When I was a child and had been through some substantial suffering, I thought God owed me something.  This was reinforced every Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), when I would fast and my mother’s friend would say, “You don’t have to fast, you’ve suffered enough.”

In other words, I found a way to compromise in obedience to what was my conception of Torah, since I thought God was my debtor.

Years later, after having been a believer in Messiah for about fifteen years, I evidently had still been carrying this spiritual chip on my shoulder!  Clearly a root of bitterness had been growing even during the time I was reading the Scriptures, praying, and telling others about His love.

I was very upset one day and I admitted to a friend that I had a root of bitterness.  She said, “No you don’t, you have an OAK TREE of bitterness.”

I had no response; she was right.

So how could I uproot this oak tree of bitterness from my heart?

I searched the Scripture and came to Job chapter 41.  Job, as most know, suffered immeasurable pain.  He had lost his health, his children, his wealth, his friends and his position of esteem.

In this chapter, the Lord was revealing His greatness to Job, while dealing with his attitudes.  He describes Leviathan, the great sea creature, to get his point across.  I was actually rebuked by what I read. Please take a moment to read from the text:

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?
“Can you put a rope in his nose
Or pierce his jaw with a hook?…

“Lay your hand on him;
Remember the battle; you will not do it again!…

“No one is so fierce that he dares to arouse him;
Who then is he that can stand before Me?” (Job 41:1-2,8,10)

In a moment I knew that my sin of bitterness was a Leviathan in my life.

Even as Leviathan could not be pulled in with a simple fish hook, this sin of bitterness could not be removed by human means.

But, God gave me a “two for one”… The very next verse is:

“Who has given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.” (Job 41:11)

The Lord, in His rebuke to Job, stated emphatically:  “I AM NOT YOUR DEBTOR!”

This verse is so important that the Apostle Paul quotes it in Romans chapter 11:35!

The context of this passage (verses 11-27) has to do with the cycle of mercy:  That Jewish unbelief about the Messiahship of Yeshua opened the way for the Gentiles to receive mercy.  Now Gentiles have opportunity to come into the Kingdom of God.  Paul then exhorts the Gentiles to show mercy to the Jewish people, who have experienced a partial hardening until the full number of Gentiles come in (to the Kingdom).

Ultimately, the Holy One of Israel will again deal with the Jewish people as a nation in bringing them to Messiah.  He has always preserved a remnant of Jewish people who believed in Messiah Yeshua through the centuries, as promised in Romans 11:5 and Romans 9:27.

Paul continues to exalt the LORD’s greatness in verses 32 through 35:

“For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? (Paul quotes Isaiah 40)

Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?” (Paul refers to Job 41!)

Believer or nonbeliever, Jew or Gentile — The LORD, the Master of the Universe, owes us nothing.

Everything we are, everything we have or ever hope to be, is from His gracious hand.

So, if you are blocking your own blessing, as I had, through bitterness and thinking God is your debtor, please consider these clear truths of Scripture.  Whatever your “Leviathan” is, you can’t lasso it in.

Whatever expectation you have of God because of your suffering, or your good works, God owes you nothing.

But, God is full of grace and mercy.  Agree with Him that you are a debtor to Him (and not the other way around). In fact, you do owe Him — because if you have been living for yourself, you have been sinning against the One who made you for His glory and purposes, not your own.

Then find His heart of mercy and love by calling on the Name of Yeshua (Jesus), our intermediary.

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Messiah Yeshua.” (1 Tim. 2:5)

(To my fellow Jewish readers who may think we have a ‘direct dial’ to the LORD: Moses served as an intermediary, and interceded for the people of Israel when the Holy One of Israel wanted to destroy them for their sin.)

For a more detailed understanding of how to come into a relationship with the Living God, who loves you, please consult these previous posts:  “How A Chinese Waiter Found True Fortune“, “He Has Set Eternity In Your Heart” and “No Passover Seder, But The Passover Lamb“.

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

There’s no need to rehearse the fact that foundations are being shaken in this country and around the world.

In the “easier” days, many Americans had the emotional energy to be focused on personal improvement.  Now, increasingly, the concern is shifting to having basic needs met. Many are now weighed down by the false shame of need.

