Firstly, Leviticus 17:10 – 16 tells God’s people not to consume blood.
It makes it clear that ‘the life’ is in the blood. Symbolically, this may mean that God alone supplies our life, and consuming the ‘life’ of another animal for sustenance separates us from our God-sourced life. But it will have special significance in Christ.
Leviticus 11 gives us the list of clean and unclean foods. I think that God gave these instructions through Moses for (i) a national physical health reasons (ii) a symbolic spiritual meaning.
The Torah states that clean mammals are those that chew their cud (ruminants) and are cloven-hoofed. The following common animal species are among those considered to be clean: cows, sheep and goats, but now include addax, antelope, bison, cow, deer, gazelle, giraffe, goat, ibex and sheep.
Again – this is a great health instruction. Most meat-borne diseases come from omnivorous or carnivorous animals. E.g. pigs. As a disease preventative – it’s best to stay away from them.
Spiritually – all clean animals are herbivores i.e. they are innocent of shedding the blood of other animals. When we kill an innocent animal to sustain our life it foretells the death of an innocent person (Jesus) to sustain our eternal life.
The Torah does not enumerate specific characteristics to distinguish permitted and forbidden birds. Instead, it enumerates 24 forbidden species of fowl, while all other birds are considered to be clean. The unclean birds are again birds of carrion – those that eat dead flesh. Again – the innocence of Jesus is symbolized by the clean birds, who sustain our life without doing harm to others.
The Torah establishes two criteria to determine which fish are clean. The fish must have fins and scales. This excluded all shell fish, squid, eels etc etc. Again, at least here in Australia, all poison fish are scale-less, and oysters and prawns etc are filter feeders and can transmit disease – so it’s a good health measure.
Jews found the transition out of the ‘Law’ very difficult. For their whole lives they were told to ‘keep the rules’ – now they are told that ’it’s all by faith and grace’. Imagine how shocked the Jewish believers were to be told that they had to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus.
Matt 26 “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”
They would come to realise that, indeed, the life was in the blood – and eternal life was in the shed blood of Jesus. Every believer takes the life of Jesus into themselves.
Jesus was the Passover Lamb of God – and therefore, not only permitted to be eaten– but commanded to be eaten so that the angel of death would pass over us to eternal life.
His body was the unleavened bread of the Passover. No leaven of malice or wickedness, but the pure bread made form the first fruits of grain dedicated to God.
There was great difficulty for Jews transitioning to the Christian life. They were permitted to keep some laws as transitional laws (Acts 15:28-29).
In Mark 7:14-20, Jesus makes it clear that the food which enters our body is not the cause of defilement – but the thoughts and deeds which come out.
For Christians – all foods are acceptable and should be received as the gift of God.
Romans 14
As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand
13 Then let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of the subject of angels – rather just a few thoughts. The thoughts of angels have occupied the minds of many over the centuries. It seems we all have varied ideas. Sometimes the idea of an angel is embedded in strange places.
Angels in the Old testament.
As an example, the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, is entitled ‘My Angel’. Malachi means my messenger or angel. The Hebrew word for angel is malak, and simply means a messenger. It can be used for human messengers or for spirit beings sent to do God’s will.
e.g. Genesis 32 “Jacob sent malak (angels/messengers) ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir.”
Here, the malak were obviously human messengers, but in Judges 13 we read
“As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the malak (angel/messenger) of the Lord ascended in the flame.”
This was obviously a spiritual angel as humans cannot ascend in a flame.
But there are many places where we cannot tell which is meant. Genesis 19:15; ‘With the coming of dawn, the malak (angels/messengers) urged Lot, saying,
“Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here”.’
They may have been spiritual angels or human messengers sent from Melchizedek. We may think, well, these messengers were able to blind the men who were attacking Lot and his family, so doesn’t that mean that they were supernatural angels? No, the prophets were also able to do blind people through the power of God.
2 Kings 6:18… “ And He (God) smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.”
So, we are left wondering, were these men spirit angels or human servants of God sent by the godly King-Priest Melchizedek, to save righteous Lot from the coming destruction.
So, how can we tell which type of angel/messenger was meant? There is a way – it’s not 100% foolproof, but pretty close.
