the reason he scattered them after confusing the language. God's creatures never usurp God’s plan.

Speaking of which, look at how certain people have usurped the rainbow. I saw this Twitter Tweet quoted on Facebook.

 “Ireland got a double rainbow after legalizing same-sex marriage. Texas got a flood after banning it. God has spoken.”

This is what you get from those ignorant of Scripture.

Read Genesis 9:12-16:

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

So those Texans who suffered floods had the assurance that God would not destroy them while Ireland should have been grateful God put that reminder in their skies; in fact, had to double it up, for the same reason.

Look at Saul, the first Israel King. There is a lot we could say about this guy, but let's focus on a couple of passages:

1 Samuel 9:1-2
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

1 Samuel 13:8-15
He (Saul) waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin.

And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

1 Samuel 15:1-30
And Samuel said to Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I have noted what Amalek did to Israel in opposing them on the way when they came up out of Egypt. Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”

So Saul summoned the people and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand men on foot, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to the city of Amalek and lay in wait in the valley. Then Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart; go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them. For you showed kindness to all the people of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.
The word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”

And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And the Lord sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the Lord. I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.” And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”

Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the Lord.” And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the Lord your God.”

and 1 Samuel 18:6-16.
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated,
“Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” And Saul eyed David from that day on.

The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.

Saul’s leadership and life basically falls apart from this point on as he becomes more concerned about his own status than his people or with God’s will.

Pride can be a sin. Pride can be our idol; in fact, it can turn us into the object of our own worship. We get so high on our own ability, beauty, talent, gift or success that we puff up our chests and brag we did it all our selves. We forget about God in our belief in our powers, but…

Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

References: Luke 12:16-21, Genesis 4:17-24, Genesis 8:4, Genesis 11:1-4, Genesis 9:12-16, 1 Samuel 9:1-2, 1 Samuel 13:8-15, 1 Samuel 15:1-30, 1 Samuel 18:6-16, Proverbs 16:18

NEXT: A THORN IN THE FLESH

Illustrations:

1 . Photo of a small silo at Landis Valley Village by Larry Meredith, July 2014.

2. "The Building of the Tower of Babel" by Henrick van Cleve, year unknown.

3. "Saul Tears Samuel's Robe", artist and date unknown.



 

RIDDLE ME THIS: Part X of Why Not? - a Perspective on Suffering

Let’s move on to another reason we may gain suffering.

From the Darwin Awards for 2008:

 "(January 2008, Pennsylvania) A 23-year-old man with various body piercings wondered what it would feel like to connect his workplace test equipment to his chest piercings. Several co-workers tried to convince him that it was a bad idea to wire himself up to the electronic control tester, but he ignored their pleas.

"He proceeded to connect two alligator clips to his piercings and hit the test button... When the police and rescue personnel arrived, his co-workers were still trying to revive him with CPR and rescue breathing. They were not successful."

Why does God allow such suffering?

God gave us a brain, now you want God to think for you?

God has given us common sense. Believe it or not if we use it we avoid a lot of suffering, but the videos on “World’s Dumbest…” and “20 Most Shocking” and others all over YouTube show us how often we skip right over common sense to folly.

Yes, we can suffer because of folly.

Folly can be tied to a sin, but just as often may not be. It may be nothing more than plain stupidity. We have a lot of labels on products that state the obvious, such as "remove baby from stroller before folding", because someone did something stupid and suffered for it.

So let's look at another famous Bible character, this one in the Old Testament and he is pretty famous, especially his romance, but boy he could have used more discipline to avoid folly. Unfortunately he didn’t act very prudently at times and his suffering was very harsh indeed.

Do you all get this was Samson?

Samson is one of the heroes of the Bible. He is probably the best known of the Judges of Israel. He was given the gift of supernatural strength. He may have had big biceps, but his brain wasn't the biggest bulge of his body. He actually liked to play mind games, but he couldn't keep his mouth shut about his cleverness and he couldn't keep secrets if a pretty woman was involved. He was strong physically, but he was weak in his morals.

