Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "1-kings-19"
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 1
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 2
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Oohs and Aahs – Part 1
(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].
Elijah was the Lord’s Numero Uno prophet in northern Israel under the divided kingdom. During his day Israel was in a bad way, which is why the Lord used Elijah to perform fantastic feats of nature (i.e., miracles). The king of Israel was the no-account scoundrel Ahab, who married none other than Jezebel, princess of Sidon—you know, the Jezebel of byword notoriety.
Well, the Sidonians worshiped Baal. So it surprised no one when Jezebel brought Baal worship to northern Israel, after marrying King Ahab. That just didn’t sit right with the Lord. He alone is the true God and idols are merely the work of men’s hands. The practice of idolatry was a cardinal sin, and the worship of Baal was doubly so.
So the Lord sent Elijah into combat atop Mount Carmel. Elijah stood on one side, 450 prophet of Baal on the other plus another 400 prophets of Asherah. In reality the Lord stood on one side and some vain idols on the other. It was a foregone conclusion: the Lord won! All 850 false prophets were tossed off the mountain head first.
When Ahab returned to Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, he reported to her all that had transpired on Mount Carmel. Enraged, Jezebel sent an email to Elijah, threatening to do to him what he had done to her false prophets. And she would accomplish the feat before day’s end.
We should think that big bad prophet Elijah, the macho man, would have taken wicked old Jezebel’s threat with a grain of salt. After all, he just faced down 850 men, so what was a puny little woman, huh?
Alas, but it was not to be so. Elijah beat a fast retreat to Mount Horeb—you know, Mount Horeb as in Mount Sinai on the far southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. Consider that Mount Carmel was in northern Israel, all the way north as far as the Sea of Galilee but near the Mediterranean Coast.
To get to Mount Horeb from Mount Carmel, Elijah had to go south all the way to Judah, then keep going to the southern border of Judah, enter the Sinai Peninsula, and then cross practically the entire peninsula! Not only did Elijah flee out of Jezebel’s jurisdiction, but he fled out of all Hebrew territory. As if this wasn’t far enough away, he then continued across an entire peninsula too! Methinks Elijah was a scaredy-cat, when it came to women!
Oops! Time’s up. We’ll have to finish this topic tomorrow. See you then, and don’t forget to visit with Jesus before going to bed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Elijah was the Lord’s Numero Uno prophet in northern Israel under the divided kingdom. During his day Israel was in a bad way, which is why the Lord used Elijah to perform fantastic feats of nature (i.e., miracles). The king of Israel was the no-account scoundrel Ahab, who married none other than Jezebel, princess of Sidon—you know, the Jezebel of byword notoriety.
Well, the Sidonians worshiped Baal. So it surprised no one when Jezebel brought Baal worship to northern Israel, after marrying King Ahab. That just didn’t sit right with the Lord. He alone is the true God and idols are merely the work of men’s hands. The practice of idolatry was a cardinal sin, and the worship of Baal was doubly so.
So the Lord sent Elijah into combat atop Mount Carmel. Elijah stood on one side, 450 prophet of Baal on the other plus another 400 prophets of Asherah. In reality the Lord stood on one side and some vain idols on the other. It was a foregone conclusion: the Lord won! All 850 false prophets were tossed off the mountain head first.
When Ahab returned to Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, he reported to her all that had transpired on Mount Carmel. Enraged, Jezebel sent an email to Elijah, threatening to do to him what he had done to her false prophets. And she would accomplish the feat before day’s end.
We should think that big bad prophet Elijah, the macho man, would have taken wicked old Jezebel’s threat with a grain of salt. After all, he just faced down 850 men, so what was a puny little woman, huh?
Alas, but it was not to be so. Elijah beat a fast retreat to Mount Horeb—you know, Mount Horeb as in Mount Sinai on the far southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. Consider that Mount Carmel was in northern Israel, all the way north as far as the Sea of Galilee but near the Mediterranean Coast.
To get to Mount Horeb from Mount Carmel, Elijah had to go south all the way to Judah, then keep going to the southern border of Judah, enter the Sinai Peninsula, and then cross practically the entire peninsula! Not only did Elijah flee out of Jezebel’s jurisdiction, but he fled out of all Hebrew territory. As if this wasn’t far enough away, he then continued across an entire peninsula too! Methinks Elijah was a scaredy-cat, when it came to women!