Let’s look at a couple of examples where the angel is clearly a spirit being.
Genesis 21:17 ‘And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. 18 Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him fast with your hand; for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water…’
This angel called from heaven and made a well miraculously appear. Obviously a spiritual angel.
Genesis 22:11 ‘But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”’
Calling from heaven – it was a spiritual angel.
Exodus 3:2‘There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.’
The angel appeared in flames – obviously a spirit angel.
Numbers 22:22 ‘But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.’
A spirit angel who caused an ass to talk.
It seems that whenever we see the words ‘angel of God’ or ‘angel of the Lord’ the reference is to a spiritual angel. There are very few exceptions to this (if any); i.e. a reference to an ‘angel of the Lord’ which is not a spirit angel.
There are some references, such as Genesis 24:7“The Lord, the God of heaven……spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.’ , where the words ‘angel of the Lord or God’ are not present, but the phrase ‘his angel’ infers the same thing.
So, we have some means of separating the spiritual angel from the human.
Some examples of human angels (i.e. no mention of Lord or God) would be in Genesis 19 where the angels are not referred to as ‘of the lord or God’. I take it mean they were human angels – probably from Melchizedek.
Yet another example of human angels is found in Joshua 6:17 ‘And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the malak (angels/messengers) that we sent.’
Angels in the News Testament
In the New Testament, the Greek word for angel is aggelos, which also can mean messenger or a spiritual angel. Again, we have to use the context to see which one is meant.
e.g. Luke 1:11 “Then an aggelos (angel/messenger) of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.”
Clearly this was a spiritual angel, as it appeared ‘out of thin air’.
Luke 7:24 “After John’s aggelos (angels/messengers) left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John.”
Clearly these were human messengers – disciples of John.
There are times when we have to use the context to decide which is meant. Acts12:15
“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his aggelos (angel/messenger).”
Here, the angel may be a spiritual one – or just a messenger sent from Peter, whom they thought was still in prison.
Just as in the Old Testament, there is a way to tell the difference in the majority of cases. The expression “angel of the Lord”, or “angel of God” always refers to a spirit angel. If the passage just says ‘angel’, it most likely (but not always), refers to a human messenger. A good example is Acts 12:7.
“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell….”
This miraculous jail escape was performed by a spiritual angel. But, in the verse15 They said to her, “You are mad.” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel!” the phrase “of the Lord” is missing and therefore almost certainly refers to a human messenger from Peter.
Some examples of spiritual angels are: Matthew 1:20
But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;’’
Luke 1:11 “And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechari′ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.”
Acts 8:26 “But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” …
So, just as in the Old testament, we have a pretty good way of separating out spiritual angels from human.
This understanding can often clear up confusion as to the meaning of a passage. One of the most discussed references to angles appears in 1 Corinthians 11. “10 This is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head, because of the angels.” This is so simply resolved if we note that the angels referred to here are NOT ‘of the Lord’. They are human messengers. They were probably ‘sent’ from the stricter churches in Jerusalem to ‘check-up’ on the gentile churches – to see if they were abiding by the ‘traditions’. This is confirmed by Paul’s referring to ‘other churches’ traditions in verse 16.
If I could, I would take every Bible in the world, and replace every word ‘angel’ by ‘messenger’ to eliminate this type of confusion.
Spiritual angels seem to be agencies by which God may choose to speak to humans. They often take on the name of God. If we read Judges 5:11-20 where the terms “angel of the Lord”, and “The Lord” appear interchangeable as the angel represents God:
“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak”; “The Lord turned to him and said…”; “The Lord answered, ‘I will be with you’”; “The angel of God said to him”.
So, angels can carry the name of God and deliver His messages.
Angels have specific identities and roles. Only two angels are named – Gabriel (man of God) who stands in the presence of God, and Michael (one like God) who seems to be a defender of Israel. When Elisha’s servant was in despair (2 Kings 6:17), the prophets prayed that God would open his eyes and he saw that he and the prophet were surrounded by the spirits of God without number. Here, the chariots of fire were the visual sign of God’s protective power – as are angels.
Angels were still active in the early Christian assemblies, directing the preaching of Philip, and teaching Peter to accept Gentiles and other activities. There is no reason to assume that angels no longer act. Hebrews 13:2 suggests we may encounter angels (spiritual or mortal). We can take comfort in the fact that angels may very well surround us in our hour of most need, as they did for Jesus.
