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Redeemer
Yet as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last, He will take his stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I will see God, Whom I, on my part, shall behold for myself, And whom my eyes will see, and not another. – Job 19:25-27 Job, who lived before Moses, knew of the Redeemer. In Genesis 3, Moses recorded the first details of our redemption generations after Job declared his certain hope of redemption. And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant, He shall bruise you on the…
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Tower of the Flock, Part 2 – Joseph’s Story
Joseph’s story Luke 2:1-6 My heart squeezed when I saw Mary sitting on a boulder on the outskirts of town. Her eyes were closed, pinched shut in pain. Her jaw clenched, stifling a moan. My first memory of her flashed through my mind. Giggles filtered through the sycamore leaves overhead. I looked up to see her legs dangling from a branch as she and my little sister gobbled ripe, juicy figs straight from the tree. My sister jostled her reaching for another fig, and Mary lost her balance. She fell into my arms. I had no idea then that it was only the first time I would hold her. But…
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The Tower of the Flock, Part 1 – Eliezer’s Story
Eliezer’s Story At Migdal Eder Squinting in the late afternoon sun, I wiped my brow and surveyed our work. The crazy intense, sleep-deprived spring was well behind us. The last ewe had delivered the last lamb. We’d had a lovely, lazy summer letting the sheep graze the lush hill country. I’d been glad to get away from town for a few months. But harvest had come and gone, and we’d brought the sheep to the fields to eat what the gleaners left behind. That morning, Uncle Asa sent me to the watchtower on the edge of town to ready it for the next lambing season. Ignoring my aching back and…
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Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant
I’ve been dreading this post for weeks. It’s Christmas time, the time to celebrate the joyous birth of our Savior–Hark the Herald and O Come, All Ye Faithful. Gloria in Excelsis Deo. And yet, this week, we’re looking at the man of sorrows. His parents fled because Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus spent His whole life under a cloud of suspicion that He was illegitimate. During His earthly ministry, His own family rejected Him. He was an itinerant – homeless – rabbi. Dirt poor. The precious Christ child grew up to be a man of sorrows, an Ish Makoboth. The Suffering Servant came to suffer and die for our…
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Why a Manger?
I don’t know about you, but it always bothered me that Jesus was born in a stable among a bunch of smelly animals. No comfy crib for the Son of God – He slept in a stone feed trough. Can’t you just picture a sheep sticking his head in the manger looking for a snack only to end up nibbling on Jesus’s hair? Why was Jesus born where farm animals live? The usual explanation made sense. The Father chose a humble place for the birth of the Savior to show how He can sympathize with the poor and downtrodden. But that’s not a very satisfying answer. I thought Mary had…