In one of my journals from the 1990’s, I found an entry I had written about a businessman who sat with my husband and me for one hour, wisdom pouring from his lips.  We had never met this man before that day.

He said many profound things.  One is relevant to this post, “Don’t be embarrassed by need.  Need is what God supplies. Fall in love with need, because this is where you will see God at work…giving to you lovingly out of His resources.”

But what about feeling ashamed because we are in need?  Psalm 25:3 tells us the only reason for feeling shame:  Willful sin.

Being in need may have come from poor planning, circumstances beyond our control, greed or coveting.  So, make practical changes in lifestyle.  Revise plans.  And, where repentance is due, let’s do it.  Then we must get “unstuck” and turn afresh to a powerful, loving, Heavenly Father, who is merciful to those who call upon Him.

The Psalmist gives this hope:  “Passing through the valley of Baca (Hebrew for ‘weeping’) they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings.  They go from strength to strength…” (Psalm 84:6-7a)

Notice, too, that the passage says, “they”. Others also are weeping from the strain of life.

Therefore, this is a key time to function as community…and certainly a vital time for individuals in the Body of believers to not harden their hearts, but to heed what is written in 1 John 3:16-18:

“We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

The term “knowing the LORD” is often used casually. This knowledge of God is often confined to the realm of personal devotion and knowledge of Scripture.

However, Jeremiah 22:16 clearly states the LORD’s gauge for measuring if we truly know Him, while speaking of the righteous:

“He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.” It’s clear: How we care for the needy and afflicted that either cross our paths, or whom we seek out, is a litmus test of our knowledge of God.

“So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”  (Gal. 6:10)

To those in need: Perhaps your need is what the LORD will use to reveal His personal love for you.

You may ask, “Am I supposed to believe God loves me when I have these stressful and difficult circumstances?…and besides, He feels a million miles away.”

Thirty years ago I read a powerful book,  The Silence of God, by German theologian, Helmut Thielicke.  Thielicke lived during the Nazi regime.  The last part of the following paragraph has stayed with me.

“But now hear the great mystery of this silence.  The very hour when God answered not a word or syllable was the hour of the great turning point when the veil of the temple was rent and God’s heart was laid bare with all its wounds. … Even when we thought He did not care, or was dead, He knew all about us and behind the dark wings He did His work of love…Truly the silence of God is different from that of men…The silence of God and of Jesus (Yeshua) is not of indifference.  It is the silence of higher thoughts.  It does not imply a silent destiny.” (pgs. 14, 15)

The LORD is not indifferent.  He allows us to be in need because the needs we face cause us to give pause to consider our lives, the meaning to life, and the very real limit of our ability to solve our problems.

He wants to show us that He is the Source of life, the One “in whom we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

I still remember the comfort I received as a child when I heard the words from the song,  I Believe–  “I believe above the storm the smallest prayer can still be heard.  I believe that Someone in the great somewhere hears every word.”

That Someone has a name… In fact, He has many names that describe His person, magnificence and character: His name is Yehovah (Hebrew for ‘Jehovah’) or Yahweh (YHVH), which means “covenant keeping God”.

He is Yehovah our righteousness; Yehovah our redeemer; Yehovah our provider; Yehovah our rock, refuge, deliverer, sanctifier; Yehovah our healer, defense, banner, shepherd, etc.

By searching Topical Bibles online for the names of the LORD found in their Scriptural context, we can see clearly that the One upon whom we are calling for help is more powerful, more knowledgeable, more loving, and more personal than we can imagine.

The problem is we have often created God in our image (!) and relied on our thoughts about Him, rather than what His Word has revealed about Him.  Then we go about worrying and fretting, forgetting that He upholds the universe by His mighty Word of power! (Hebrews 1:3)

Sounds like who He IS answers to anything that could trouble our lives.

Listen, He knows you’re in need.  Nothing takes Him by surprise. You’ve got to pray–to entreat Him to lead you out of the dark forest of fear, despair and lack.  Humble prayer is the catalyst that activates divine activity.  Confessing unbelief in Him, and His ability and desire to act, will also remove static from your prayers.

Now, after sincere and humble crying out to Him, expect your path to cross someone or something that can help you, since He generally works through people (i.e. dollars and job listings don’t fall from heaven).