Another curious verse about angels appears in 1 Corinthians 4:9
“For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men.”
Again, the words ‘of the Lord’ are missing – and the angels referred to are almost certainly human messengers of God. So, the spectacle of the suffering saint is set before men (those in the world) and messengers (other believers) as an example.
Exceptions: There are certainly exceptions in the New testament, where apparently spiritual angels are referred to as just ‘angels’ not ‘of the Lord’. Hebrews chapters 1 and 2 are an example.
But, in any passage without ‘of the Lord’, it’s probably a good starting point to assume a human messenger first.
Some people feel that we have a personal or ‘guardian’ angel. This maybe so, but it’s worth analysing the sources of this belief.
Psalm 34:7“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”
This psalm refers to the future salvation of anyone who comes to God, as clearly the blessings described in this psalm do not come to us in this life. So – the encampment of angles would seem to be God directing us to a Christ-like life, to give us future salvation.
Psalm 91:11“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways”.
Although this was specifically applied to Jesus, there is no reason to assume it is not a promise to all who follow God. Again, the context of the Psalm is future blessings, and we know God works through all agencies (spirit and human) to bring us to salvation.
2 Kings 6:17 “And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
Again – God’s agencies are protecting us from spiritual evil.
Matthew 20 records the incident of James and John’s mother asking for the right and left hand sides of Jesus in His Kingdom. The wife of Zebedee went in to bat for her children. She asked that He would grant her request for them. Jesus then turned to the boys
“Can you be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with, and drink of the cup I drink of?”
A sort of multiple choice test. Yes /No answers. Out of the love the two young men had for Jesus, and the desire to be in the Kingdom with Him, they both said
“Yes, we are able”
Jesus marked their multiple-choice exam on the spot.
“You will be baptised with my baptism, and drink of my cup.”
They passed. They got both questions right! They may have had every reason to believe that their request would now be granted. But then they heard the words;
“But your request is not mine to give..it is for God to decide.”
Then why had he asked them? If he knew he couldn’t grant the request, why put them through the test.
But both young men left that day knowing an answer to a question that they hadn’t asked. They would both be baptised with His baptism, and drink of His cup.
And as they watched him set his face toward Jerusalem, and say “I have a baptism to be accomplished, and how worried I am until it is done”, how they must have wondered at their destiny. And when they saw His sweat as great drops of blood, and heard Him whisper “Father, remove this cup“, the terrible realisation of the prophecy they owned must have hit home. So James and John start their new life knowing that they will share His cup and baptism.
Then the risen Lord stands before Peter. He says, “a day will come, when you’ll be dressed by others, and be led where you don’t want to go”, signifying, not the manner in which Peter was to die, but the manner in which he was to glorify God. That makes dying worthwhile.
The three young men, Peter, James and John, knew they would participate in Jesus’ sufferings. It came early for James. Acts 12 tells the story of how James was taken and killed by Herod, and when he saw how it pleased the Jews, he took Peter, and jailed him with the intent of having him killed. But the church made desperate prayers for Peter, and God sent an angel to release him, and bring him back to the brothers and sisters. So the prayers of the saints resulted in Peter’s release. But weren’t the same prayers made for James? But God was to be glorified in the death of James, and in the life of Peter. I strongly believe that one of the reasons that Peter was saved from death at the hand of Herod, was that he had yet to write the letter of 1Peter. Only Peter – not a Paul, or John or Judas, could write it.
The letter of 1 Peter was written to the believers in Turkey who were about to be tortured to death at the hands of the Romans. It was written in about AD64, probably at the time of the start of the Nero persecutions. It was to prepare the Turkish believers for the more fierce persecutions of the Emperors Domitian (AD 90) and Trajan (AD 100), especially the latter, who with the Governor of Bythinia, Pliny the Younger, was the first Roman Caesar to persecute people for just bearing the name Christian.