Oops! Time’s up. We’ll have to finish this topic tomorrow. See you then, and don’t forget to visit with Jesus before going to bed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Oohs and Aahs – Part 2
(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].
Yesterday we gave the background information to our text. Now let’s get to the point of the text, shall we? We now come to the two verses we quoted as a kick-off to this study.
On Mount Horeb Elijah threw himself a pity party and invited the Lord. The main course was an Elijah specialty named The Grouse Gourmet. Seems Elijah thought he had done so much good for the Lord, but the Lord didn’t appreciate him. Why, he alone in all Israel still served the Lord…at least according to old Elijah.
As a suitable payment for his services, Elijah wanted to see the Lord in person. And that is where the two quoted verses come in. Notice the contrast. On the one hand Elijah experienced:
• a great and strong wind...rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
• after the wind an earthquake
• after the earthquake a fire
In contrast to all that Elijah lastly experienced a sound of a gentle blowing. To put this contrast into context, remember what Elijah had just gone through before fleeing from Jezebel. All by himself he performed a most impressive mighty miracle against 850 opponents. In fact Elijah’s ministry from the Lord was one of performing mighty miracles, awesome deeds, eye-opening feats.
Atop Mount Horeb the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire” were meant to impress Elijah, just as his mighty miracles impressed others. Elijah saw God in terms of mighty miracles, you see. He was dumbfounded because the Lord didn’t perform mighty miracles on his behalf against Jezebel. Apart from mighty miracles Elijah couldn’t get a handle on the Lord.
Ah, but after the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire”, on each occasion we are told that the Lord was not in those mighty miracles. The Lord did perform the mighty miracles, to be sure. But the mighty miracles were not the Lord.
This is a serious problem in some Christian circles today. Some Christians are so busy wanting to see the sign gifts (e.g., tongues, miracles, healings), that they lose sight of the Lord. It saddens me to see some Christians exude so much enthusiasm and gullible excitement, believing they are honored by the Holy Spirit with the sign gifts.
Their church is alive, you see, while those who don’t focus on tongues and miracles and healings are filled with half-dead, hybrid Christians, most certainly inferior to them, the present-day “super apostles”. They are like Elijah on Mount Horeb. They can only envision God in terms of outward, flamboyant power.
But this is precisely the stuff from which the Lord wanted to wean Elijah. After all the outward powerful signs were over, the Lord finally met with Elijah personally. He revealed Himself as a sound of a gentle blowing.
The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful. He can manifest more power than any man can even imagine. But He wants to have a personal relationship with us, not frighten us into submission by impersonal force!
When we interact favorably with others, we communicate in a still, small voice. We talk kindly and respectfully. We respect the other person’s feelings, not try to intimidate him.
It is the same with the Lord Jesus and our personal relationship with Him. He wants to visit with us in the garden in the cool of the day. When He does He speaks softly and gently, so we can enjoy His company and come to know Him all the better. What He has to say is spoken in intelligible words we can understand, and those words come from His written Word.
Let’s take this under advisement in our quite time with the Lord now. We can learn a lot from Him, if we truly want to. He even makes it fun. Let’s go. I’ll race you to Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Yesterday we gave the background information to our text. Now let’s get to the point of the text, shall we? We now come to the two verses we quoted as a kick-off to this study.
On Mount Horeb Elijah threw himself a pity party and invited the Lord. The main course was an Elijah specialty named The Grouse Gourmet. Seems Elijah thought he had done so much good for the Lord, but the Lord didn’t appreciate him. Why, he alone in all Israel still served the Lord…at least according to old Elijah.
As a suitable payment for his services, Elijah wanted to see the Lord in person. And that is where the two quoted verses come in. Notice the contrast. On the one hand Elijah experienced:
• a great and strong wind...rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
• after the wind an earthquake
• after the earthquake a fire
In contrast to all that Elijah lastly experienced a sound of a gentle blowing. To put this contrast into context, remember what Elijah had just gone through before fleeing from Jezebel. All by himself he performed a most impressive mighty miracle against 850 opponents. In fact Elijah’s ministry from the Lord was one of performing mighty miracles, awesome deeds, eye-opening feats.