Perhaps you know the old story of the man who is drowning and the LORD sends a dinghy, a boat, and then a ship to save him.  He refuses to use them because he wants the LORD to act directly on his behalf, and he drowns.  Don’t resist receiving help from others, though this may be uncomfortable.  Our hyper-independent society has conditioned us to view dependency on others as almost a foreign concept.

I think those days are coming to a close.

The Apostle Paul, a zealous Jewish scholar and “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5), wrote, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Gentile)”  (Romans 1:16 ASV)

Why would Paul mention shame in relation to the Gospel?  Why does he say he is not ashamed?  How does his declaration affect you?

Before we consider these questions,  let’s look at Paul’s understanding of the Gospel:  He believed that man’s righteousness, no matter how great, is insufficient in God’s sight. “For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Messiah is the end (fulfillment) of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”  (Rom. 10:3,4)

Paul makes clear that Messiah’s atonement, alone, provided the righteousness that God requires us to have in order to have access to Him and eternal life.

Then Paul clarified WHAT we must believe to be saved:

…Messiah* died for our sins according to the (Hebrew) Scriptures,
and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the (Hebrew) Scriptures,
and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve (apostles).
After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time…to James, then to all the apostles;
and last of all…He appeared to me (Paul) also.” (1 Cor. 15:3b-8)

Paul taught us HOW TO RECEIVE this gift of salvation:

“…that if you confess with your mouth Yeshua as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all,
abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” (Rom. 10:9-13)

(Please note the verses capitalized are quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures:  Isaiah 28:16 and Joel 2:32)

Paul knew that to believe that righteousness is imputed to our personal “account”, by faith rather than works, would certainly challenge Pharisaic Judaism–the predominant religious Jewish thinking of his day.

He knew that the Gospel, and how to obtain right standing before God, also challenges the heart of every human being today.

Over the past thirty five years that I have known Messiah and studied the Holy Scriptures, I have talked to at least a thousand people, one on one, about the Gospel.

I was not “experimenting”, but I have had a large enough “sample size” to draw some relevant conclusions.

In dialoging with the highly sophisticated and intellectual, famous people and the wealthy, the poor and uneducated, Jews and non-Jews, atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Buddhists, New Age, and those with eclectic beliefs, Americans and those from other lands …after a while I saw that people’s objections to the Gospel fit into basically two categories.

People from all walks of life either stated they have not sinned, and therefore have no need for a “savior”; or, they feel their lives and deeds are sufficient to merit favor with “God”, or a “god of their own choosing”.  Therefore they also have no need for a “savior”.  They had their own “righteousness” and did not need God’s!

It did not matter if they acknowledged God, or the Bible as God’s authoritative word, or were atheists.  Their self evaluations fell into those two categories. They were OK.

Of course, sometimes there was a humble person who knew they had no reason to boast in their own self-sufficiency or righteousness.  By the way, there were rich people who were humble, and poor that were prideful.  Sin does not fit easy categories.

Sometimes, in conversation, people put God on the witness stand for “His record” in dealing in human history, and deflecting the scrutiny away from their own lives and consciences.

In one instance I remember speaking with a man who told me he owned four homes.  He shared how his heart and life emphasized philanthropy.  Here was a good guy.  He was Catholic.  When I explained that even his Bible teaches that righteousness is through faith, and not works, and that his eternal destiny depended on faith in what the Word of God said, versus what his friend the priest said, he replied:  “I’m choosing what my priest says.”

The human spirit is rife with pride.  The Gospel of salvation, by faith in the finished work of Messiah Yeshua, cuts into that pride.  It’s humbling to say, “Your way, LORD, not mine.”  He declared that Way was Yeshua. (John 14:6)  He does not invite us to debate on this.

Many think the Gospel is simply foolish, naive thinking.

Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1 dovetail here:

“For the word of the cross (the Gospel) is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written,
“I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,
AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.”
(He quoted Job 12:17 & Isaiah 19:11; 33:18)

Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God,
God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.
For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks (Gentiles) search for wisdom;
but we preach Messiah crucified (the atonement for our sins),
to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,
but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Messiah the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

He goes on, “but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise,
and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,
and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen,
the things that are not,
so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.” (1 Cor. 1:18-25, 27-29)

So why does Paul say he is not ashamed of the Gospel?