One day Samson killed a lion. A bit later he saw the carcass of the beast with bees and honey in it and he ate some of the honey. (I'm not big on eating something out of a dead animal, which strikes me as a bit of folly in itself, but maybe people were less fussy back then.) He came up with a riddle from this, "Out of the eater, something to eat; out of the strong, something sweet." He made a big bet with some fellows they couldn't guess the riddle's answer. And they couldn't and they wouldn't. Samson's wife, however, begged him for a week to tell her the answer and when he told her, she told them, and he lost his bet, and eventually lost his wife. (See Judges 14 – 15:1-6).

Samson didn’t seem to learn any lessons from this; he just couldn’t seem to resist women.

In Judges 16:1-3, he follows a prostitute in Gaza and became surrounded by Philistines. His strength saved him from this situation his lust had placed him in, but he still didn’t learn that he was relying on his God given power wrongly in the folly of his behavior.

This folly was a pattern that repeated itself and led to great suffering for Samson. He later met another pretty woman, not his wife by the way, named Delilah (Judges 16 4-22) and she asked him to tell her why he was so strong. Now to show you how dimwitted Samson was and why this was folly, she didn't stop there. She added to her question: "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."

Do you think he might have thought that last part through?

He decided to have some fun with her and told her a lie about seven thongs that haven't been dried. So she tied him with seven such thongs as he slept, then let in a bunch of thugs who tried to subdue him.

They failed.

You'd think he had the picture by now, but then she asked again and he lied again about rope and she tied him with rope as he slept and thugs came again and they got dispatched again. And of course then he woke up to just what Delilah was doing.

No-o-o-o.

She asked again and he lied again about braiding his hair on a loom and she braided his hair as he
slept and thugs came again and they got dispatched again. Well, three times is the charm it is said, so naturally this time the light bulb went on in Samson's head, right?

No-o-o-o.

Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength."

With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death. So he told her everything.

"No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."

When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything."

So the rulers of the Philistines returned with silver in their hands. Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. (Judges 16: 15-21)

Samson was often a fool for pretty women. Delilah wasn't his first dalliance, but it was his last. His commitments of adultery were sins, but he suffered his fate through folly.

Folly may not be so obviously a sin as Samson committed. Folly can be simply ignoring what is best for us in pursuing our pleasures. It may not be a sin to go Base Jumping off a high building or a cliff, but if the jumper one day goes splat they will list the cause of death as  “death by misadventure” or folly.

If one does a wheelie on a motorcycle, flips over and breaks their back, they will suffer from an act of folly and do we blame God?

When I go walking up in Brandywine Creek State Park, on narrow high paths, sometimes on mud or

snow, with no cell phone and having not told anyone where I was going to walk that day, I am indulging in folly. Should it be God’s responsibility to see that I don’t fall down a ravine?

Okay, for next time I am suggesting a couple more Bible Characters, but you don’t have to guess.

One is named Saul, not the Saul who became Paul, but the Old Testament King Saul and the other is the Paul, who was once called Saul, the New Testament Apostle Paul. Take a look at something in these men’s lives that points to another reason we may suffer.

References:  Judges 14, Judges 15:1-6, Judges 16:1-22

NEXT TIME: FULL BARNS

More what Scripture says about our suffering:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. James 1:12

I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. Philippians 4:12-14

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:36

ILLUSTRATIONS:

Picture of a jar of Lion Kashmir Honey

"Samson Carries the gates of Gaza " by Henri Paul Motte, 1908

“Samson and Delilah” by Matthias Stom, 1630s.

The author walking the trails, 2014

JESUS, MOSES AND PETER, TOO: Part IX of Why Not? - a Perspective on Suffering

There is one infinite reference point and this is God.

If we have that vertical relationship with God, then we not only have our conscience whispering in our ear, we have a standard, God’s Word, to guide our morality. In this world, even when we follow that standard, we still have suffering we must endure, but we are upheld by our hope in God’s promises.

However, if we turn from God, disbelieve in Him, then we still have sufferings to endure, but no hope.