Atop Mount Horeb the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire” were meant to impress Elijah, just as his mighty miracles impressed others. Elijah saw God in terms of mighty miracles, you see. He was dumbfounded because the Lord didn’t perform mighty miracles on his behalf against Jezebel. Apart from mighty miracles Elijah couldn’t get a handle on the Lord.
Ah, but after the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire”, on each occasion we are told that the Lord was not in those mighty miracles. The Lord did perform the mighty miracles, to be sure. But the mighty miracles were not the Lord.
This is a serious problem in some Christian circles today. Some Christians are so busy wanting to see the sign gifts (e.g., tongues, miracles, healings), that they lose sight of the Lord. It saddens me to see some Christians exude so much enthusiasm and gullible excitement, believing they are honored by the Holy Spirit with the sign gifts.
Their church is alive, you see, while those who don’t focus on tongues and miracles and healings are filled with half-dead, hybrid Christians, most certainly inferior to them, the present-day “super apostles”. They are like Elijah on Mount Horeb. They can only envision God in terms of outward, flamboyant power.
But this is precisely the stuff from which the Lord wanted to wean Elijah. After all the outward powerful signs were over, the Lord finally met with Elijah personally. He revealed Himself as a sound of a gentle blowing.
The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful. He can manifest more power than any man can even imagine. But He wants to have a personal relationship with us, not frighten us into submission by impersonal force!
When we interact favorably with others, we communicate in a still, small voice. We talk kindly and respectfully. We respect the other person’s feelings, not try to intimidate him.
It is the same with the Lord Jesus and our personal relationship with Him. He wants to visit with us in the garden in the cool of the day. When He does He speaks softly and gently, so we can enjoy His company and come to know Him all the better. What He has to say is spoken in intelligible words we can understand, and those words come from His written Word.
Let’s take this under advisement in our quite time with the Lord now. We can learn a lot from Him, if we truly want to. He even makes it fun. Let’s go. I’ll race you to Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 1
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 2
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Oohs and Aahs – Part 1
(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].
Elijah was the Lord’s Numero Uno prophet in northern Israel under the divided kingdom. During his day Israel was in a bad way, which is why the Lord used Elijah to perform fantastic feats of nature (i.e., miracles). The king of Israel was the no-account scoundrel Ahab, who married none other than Jezebel, princess of Sidon—you know, the Jezebel of byword notoriety.
Well, the Sidonians worshiped Baal. So it surprised no one when Jezebel brought Baal worship to northern Israel, after marrying King Ahab. That just didn’t sit right with the Lord. He alone is the true God and idols are merely the work of men’s hands. The practice of idolatry was a cardinal sin, and the worship of Baal was doubly so.
So the Lord sent Elijah into combat atop Mount Carmel. Elijah stood on one side, 450 prophet of Baal on the other plus another 400 prophets of Asherah. In reality the Lord stood on one side and some vain idols on the other. It was a foregone conclusion: the Lord won! All 850 false prophets were tossed off the mountain head first.
When Ahab returned to Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, he reported to her all that had transpired on Mount Carmel. Enraged, Jezebel sent an email to Elijah, threatening to do to him what he had done to her false prophets. And she would accomplish the feat before day’s end.
We should think that big bad prophet Elijah, the macho man, would have taken wicked old Jezebel’s threat with a grain of salt. After all, he just faced down 850 men, so what was a puny little woman, huh?
Alas, but it was not to be so. Elijah beat a fast retreat to Mount Horeb—you know, Mount Horeb as in Mount Sinai on the far southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. Consider that Mount Carmel was in northern Israel, all the way north as far as the Sea of Galilee but near the Mediterranean Coast.
To get to Mount Horeb from Mount Carmel, Elijah had to go south all the way to Judah, then keep going to the southern border of Judah, enter the Sinai Peninsula, and then cross practically the entire peninsula! Not only did Elijah flee out of Jezebel’s jurisdiction, but he fled out of all Hebrew territory. As if this wasn’t far enough away, he then continued across an entire peninsula too! Methinks Elijah was a scaredy-cat, when it came to women!