Because the message of the Gospel is foolishness to the non-believer. It is so “unsophisticated”, so non-demanding in terms of works, and so exhortative, and in fact, narrow– that those who believe, and want to communicate the truth, could feel ashamed at the simplicity, apparent foolishness, and yet boldness of the message.

Though the Gospel is simple, it was no small thing for Messiah Yeshua to “bear our sins in His body on the tree.”

Let us also not forget that, statistically speaking, the fulfillment of the prophecies by Yeshua of Nazareth–prophecies about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Messiah, were interwoven in the Hebrew Scriptures by many men from different stations in life, over a period of more than a thousand years.

This was no simple matter.  It involved kings, and nations, and simple maidens; the dispersion of the Jewish people in 586 BC; the preservation of the Jewish people in Persia; the return to the Land of Israel after 70 years; different Gentile nations coming into power; and, the Romans ordering a census that brought the Jewish maiden, Miriam, (Mary) back to Bethlehem in fulfillment of Micah chapter 5 verse 2. (Messiah Yeshua was born in Bethlehem.)

Remember this simple message of the Gospel turned the world upside down in the first century and influenced Western culture for almost two thousand years.

When I believed this simple message in 1973, it brought to me light, hope and peace, as it has to countless millions all over the world.  It has changed the lives of addicts, social climbers, Holocaust survivors, the broken, the successful, the atheist, and the religious.  There is not a person in this world of whatever ethnic, religious, socioeconomic, or emotional state that cannot be transformed by the power of the Gospel.

Two emotional states have been mentioned in this post:  Shame and Pride (boasting).

There will be no human boasting at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15) when those who have not received the free gift of God (i.e., the righteousness of God and eternal life by faith) will have their “works” evaluated– literally judged by Him who sits on the throne.  Unfortunately, it will be a devastating experience for those who have trusted in themselves, or someone, or something other than the finished work of Messiah Yeshua; for as Paul forewarned:

“Now we know that whatever the Law says,
it speaks to those who are under the Law,
so that EVERY MOUTH MAY BE CLOSED
AND ALL THE WORLD MAY BECOME ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD;
because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;
for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even the righteousness of God through faith in Yeshua the Messiah for all those who believe;
for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:19-23)

Pride and boasting of self-righteousness will be out of the question.  Every mouth will be shut.  Only faith in the finished work of Messiah Yeshua, His substitutionary death on the tree, will rescue, free, pardon, save and absolve us from the penalty of our own sin.

That same Paul, a scholar with impressive lineage, said, “If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day (Jewish), of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church (he persecuted Jews who believed Yeshua was the Messiah); as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.  But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Messiah.  More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Messiah Yeshua* my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Messiah*, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith…” (Phil. 3:4-9)

It couldn’t be more clear. Righteousness is by faith.

Paul, a sophisticated Jewish thinker, communicating, at times, to sophisticated audiences in the Greek world of philosophical thinking, was not ashamed to tell men and women that what would free their souls from sin, their minds from oppression, and give them a place in the Kingdom to come, was a simple, unsophisticated matter of humble faith.

Believer, are you afraid of appearing foolish before non-believers who are, or appear, more sophisticated in knowledge, speech, education, dress and/or lifestyle than yourself?  Or are you walking “in the fear (reverence) of the Lord” and worrying what He thinks about, and knows to be, the other person’s eternal destiny?

Seeker, why would a God who knows and loves you want to make it difficult to find your way Home?

Our Heavenly Father wants you in His house, as it is written,

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son (The Messiah), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world (and its false sophistication); but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16,17 KJV)

I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.

*  I have taken the liberty to use the Hebrew name of Yeshua the Messiah wherever the Anglicized Jesus Christ appears throughout this post. Also, as usual, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible except where otherwise indicated.

In thinking about the uncertainty of these times, I recalled something from college physics:  “The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle”.   It states that it is impossible to know both the exact position and the exact velocity of an object at the same time.  The effect is minute and only noticeable on a subatomic level.