When we choose to ignore God’s will in our life we sin and sin can bring suffering by the mere act or can bring punishment for our actions. We may also suffer from discipline, used by a loving God to direct us back to the proper path or to strengthen us for the endurance we will need in this life. So reasons we suffer include sin, punishment and discipline.

Before we look at another reason, let’s think about the Israelites wandering for all those years in the wilderness and what their journey might tell us about our own journey in these times.

What is similar between our own plight before we were Christians and that of the Hebrews before they left Egypt?

Bondage to Egypt; bondage to sin. (Exodus 6:6) (John 8:34)

The Passover, of course, points toward Christ. What similarities do we see between Moses and Jesus? (Acts 7:35) (Luke 1:68) (Colossians 1:13-14)

See the list at the end of this post.

How might we compare the Israelites to ourselves once they have crossed the Red Sea that may indicate how our lives will be?

We still want more. We get what we need and are quickly complaining it isn’t enough. Manna, meat, water, law.

What could we face that might be fearful to us if we aren’t strong in our faith?

Like the Israelites, although we probably hate to admit it, we sometimes forget what God has promised and we try to take matters in our own hands, or complain about conditions or fear others because they are bigger or smarter, or so we think. Other times we jump in with both feet without fully thinking things through. Often we fail.

Last time I suggested finding a specific Bible character of import in the Bible who failed more than once, was disciplined more than once as well, and yet we certainly look toward him today as a rock of our faith.  Anyone come up with the fellow?

Simon Peter, the Apostle.

Name some things where he kind of failed.

Luke 5:1-9 Reaction to the great catch of fish.
Matthew 14:22-31  Jesus walks on water and Peter tries, but loses faith.
Matthew 16:13-23 Peter’s recognition of Jesus as Son of God, followed by his rebuking Jesus claim that he would die.
John 13:3-9 Peter refusing to have his feet washed by Jesus at first.
John 18: 1-11 Jesus draws a sword at the arrest of Jesus.

We have a man who swore his allegiance to his leader, insisted he will never betray or desert him. His leader tells him he certainly will do just those things and that very day. The man dismisses such a thought; he is a strong man and a man of his word. But then his leader is arrested and come morning the man denies he even knew his leader. He tries to hide who he is, but then he sees his leader, who gives him a knowing look. The man is shattered inside

Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was

following at a distance.  And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.  Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”  But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”  And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”  And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”  But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”  And he went out and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:54-62)

This wasn't the first time Simon Peter failed and was rebuked. He needed a lot of guidance in his discipleship. This was probably the time he finally accepted what he was, a weak and vacillating man, often impulsive, but more bluster than conviction.

Was he perfect after that or were there other miscues?

John 21: 15-23 Feed my sheep and question about the fate of John.
Acts 10:9-23  also Acts 11:1-18  The vision of various food and told to eat, followed by the gentile Cornelius family being Baptized.
Galatians 2:11-14 Paul confronts Peter’s hypocrisy.

The Apostles who followed Jesus were not perfect, were they? I think we can find some comfort in knowing the vacillations of Peter, because we are also often vacillators in our walk with Jesus, too, but this tells us we can learn and overcome our weaknesses of faith, if we just keep our eyes on the Lord. We also have to remember we can be prone toward denying we know him or we can be hypocritical if we let the world prevail too often in our lives.

This is why we sometimes need and suffer from discipline.

So, we have talked about three reasons we suffer so far. We sin and suffer mentally and emotionally because of conscience or fear, even if we escape detection. We sin, are detected and suffer some form of punishment inflicted upon us either as retribution or discouragement to repeat our deed. We suffer in some way that guides us toward being a better person or to protect us from a worse harm and worse suffering.


The first comes directly from sin, the second is the result of sin if it is not a result of an injustice against the one punished, but in that case it is the result of the sin of another. The third may or may not involve sin, but most likely does protect us from committing one. There is a riddle, for you.