Oops! Time’s up. We’ll have to finish this topic tomorrow. See you then, and don’t forget to visit with Jesus before going to bed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Elijah was the Lord’s Numero Uno prophet in northern Israel under the divided kingdom. During his day Israel was in a bad way, which is why the Lord used Elijah to perform fantastic feats of nature (i.e., miracles). The king of Israel was the no-account scoundrel Ahab, who married none other than Jezebel, princess of Sidon—you know, the Jezebel of byword notoriety.
Well, the Sidonians worshiped Baal. So it surprised no one when Jezebel brought Baal worship to northern Israel, after marrying King Ahab. That just didn’t sit right with the Lord. He alone is the true God and idols are merely the work of men’s hands. The practice of idolatry was a cardinal sin, and the worship of Baal was doubly so.
So the Lord sent Elijah into combat atop Mount Carmel. Elijah stood on one side, 450 prophet of Baal on the other plus another 400 prophets of Asherah. In reality the Lord stood on one side and some vain idols on the other. It was a foregone conclusion: the Lord won! All 850 false prophets were tossed off the mountain head first.
When Ahab returned to Jezebel in the city of Jezreel, he reported to her all that had transpired on Mount Carmel. Enraged, Jezebel sent an email to Elijah, threatening to do to him what he had done to her false prophets. And she would accomplish the feat before day’s end.
We should think that big bad prophet Elijah, the macho man, would have taken wicked old Jezebel’s threat with a grain of salt. After all, he just faced down 850 men, so what was a puny little woman, huh?
Alas, but it was not to be so. Elijah beat a fast retreat to Mount Horeb—you know, Mount Horeb as in Mount Sinai on the far southern end of the Sinai Peninsula. Consider that Mount Carmel was in northern Israel, all the way north as far as the Sea of Galilee but near the Mediterranean Coast.
To get to Mount Horeb from Mount Carmel, Elijah had to go south all the way to Judah, then keep going to the southern border of Judah, enter the Sinai Peninsula, and then cross practically the entire peninsula! Not only did Elijah flee out of Jezebel’s jurisdiction, but he fled out of all Hebrew territory. As if this wasn’t far enough away, he then continued across an entire peninsula too! Methinks Elijah was a scaredy-cat, when it came to women!
Oops! Time’s up. We’ll have to finish this topic tomorrow. See you then, and don’t forget to visit with Jesus before going to bed.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Oohs and Aahs – Part 2
(The Lord said to Elijah), “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [1 Kings 19:11-12].
Yesterday we gave the background information to our text. Now let’s get to the point of the text, shall we? We now come to the two verses we quoted as a kick-off to this study.
On Mount Horeb Elijah threw himself a pity party and invited the Lord. The main course was an Elijah specialty named The Grouse Gourmet. Seems Elijah thought he had done so much good for the Lord, but the Lord didn’t appreciate him. Why, he alone in all Israel still served the Lord…at least according to old Elijah.
As a suitable payment for his services, Elijah wanted to see the Lord in person. And that is where the two quoted verses come in. Notice the contrast. On the one hand Elijah experienced:
• a great and strong wind...rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
• after the wind an earthquake
• after the earthquake a fire
In contrast to all that Elijah lastly experienced a sound of a gentle blowing. To put this contrast into context, remember what Elijah had just gone through before fleeing from Jezebel. All by himself he performed a most impressive mighty miracle against 850 opponents. In fact Elijah’s ministry from the Lord was one of performing mighty miracles, awesome deeds, eye-opening feats.
Atop Mount Horeb the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire” were meant to impress Elijah, just as his mighty miracles impressed others. Elijah saw God in terms of mighty miracles, you see. He was dumbfounded because the Lord didn’t perform mighty miracles on his behalf against Jezebel. Apart from mighty miracles Elijah couldn’t get a handle on the Lord.
Ah, but after the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire”, on each occasion we are told that the Lord was not in those mighty miracles. The Lord did perform the mighty miracles, to be sure. But the mighty miracles were not the Lord.