You many be thinking, “Who cares?”

But wise King Solomon offered an “uncertainty principle” that everyone of us in 2009 can relate to. He wrote in Ecclesiastes chapter eight verse seven, “If no one knows what will happen, who can tell him when it will happen?”

Talk about uncertainty!  Not even the wisest man knew what lay ahead.

We do know that uncertainty is certain!

So how does one prepare for a bad eventuality if one does not know the what or the when of that eventuality?

The answer for the very real anxiety surrounding the uncertainties of life is to have faith in The Master of the Universe, Who is not uncertain and never will be uncertain of His knowledge of events, people or places.

He knows where everyone and everything is, and knows the when of life.  His awesome power, divine purposes, and overarching love for mankind, as demonstrated in His giving the Messiah, His Son, for us, is the “what” we each must count on in this time of brewing storms.

When Yeshua of Nazareth (Jesus) was speaking to a crowd of people, He said:  “The Queen of the South (The Queen of Sheba)…came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.” (Matt. 12:42; Luke 11:31)

Yeshua affirmed His ability to have things under control by saying:  “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b KJV)

He also affirmed this, when speaking of His life and impending crucifixion, by saying:  “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again…” (John 10:18 KJV)  He was in full control.

Talk is cheap.  Yeshua said He overcame the world.  How did He prove it?

Through His resurrection, a verified historical fact, He proved His Messiahship and power over our greatest enemy — death.

Yes, uncertainty is certain.

But, God’s love for you, and His power to sustain each of us, is more certain.

Run to Him for true security.  As the Scripture says, “The name of the LORD (YHVH) is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.” (Prov. 18:10)

But, what if you are not certain that the Scriptures are the word of God?

What if you aren’t even certain that God exists, let alone loves you?

Here are some critical certainties to consider:

1. Millions of lives, and Western societies, have been positively transformed by the Bible. (Do note that when those societies discounted the authority and wisdom of the Scriptures they “decayed”.)
2. Hundreds of prophecies have been specifically fulfilled regarding the birth, life, death, resurrection and purpose of the Messiah. (See Micah 5:2, Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, for example.)  It is a mathematical impossibility that all these prophecies could have been “fulfilled” by chance.
3. Scores of biblical prophecies about the scattering and regathering of the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel, after two thousand years, have been authenticated and borne out by history.  Think May 1948.

So, take a chance.  Tell the Master of the Universe, the God of the Bible, that you want to know Him and the certainty of His love, and the plan and promise of eternal life.  He promised to draw near to those who draw near to Him.  All you have to lose is your uncertainty.

P.S.  Please see some earlier Prophetic Prints posts to learn the “details” on how to freely receive the LORD’s gift of eternal life, grace, mercy, love, etc.

When I mention “Ethiopian”, those of you who are familiar with Scripture probably think of the apostle Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch, as recorded in the New Testament Book of Acts, chapter eight verses 25-39.

There we read how an angel dispatched Philip to a desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza, where he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.  This man was in charge of all her treasure. On his return from Jerusalem, where he had come to worship, the eunuch was sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.  His exposure to the God of Israel undoubtedly stemmed from the influence of the Queen of Sheba, who, more than a millennium before, had brought back the wisdom of Solomon and the knowledge of the Holy One of Israel to Ethiopia!  Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” 

Philip heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “Well, how could I unless someone guides me?  And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

“He was led as a sheep to slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open His mouth.
He was humiliated and denied justice.
Who will tell about his descendants,
Since his life has been taken from the earth?” (Isaiah 53 verse 7)

The eunuch asked Philip the same question that has been debated for two thousand years: …”Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this?  Of himself or of someone else?

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Yeshua to him.”

The eunuch believed.  Then they traveled a short distance together and the eunuch saw water — remember, they were on a desert road. “Look, water!  What prevents me from being baptized (mikvahed).  Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

This eunuch who was in charge of a queen’s treasure, was now in possession of a better treasure–He had found the Messiah, the King of the whole earth.  Thus, the Gospel went to Africa through this man!

But who is the other Ethiopian mentioned in Scripture in conjunction with a Jewish king?

He’s a man named Ebed-melech, which in Hebrew means ’servant of a king’.  We meet this amazing man in Jeremiah chapter 38, verse seven.