NEXT TIME: RIDDLE ME THIS

References: Exodus 6:6, John 8:34, Acts 7:35, Luke 1:68, Colossians 1:13-14, Luke 5:1-9, Matthew 14:22-31, Matthew 16:13-23, John 13:3-9, John 18:1-11, Luke 22:54-62, John 21:15-23, Acts 10:9-23, Galatians 2:11-14

                            SOME COMPARISONS OF MOSES TO JESUS

MOSES                                                   JESUS
The first mediator The final mediator
Born a Hebrew Born a Hebrew
Chosen to lead by God Chosen to lead by god
Born when his people suffered Born when his people suffered
under a cruel leader (Pharaoh) under a cruel leader (Herod)

Hid in Egypt as a child Hid in Egypt as a child
Leader ordered all babies killed Leader ordered all babies killed
Turned water into blood Turned water into wine
Died on a hill Died on a hill
Fasted 40 days, then faced a spiritual Fasted 40 days, then faced a spiritual
crisis on a mountain crisis on a mountain

Told people of the Passover Lamb Became the Passover lamb

Communicated directly with God Communicated directly with God
Performed miracles Performed miracles
Revised an existing religion Revised an existing religion
Gave the Ten Commandments Gave the Great Commandment
Hated by the ruling party Hated by the ruling Party
Brothers and sisters misunderstood him Brothers and sisters misunderstood him
Chose 12 leaders to follow Choose 12 leaders to follow
Had followers who strayed from his Had followers who strayed from his teaching teaching
Lead figure in Old Testament Lead figure in New Testament
Taught his followers how to pray Taught his followers how to pray
Choose people to carry on when he Choose people to carry on when he was leaving was leaving
Led his people to the promised Leads his people to the promised land land
People picked up stones to stone him People picked up stones to stone him
Controlled the waters of the Red Sea Controlled the Sea of Galilee
Face shown on Mount Sinai Face shown at the Transfiguration
Was a Shepherd Is the Good Shepard
Fed thousands supernaturally with
bread (manna) Fed thousands supernaturally with bread
Showed compassion to a woman at a Showed compassion to a woman at a well
well
Mission was to redeem Israel from Mission was to redeem people from slavery to
slavery to Egypt sin
Loved and supported by his sister Loved and supported by his mother
Miriam (Miryam in Hebrew)              Mary (Miryam in hebrew)
Gave God’s law on a mountain Gave a new law on the Mount
Offered his life for the salvation Offered his life for the salvation of
of his people all people
Washed Aaron and his sons with water Washed the feet of the disciples


  Illustrations:

1.  Could not identify the artist or date.

2. "Peter's Denial" by Carl Bloch, 1865-79

...NOR BE WEARY: Part VIII of Why Not? - a Perspective on Suffering

A man builds his house on sand. A storm comes with heavy rain and high winds and the house crashes down. (See Matthew 7:24-27) The man has suffered the lost of his house, perhaps the loss of a family member. He also learns a lesson to build his next house on a solid foundation. Out of some suffering comes discipline. If we are willing to recognize it as such, there can then come growth.

But often we refuse to recognize discipline, don’t we? We go our merry way and we get smacked upside the head for it, but instead of changing our ways, we ignore the discipline over and over again. And the smacks get harder trying to knock some sense into us.

Remember that little boy who stole the coins from his mom’s purse. He had a bad case of conscience and threw away the money and worried each day that he would be punished further.  He wasn’t and a

few years later he was stealing again, this time shoplifting “girlie” magazines from a store. This time he wasn’t conscience stricken. But it was their fault he had to steal, because they wouldn’t sell to him; he was too young for such thing. He rationalized his guilt away in order to gain his end desires, but he did get caught this time and he was publicly humiliated, but no further punishment came. He stopped stealing out of fear of being caught again, but he didn’t stop pursuing his lust.

 I will tell you that one day someone saw him engaging in something bad and he was called from class at school and confronted by the police, who threatened him with reform school. He was scared again, tossing in his bed at night again, waiting for his parents to come and punish him again and expecting to go to jail. But none of that happened. He felt guilty and fearful for a while, but them he was drawn right back after his lusts because nothing really bad happened to him. He was just more careful when he did bad things now.

Yeah, sometimes we need a lot of discipline.