How do you prepare people to be burned at the stake, crucified in the circuses, be thrown to wild animals? Or, harder still, how do you prepare believers to see their loved ones, their husbands and children to be thrown to the lions. This is Peter’s job. How?….by constantly reminding them that Jesus did it first for you. But, in every reference that Peter makes to Christ’s suffering, he immediately follows with a reference to His glorification, and the subsequent glory of the believer who follows in His steps. The emphasis is that if you suffer for righteousness now, you’ll follow Him to glory.
1 Peter has 3 main themes.
There is a Trial to comeupon you.
References are to a fiery trial, and your adversary going about like a roaring lion. All alluding to type of the death they were to suffer.
If you suffer as He did, you’ll be raised to glory as He was.
1 Peter 1:4-5, 9-11 ; 2:21 ; 4:13 ; 5:1.
How to behave in the face of this persecution.
You must make your behaviour exemplary, so when you suffer, as you will, it will be for righteousness sake.
1 Peter 1:14-16 ; 2:11-13 ; 3:16-17 ; 4:15-16
The believers were accused of incest (because they called their wife their sister), cannibalism (they ate the body and blood of their Lord), and treason (they refused to accept the deity of Caesar). The punishment inflicted by the Romans varied in intensity from torture followed by death, to maiming ( right eye removed, right leg cut off), to simple property confiscation, depending on how passionate the local governor was about the persecution.
The follower of Jesus had 3 choices in this persecution.
to stand up for Jesus, refuse to worship Caesar, and accept the consequences.
to deny Jesus, worship Caesar, and be set free.
To bribe their way to freedom. They could purchase certificates, saying that they had sacrificed to the Roman Gods, or worshipped Caesar, when they in fact hadn’t…all at a price.
Many (maybe most) took the third alternative. The persecution passes. How would they feel, coming back to the assembly of believers? Ashamed, they would sneak in the back, seeing their brothers and sisters sitting down the front, who had suffered for Jesus. How worthless they feel amidst those who were maimed, or lost loved ones, those who stood up for Jesus. How they could hardly lift their eyes to meet those of their fellows, these ones who had denied their Lord.
Then they realised who had written their letter to them.
A failure!!
The very disciple who had purchased the certificate and sworn that he did not know Jesus had written them the letter. Now they saw why only Peter could have written for them. He had denied Jesus. If you fail, pick yourself up, dust yourself down, throw yourself on Jesus, and start again in his strength.
PLINY, LETTERS 10.96-97
Pliny to the Emperor Trajan
It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better give guidance to my hesitation or inform my ignorance? I have never participated in trials of Christians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether there should be any distinction on account of age or no difference between the very young and the more mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repentance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the name itself, even without offenses, or only the offenses associated with the name are to be punished.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who were denounced to me as Christians, I have observed the following procedure: I interrogated these as to whether they were Christians; those who confessed I interrogated a second and a third time, threatening them with punishment; those who persisted I ordered executed. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished. There were others possessed of the same folly; but because they were Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be transferred to Rome.
Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, because of the proceedings going on, and several incidents occurred. An anonymous document was published containing the names of many persons. Those who denied that they were or had been Christians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your image, which I had ordered to be brought for this purpose together with statues of the gods, and moreover cursed Christ–none of which those who are really Christians, it is said, can be forced to do–these I thought should be discharged. Others named by the informer declared that they were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that they had been but had ceased to be, some three years before, others many years, some as much as twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
They asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to bind themselves by oath, not to some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so. When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food–but ordinary and innocent food. Even this, they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I judged it all the more necessary to find out what the truth was by torturing two female slaves who were called deaconesses. But I discovered nothing else but depraved, excessive superstition.
I therefore postponed the investigation and hastened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to warrant consulting you, especially because of the number involved. For many persons of every age, every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be endangered. For the contagion of this superstition has spread not only to the cities but also to the villages and farms. But it seems possible to check and cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, which had been almost deserted, have begun to be frequented, that the established religious rites, long neglected, are being resumed, and that from everywhere sacrificial animals are coming, for which until now very few purchasers could be found. Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of people can be reformed if an opportunity for repentance is afforded.
Trajan to Pliny
You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sifting the cases of those who had been denounced to you as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out; if they are denounced and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reservation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and really proves it–that is, by worshiping our gods–even though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out of keeping with the spirit of our age.