The context is that the Kingdom of Judah and her king, Zedekiah, were facing judgment because of idolatry and evil.  The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that the LORD would give the city of Jerusalem into the hand of the Babylonian army, and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar.

Zedekiah’s officials told him to put Jeremiah to death because they believed Jeremiah was discouraging the people by his words of warning.  Zedekiah relinquishes responsibility and tells the officials, “Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you.”  (Jeremiah Chapter 38, verse 5) The officials then cast Jeremiah into a cistern.  There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

BUT Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian eunuch, while in the king’s palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern.  Ebed-melech went to where the king was, outside the palace and boldly said, “My lord, the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city.” (verse 9)  The king responded and commanded Ebed-melech to take thirty men under his authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet form the cistern before he died.

Ebed-melech took the men, worn out clothes and rags. He told Jeremiah to put the clothes and rags under his armpits.  Jeremiah does so, and they pulled him up with the ropes.

Then the city of Jerusalem was captured.  On the ninth of Av (4th month; approx. August), the city wall was breached.  The Chaldeans (Babylonians) burned the king’s palace and the houses of the people; they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.  The king’s sons were killed and Zedekiah was bound in fetters of bronze.

Amazingly, Nebuchadnezzar gave orders about Jeremiah:  “Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you.”  (Jeremiah chapter 39, verse 12)

Now Jeremiah gets a specific word for the Ethiopian eunuch!

“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD (Yahveh) of Hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.  “But I will deliver you on that day,” declares the LORD, “and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread.  “For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me,” declares the LORD.’”  (Jeremiah chapter 39, verses 16-18)

What we can learn from this Ethiopian Eunuch’s life:

1. The BOLDNESS  an obscure servant had to speak to a wicked king, because he knew what was right, did not go unrecognized by the LORD (or the king).
2. The Ethiopian’s TRUST in Yahveh (The LORD) in grave circumstances did not go unnoticed by the LORD.  The LORD sees when you trust Him in difficulty!
3. As a result of his trust in Yahveh, he was given a special prophetic word of encouragement and hope to assuage his fears.

In these difficult days of shifting sand (economically, politically, etc.), we must have the wisdom and boldness of Ebed-melech.  We must stand for what is right, even if it means speaking to those who are opening the door to destruction. The LORD knows who are His:  “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Isaiah the Prophet declares in chapter 56 verses 3-5:  “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely separate me from His people.  Neither let the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”

For thus says the LORD, “To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, and choose what pleases Me, and hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will
give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off.”

The Scriptures have indeed memorialized these men to vast numbers of people throughout the world over the past 2,000 years.

Here’s the result of the faith of two Ethiopian eunuchs:  One brought the Gospel to Africa; the other saved a major prophet’s life…a prophet that still speaks in 2009!

Never think your acts of faith and obedience are insignificant.  They can yield fruit and have far reaching powerful, amazing consequences–even spanning many generations.

The Biblical Hebrew word for “idol” or “image” (“Ahtzav”), means to “carve, fabricate, fashion”.  What is striking, however, is the fact that it also means “to worry; pain or anger; to grieve, hurt, vex.”.  (See entries 6087 through 6094 in the Hebrew dictionary in Strong’s concordance.)

Could it be that much of what you and I worry about, and get emotionally distraught about, are actually idols/gods in our lives?  No, not works of ceramic or stone, but perhaps our goals, which become the central focus of our being. We need emotional and financial security.  However, if we are laboring for these apart from trusting the love and care Yahveh* has for us, we might be making them into idols.  The Scripture says, “We know and believe the love God has for us.” (1 John chapter 4 verse 16)  Do you believe He really loves you?  Interestingly, the Apostle John ends this same letter with the admonition:  “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”  (1 John chapter 5 verse 21)

At times, we fret over what other people think of us, and order our lives to please them.  Or we envy and covet what others are or have.  This is stressful, adds to worry and sometimes, anger.  We are actually accountable for these inner motivations and actions. This is a clear violation of the first Commandment, “I am Yahveh*, you shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20: 2-3)  Thou shalt not covet is the 10th commandment.