This is a serious problem in some Christian circles today. Some Christians are so busy wanting to see the sign gifts (e.g., tongues, miracles, healings), that they lose sight of the Lord. It saddens me to see some Christians exude so much enthusiasm and gullible excitement, believing they are honored by the Holy Spirit with the sign gifts.
Their church is alive, you see, while those who don’t focus on tongues and miracles and healings are filled with half-dead, hybrid Christians, most certainly inferior to them, the present-day “super apostles”. They are like Elijah on Mount Horeb. They can only envision God in terms of outward, flamboyant power.
But this is precisely the stuff from which the Lord wanted to wean Elijah. After all the outward powerful signs were over, the Lord finally met with Elijah personally. He revealed Himself as a sound of a gentle blowing.
The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful. He can manifest more power than any man can even imagine. But He wants to have a personal relationship with us, not frighten us into submission by impersonal force!
When we interact favorably with others, we communicate in a still, small voice. We talk kindly and respectfully. We respect the other person’s feelings, not try to intimidate him.
It is the same with the Lord Jesus and our personal relationship with Him. He wants to visit with us in the garden in the cool of the day. When He does He speaks softly and gently, so we can enjoy His company and come to know Him all the better. What He has to say is spoken in intelligible words we can understand, and those words come from His written Word.
Let’s take this under advisement in our quite time with the Lord now. We can learn a lot from Him, if we truly want to. He even makes it fun. Let’s go. I’ll race you to Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Yesterday we gave the background information to our text. Now let’s get to the point of the text, shall we? We now come to the two verses we quoted as a kick-off to this study.
On Mount Horeb Elijah threw himself a pity party and invited the Lord. The main course was an Elijah specialty named The Grouse Gourmet. Seems Elijah thought he had done so much good for the Lord, but the Lord didn’t appreciate him. Why, he alone in all Israel still served the Lord…at least according to old Elijah.
As a suitable payment for his services, Elijah wanted to see the Lord in person. And that is where the two quoted verses come in. Notice the contrast. On the one hand Elijah experienced:
• a great and strong wind...rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks
• after the wind an earthquake
• after the earthquake a fire
In contrast to all that Elijah lastly experienced a sound of a gentle blowing. To put this contrast into context, remember what Elijah had just gone through before fleeing from Jezebel. All by himself he performed a most impressive mighty miracle against 850 opponents. In fact Elijah’s ministry from the Lord was one of performing mighty miracles, awesome deeds, eye-opening feats.
Atop Mount Horeb the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire” were meant to impress Elijah, just as his mighty miracles impressed others. Elijah saw God in terms of mighty miracles, you see. He was dumbfounded because the Lord didn’t perform mighty miracles on his behalf against Jezebel. Apart from mighty miracles Elijah couldn’t get a handle on the Lord.
Ah, but after the “strong wind” and the “earthquake” and the “fire”, on each occasion we are told that the Lord was not in those mighty miracles. The Lord did perform the mighty miracles, to be sure. But the mighty miracles were not the Lord.
This is a serious problem in some Christian circles today. Some Christians are so busy wanting to see the sign gifts (e.g., tongues, miracles, healings), that they lose sight of the Lord. It saddens me to see some Christians exude so much enthusiasm and gullible excitement, believing they are honored by the Holy Spirit with the sign gifts.
Their church is alive, you see, while those who don’t focus on tongues and miracles and healings are filled with half-dead, hybrid Christians, most certainly inferior to them, the present-day “super apostles”. They are like Elijah on Mount Horeb. They can only envision God in terms of outward, flamboyant power.
But this is precisely the stuff from which the Lord wanted to wean Elijah. After all the outward powerful signs were over, the Lord finally met with Elijah personally. He revealed Himself as a sound of a gentle blowing.
The Lord is omnipotent, all-powerful. He can manifest more power than any man can even imagine. But He wants to have a personal relationship with us, not frighten us into submission by impersonal force!
When we interact favorably with others, we communicate in a still, small voice. We talk kindly and respectfully. We respect the other person’s feelings, not try to intimidate him.
It is the same with the Lord Jesus and our personal relationship with Him. He wants to visit with us in the garden in the cool of the day. When He does He speaks softly and gently, so we can enjoy His company and come to know Him all the better. What He has to say is spoken in intelligible words we can understand, and those words come from His written Word.