Remembering back to my Sunday school days, I seem to recall two things about Lot, the nephew of Abraham. Firstly, that when offered a choice of land, he greedily took the best land in the Jordan valley leaving the stony hills to Ahraham, and secondly, when surrounded by sex-crazed men, he offered his virgin daughters to satisfy them.
On the face of it, not a nice guy.
But there is more to his story than this.
This is God’s view of Lot:
2 Peter 2:7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked 8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds)
Somehow we have to reconcile this with the story of Lot. The last word on Lot is God’s -that he was a righteous man.
Not only that, but when Jesus himself chose a parable of the state of the world at his coming, he chose the world of Noah and Lot, and Noah and Lot each represented the saints of God.
Luke 17:28 Likewise as it was in the days of Lot–they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all– 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Lot forever will be remembered as our Lord’s symbol of the faithful saints.
So, if we believe that we are living in the last days, we’d better heed the two examples Jesus left us – the saints of the ‘last days’ – Lot and Noah.
Let’s look more closely at the life of Lot.
Gen 11:26 When Terah had lived seventy years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27 Now these are the descendants of Terah. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28 Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chalde’ans. 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives; the name of Abram’s wife was Sar’ai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. 30 Now Sar’ai was barren; she had no child. 31 Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sar’ai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chalde’ans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
Gen 20:11 Abraham said…….12 Besides she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
THE CALL
God calls Abram (or Terah) when they were in Ur in Mesopotamia. The family splits. Abram and Nahor go to the city of Haran, then Abram to Canaan.
With his father dead, Lot’s choice is between his two uncles, Nahor and Abram. To stay in Ur, or to go on an unchartered journey. But the choice between uncles is unequal. Lot’s sister Milcah was Uncle Nahor’s wife. Lot had no such connection to Abram.
It seems Lot turned his back on Nahor and his sister, to follow the uncle with the promise.
Lot’s Choice
Lot chooses to follow Abram’s promise – a promise afar off. This shows a faith even exceeding Abram’s, as the promise Lot followed was not his.
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
Abraham believed because he heard God’s promises, but maybe Lot is more blessed in that he did not see or hear, yet believed.
But disaster unfolds in Gen 12:10. Lot followed Abram to Canaan, and his choice led to catastrophe. A drought, so severe, that the family had to leave Canaan. Lot could have interpreted this as a sign that his choice had been wrong. Now he is faced with the choice;
either go back north to Haran, to known safety – back to the family and cancel out the adventure as a mistake, or south to Egypt, following Abram’s promise to even more uncertainty.
Lot’s choice is an expression of his faith.
Now they return and there follows the Sunday School story.
Gen. 13:1 So Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the Negeb. ….5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. ….8 Then Abram said to Lot, ….9 “Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of Zo’ar; this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomor’rah. 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley, and Lot journeyed east; thus they separated from each other. 12 …..Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were wicked, great sinners against the LORD. 14 The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever. 16 I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your descendants also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
Who asked for the separation? Abram. Lot was content to stay. Lot needed Abram. Lot had followed Abraham’s promise – he didn’t initiate the separation.
Did Lot’s choice show greed? Maybe; but Abraham sinned and we don’t remember him for that act. But there was another reason why Lot ‘pitched his tent toward Sodom’ – and we will see it was a reason full of compassion and caring.
And, why did Abraham ask for the separation. Was it solely because of the quarrel of the herdsmen?
Gen 12:1
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you………”
You see, the promise was contingent on Abraham leaving everybody – all relatives – all kindred. Whilst ever Lot was with him, Abraham had not fully obeyed that call. So, immediately on the departure of Lot,
“The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward;…”
God renewed the promise, because now Abraham had fully obeyed God’s direction. Our encounter with God depends on our seeing Him as our only strength, our only hope. No friends or family can save us – when it comes to our promise, our salvation, we are alone with God.
Genesis 18 tells the story of Abraham’s encounter with three men.
Gen 18:1-2
1: “And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. 2 He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him…. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth.”
These men were God’s representatives – a priestly role. The Lord spoke through these men (Gen 18:1). There is no reason to believe they were spiritual angels despite Gen 19:1. Almost universally, in the Bible, spiritual angels are referred to as ‘angels of the Lord’ (Gen16:7-11). These were almost certainly mortal angels, messengers, men. Where did they come from? Very probably they were from Melchizedek, the King-Priest of God.