Are you rushing about trying to fulfill what you think is your destiny…worried and anxious about so many things?  Here’s a timeless word from Scripture:  Isaiah 28:16 (ASV translation) says that “…he that believeth (believes in the precious cornerstone which Yahveh has laid in Zion. i.e. the Messiah) shall not be in haste.” (literally, not be in a hurry!)

In contrast, the Scripture exhorts us to rest in Messiah and “find out what is pleasing to the LORD (not men).” (Ephesians chapter 5 verse 10)  Messiah Yeshua said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him (The Father).” (John chapter 8 verse 29)  This is the key to peace, in contrast to worry and vexation:  To do the things that are pleasing to Yahveh (The Heavenly Father).  We have no record in Scripture of Messiah being anxious and fretting.  He manifested peace at all times.

Do you know the verse that precedes the amazing command and promise in Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 & 7:  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua.“?  It’s the foundational truth that “The LORD is near. “ (verse 5)

The truth is “…He is not far from each one of us;…” (Acts chapter 17 verse 27), believer and non-believer, alike!

Today, draw near to Him…utter even the shortest prayer or cry. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted…” (Psalm 34 Verse 18)  “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 145 verse 18)  And, He welcomes us with this wonderful invitation:  “You will seek Me and find (Me) when you search for Me with all your heart.  ‘I will be found by you,’ declares Yahveh…” (Jeremiah 29 verse 13, 14)  He actually lets us find Him!

Seek the ‘Wonderful Counselor’ (Isaiah 9 verse 6) today.  Let the ’spirit of wisdom’ (Isaiah 11 verse 2) search your heart to reveal any idols of worry and angst.  Ask Yahveh to remove these intruders. They intrude on our peace of mind and can actually impede constructive, creative thinking regarding the things about which we worry!  These intruders can adversely affect our health. As wise King Solomon said: ”A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”  (Proverbs 14 verse 30, NIV translation)  (Note: The Scriptures address psychosomatic illness three thousand years before modern medical science!)

Please write and let us know if any of your “worrying and hurrying” has been replaced by quietness and confidence as a result of acting upon something you’ve read in today’s post.

Shalom!

Please note that all Scripture quotes are taken from the New American Standard version, except where indicated.

*In seeking to place the Scripture quotes in their original Jewish context, we frequently use the Memorial Name (Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey; Yahveh) in place of the English ‘LORD’) and the Hebrew name ‘Yeshua’ in place of the Anglicized ‘Jesus’.

Some twenty years ago while on business in a rural area, we passed a honey farm.  It was about 4:45 in the afternoon.  The owner said he was closing in fifteen minutes.  We got into a nice conversation, having learned that we attended the same university years before.

Ten minutes into the conversation, an orthodox Jewish man and his wife walked onto the farm.  I could not tell from his clothes if he was Orthodox or Hasidic.  He looked at me.  There I was in short sleeves and slacks.  Normally Hasidic men do not speak with women (other than those in their families), let alone one that is not “appropriately” dressed in a long skirt/dress and long sleeves.  Summoning the courage to speak with him, I asked: “Are you Orthodox or Hasidic?”.  He said, “Hasidic.”  I told him that my ancestors were Hasidic and mentioned the family name.  He said, “I just completed the artistic genealogy of that family name!”  “But, beside being an artist, I am also a rabbi”, he added.

Sensing I was in a “divine appointment” with a Hasidic rabbi in the middle of nowhere, I asked what he thought about Messiah.

“Messiah will come in on a white donkey,” he said firmly.  He then added, “But, we do not know when He will come.”

Tears came to my eyes.  The rabbi thought I was in need of his counsel.  I was overcome with emotion because I saw how my steps had been directed in the middle of nowhere to this rabbi, who under normal circumstances, might never have had the chance to hear about the love of God through Messiah Yeshua.