Let’s take this under advisement in our quite time with the Lord now. We can learn a lot from Him, if we truly want to. He even makes it fun. Let’s go. I’ll race you to Him.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Exodus: Volume 2 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 1
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Judging by those three verses, we’ve found a contradiction in the Bible. On the one hand, it was okay for Elisha to turn back from following Elijah as the Lord’s chosen prophet-in-training. On the other hand, it was utterly inexcusable for someone else to want to turn back from following Jesus, in order to bid a fond farewell to his family. Hmm. What to make of this. Is it a contradiction or not?
This demonstrates the absolute necessity of reading the Scriptures in context, dear friends. Chapter and verse divisions have cultivated in us the habit of grabbing words and phrases and sentences out of context, as if they occurred in a vacuum. They don’t, and we shouldn’t interpret them as if they did.
In Elisha’s case he was at home, plowing the field with twelve pairs of oxen. This means that Elisha had eleven other men working under him, each person having a plow and a pair of oxen to pull the plow. Elisha was an affluent gent, you see.
Elijah came walking along and tossed his mantle on Elisha. The mantle symbolized the office, and Elijah’s office was that of the Lord’s prophet. In other words Elijah extended to Elisha the Lord’s call to be His prophet.
Elisha was plowing his field, remember. He wasn’t praying for the Lord to call him. He didn’t send his résumé to Elijah or the Lord, applying for the office. The call came to him out of the blue…in more ways than one.
Notwithstanding this context, Elisha straightway embraced the call. Then he requested of Elijah permission to tell his relatives that he had accepted the Lord’s call to be His prophet. This consisted of going back to the house with his pair of oxen and his plow, slaughtering the oxen, then cooking them on the wood from the plow.
Can a more vivid picture story be imagined to declare, “I will no longer be a farmer, dear family. I am leaving that occupation permanently. From now on I will be on the road ministering as the Lord’s prophet!” Elisha slaughtered his oxen and burned up his plow. Obviously he was not intending to farm again!
This is known as being the Lord’s witness, dear people. The Lord calls all Christians to be His witnesses. Elisha did a good thing. No wonder Elijah gave his blessing to this proposal.
Oh, but we’re out of time! We’ll continue the tale tomorrow. For now chew the cud on what we’ve studied today. Allow the Holy Spirit to teach you and move the knowledge down into your heart.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak – Part 2
He (i.e., Elisha) left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he (i.e., Elijah) said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” [1 Kings 19:20]
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:61-62]
Yesterday we watched Elijah extend the call of the Lord to Elisha to be His prophet. Elisha accepted with relish. Then he went home and announced to the family that he would no longer live with them and be a farmer. To act out this truth—as the prophets were wont to do—he slaughtered his pair of oxen, cooked them over a fire which burned on the wood of his plow, then fed the family (and Elijah) a hearty meal before departing. This made Elisha the Lord’s witness to his family.
It was quite otherwise with the man who volunteered to follow Jesus. On his own unsolicited initiative, he claimed he wanted to be Jesus’ disciple and serve Him. But then he added a condition to keeping his word to the Lord. First he wanted to return home and tell his family good-bye.
Do you see the difference? This man wasn’t Elisha. He had ties to the world from which he wasn’t prepared to make a clean break. He should have kept his mouth shut and fulfilled his commitments at home. When he was truly ready to leave the world and its lifestyle, then he could request of Jesus permission to be His disciple.
Jesus wasn’t much impressed with this man. Ostensibly the man wanted the glory of “following Jesus”. He wanted the praise of other men for his selfless sacrifice. He wanted to appear holy, you see, but he didn’t really want to be holy. That would entail giving up his own dreams and plans, and laying down his life as a whole burnt offering in service to His Lord.
This is heavy stuff, my dear friends. Let’s hie off to the prayer closet a while and visit with Jesus now. Let Him reveal the truth of our hearts to us. Do we really want to walk with Jesus as His disciples? Are we prepared to leave all the things of the world which we cherish so dearly, in order to be His willing bond slaves? That is heavy…not some quixotic promise to be uttered by our lips.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Leviticus: Volume 3 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