So, look at your life and think hard about what is happening when you have to suffer in some way. It may not be some obvious sin you committed and it may not be punishment, it may simply be a nudge in another direction, something strengthening you through discipline.

When we read Genesis 37:12-28 we find a teenager named Joseph out looking for his brothers. They see him before he sees them and what happens? They pounce upon him, planning to kill him, but Reuben says, “Wait a minute, let’s not be hasty here”, so they strip him and toss him in a pit. Next thing you know they sell him as a slave to some Ismaelites and Joseph heads down a long road of suffering, doesn’t he?

Now there was a reason for Joseph’s suffering that we won’t get to for a couple weeks, but sometimes our suffering has more than one reason behind it.

Let’s back up a little and read Genesis 37:2-11. Maybe there is something there that tells so not only how his brothers could have rationalized their actions, but something else as well.

These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors] But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” And his brothers were jealous of him, but  his father kept the saying in mind.

Did you ever stop and think that Joseph might have been a little bit spoiled? Perhaps something of a brat? Someone with a haughty attitude and little full of himself at times? Certainy a bit immature. Maybe Joseph needed a bit of discipline in his life that he wasn’t getting at home. Just sayin’.

What about that kid that stole from his mother’s purse and the newsstand and did other things that got

the police’s attention? Did he get enough discipline?  He didn’t get spanked for stealing by his parents. He didn’t get magazines put in an uncomfortable place as threatened by the news dealer. He didn’t actually get put in reform school. No, he went through some periods of doubt, shame, guilt and fear, but these faded over time and by the time he was in his late twenties he was deep into occultism and Satanism, as well as Adult Bookstores.

Then one week he got very sick. He had never felt so ill before. He really thought he was going to die. He was frightened enough to pray, not to Satan, but to God. He shouldn't have gotten through because he had torn down those communication lines years before, but when he opened his eyes there was a cross on the wall. Not a physical cross, just an image of one. At that moment his fever broke and he got well rapidly. He assumed the cross was a trick of light through the window blind, but had never seen it do that before. He looked for that cross to appear again for several nights in a row after getting well. It never did. It was a guidepost that came in the midst of his suffering and he should have recognized that, but after a while he put the cross on the wall out of mind and continued his hedonistic ways. In fact, he even became an Atheist, an activist Atheist.

On the positive side, Atheists don’t believe in the Devil either, so he threw away his satanic bible, but

on the negative he turned to pure pleasure seeking. He needed a  stronger dose of discipline to get his full attention. It took another decade before he got it and it came with a high cost.

Oh, did somebody notice we didn’t say how discipline fit those Hebrews wandering about in the wilderness for another 38 years, did we?

Well, by now you should know that besides punishment of those adults that wouldn’t cross over to Canaan the first time and now never would, the other thing must be discipline. Discipline for who and for what?

So think about your life and the times discipline may have played a part in your suffering or even now is that what is occurring?

We can fail more than one time, but receiving discipline may straighten us out. There is someone of import in the Bible who failed more than once, was disciplined more than once as well, and yet we certainly look toward him today as a rock of our faith. He is in the New Testament, which may make it easier for you to guess who he is before my next post, no denying that.

There is also one to judge in the Old Testament and he is pretty famous, especially his romance, but boy did he need discipline. Unfortunately he didn’t act very prudently at times and his suffering was very harsh indeed. But beyond his fate, his deeds are a clue to the next reason we may suffer.

NEXT TIME: JESUS, MOSES AND PETER, TOO

References: Matthew 7:24-27, Genesis 37:1-28,  

More what Scripture says about our suffering:

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11

For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. Hebrews 12:10

For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5

And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.Romans 8:17-18

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

ILLUSTRATIONS:

1.  Fallen House on Ortley Beach, NJ after Hurricane Sandy by L. E. Meredith, 2012

2. The Author at age 13, photo by Ronald Tipton, 1954

3. "Joseph Thrown Into a Pit" by David Colyn, 1644

4. The Author at age 33, self-portrait by L. E. Meredith, 1974

5. Cover of the The Santanic Bible, photo by L. E. Meredith, 1969