Through my tears I said, “Rabbi, Messiah has come.  His name is Yeshua.”  I then offered the English translation (Jesus), so he did not think I was speaking about a Messiah named “Joshua”.  (Please note that the names Joshua, Hosea and Isaiah all come from the same Hebrew root, and have the meaning “salvation” or “Yah saves”.  Incidentally, when I was growing up, I thought Jesus was his first name, Christ was his last name, and Mr. and Mrs. Christ had a son, Jesus.  ”Christ” is actually the anglicized form of the Greek “Christos”, which means “anointed one”.  This is translated from the Hebrew word for Messiah, “Mashiach”.  In another post I will discuss how Yeshua of Nazareth was so far removed from his Jewish roots after the first century, that many Jewish people could not recognize or embrace Him as one of their own.)

The rabbi was a little taken aback, but was not hostile.  I asked him, “How would you recognize the Messiah when He came?”  Are you aware that there are many prophetic clues in the Hebrew Scriptures that identify Messiah.  For instance, the Hebrew prophet, Micah, (who prophesied in the 700s BC (BCE))(chapter 5 verse 1 (Hebrew Bible; vs. 2 in other translations)) states the where of Messiah’s birth: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days (literally, ‘eternity’–Hebrew word is “Olam”). The ruler of Israel, was said to be from eternity, and yet was to come out of Bethlehem.  It’s common knowledge that Yeshua was born in Bethlehem.  The Hebrew prophet, Daniel, (chapter 9 verses 24 -27) states the when of Messiah’s coming:  Messiah will be cut off, and then the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed. (summary)  The city is Jerusalem; the sanctuary is the Temple.  Both were destroyed in 70 AD (CE) by the Roman Titus.  Messiah thus had to be “cut off” before 70 AD (CE).  Yeshua was “cut off” in 33 AD (CE).

Back to the story…We spoke for a half hour.  I was able to distill down the main difference between a Messianic Jewish believer in Yeshua, and a Hasid or Orthodox Jew who did not acknowledge Yeshua as the Messiah.  “Basically,” I said, “it breaks down to two things:”

1. I KNOW I have the blood atonement (I know my sins are forgiven and on Yom Kippur every year I don’t have to hope that God forgives me for I have been forgiven completely and forever when I trusted Messiah’s atoning work on my behalf when he was led like a lamb to the slaughter 2000 years ago and died for me, “the Just for the unjust to bring me to God.”) 
2. I also KNOW I have the Ruach HaKodesh, the Spirit of God, living in me. This gift of the Holy Spirit was imparted when thirty five years ago I came into a personal relationship with Yeshua as my Savior and Messiah.

While acknowledging our differences, he then shared what had happened earlier that day:  “My wife took a nap in the afternoon.  About a quarter to five she awakened and insisted we go to the honey farm.  For sixteen years, every summer, we stay at a (Hasidic) camp next door to this farm. In all those years, we have never been to this farm before!”  I replied, “I know that happened because the G-d of Israel loves you and wanted you to hear about Messiah.”  He answered, “Maybe it was to bring you back to Judaism.”  I said, “On the contrary, I know whom I believe…I didn’t find a religion but a person.”

Seven years later I searched and located him.  I sent him one of my Prophetic Regathering of Israel lithographs and a Jeremiah 31 print (these can be seen in our gallery on this site). The latter print contains the words, “Behold, days come saith the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which, my covenant, they broke.  But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel:  After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law within them, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they shall all know Me from the least of them to the greatest; for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more.”  (Jeremiah 31:31-34 Jewish Publication Society translation.)  Clearly, the basis of “knowing” the LORD is to have the problem of personal sin dealt with.  The basis of forgiveness is through faith in the atonement provided through the death of Messiah Yeshua.

He responded by sending me a six page letter filled with hostility.  Most of it was not against me personally, but directed against the New Testament and people who believe in that book.  This is not hard to understand.  Please note that the Hasidic Jews have suffered greatly over the past few centuries, with whole populations wiped out in Europe during pogroms and the Holocaust.  Clearly this rabbi grouped the perpetrators of the crimes against our people, who claimed to be “Christians”, with the New Testament.  He never read that Yeshua wept over the Jewish people, as did Rav Shaul (also known as the Apostle Paul) who said “I am telling the truth in Messiah, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Ruach Hakodesh (Holy Spirit), that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Messiah for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the Temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers and from whom is the Messiah according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.”  (Romans 9:1-3)

Readers, I share the same grief.  Pray for the Jewish people, and all people everywhere, to find peace and healing through Messiah.