As well as promising a child to Sarah and Abraham, they went to Sodom to test the city and to pass God’s judgement on it.
Now Abraham seems to bargain with God.
23 …“Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
Why did Abraham do this – because he knew that at least Lot was righteous.
We may well ask, what was the point of Abraham rescuing the King of Sodom (Gen 14), if he and his city were destined for destruction? Maybe their destruction was not yet due! Maybe their iniquity was not yet complete (Gen 15:16). Or was there another reason?
Maybe Lot’s preaching was not yet complete.
Gen 19:1 The two angels (I believe Melchizedek’s men) came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth
Many have assumed that ‘sitting in the gate’ implied some eldership role in the city. No so. The tradition of the leaders of the city sitting in the gate was in Israel, which was not to develop for many hundreds of years into the future. No – Lot was NOT an elder of the city, in fact he was not accepted as ‘one of them’. The men of Sodom said, Gen. 19:9….”This fellow came to sojourn, and he would play the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them” showing he had never been accepted.
So, why was Lot sitting in the gate of Sodom? To warn newcomers exactly as he did to these two men. But there could be another reason:
Think of all the judgements God had executed on men. Every single one came with a warning.
The Flood – Noah preached a warning.
The threatened destruction of Nineveh – Jonah warned.
The destruction of Israel – the prophets warned.
The fall of Jerusalem – Jesus warned.
God would not plan the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah without due warning.
This was Lot’s job. That’s why he ‘pitched his tent towards Sodom’. He sat in the gate of the city crying Gen19:7, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly”. He preached God’s warning. But he went unheeded.
Lot then offered his virgin daughters to the homosexual men at his door. We may well wonder at this act. Maybe it was that Lot knew very well that as homosexuals, they would reject his offer, and his girls would remain safe.
These men were cursed with blindness, and the angels (God’s messengers) offered salvation to any who would listen to their voice. Only Lot, his wife and two daughters believed the warning – and were led from the city by the men. Even then, Lot asked if he could shelter in the little town of Zoar.
Gen 19:20 Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there–is it not a little one? –and my life will be saved!” 21 He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.
Lot’s righteousness saved the city.
Gen19:29 So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
God remembered Abraham’s prayer that the righteous may be saved – and Lot and his girls were saved.
Then we come to Genesis 19:31
The older daughter said to her sister, “Our father is getting old, and there are no men in the whole world to marry us so that we can have children. 32 Come on, let’s get our father drunk, so that we can sleep with him and have children by him.” 33 That night they gave him wine to drink, and the older daughter had intercourse with him. But he was so drunk that he didn’t know it. 34 The next day the older daughter said to her sister, “I slept with him last night; now let’s get him drunk again tonight, and you sleep with him. Then each of us will have a child by our father.” 35 So that night they got him drunk, and the younger daughter had intercourse with him. Again he was so drunk that he didn’t know it.
A story which my revolt us.
Let me state that incest was not nearly as abhorrent in those days as now. Abraham practiced it (Gen 20:12), and presumably it was how the human race started, as Adam and Eve’s sons and daughters married each other.
But – the girl’s motives are what needs analysing.
I have read commentators who say that what these girls did was born out of desperation and loneliness. I would reply that that is rubbish.
The girls were motived by the most noble cause of all – a love for their father. We cannot comprehend the importance of a man having a line and lineage in the ancient world. These girls knew that Lot could tolerate losing his possessions, his house, his wife and finally reduced to living as a caveman, but they knew he would crave heirs. Every man in the ancient world wanted a son to carry on his name.
They knew they could not get married – as so they sacrificed themselves to give their father the greatest possession. Each bore a God-blessed son.
Here the story gets more and more beautiful. The girls gave Lot his sons Moab and Ammon. Lot had followed Abraham’s promise – a promise that was not his. Lot heard Abraham was promised to be a father of a great nation. But he had no such promise. But look what God does for him. When Israel came into their land – God specifically says;
Deut 2:9 The Lord said to me, “Don’t trouble the people of Moab, the descendants of Lot, or start a war against them. I have given them the city of Ar, and I am not going to give you any of their land.’ “
19 You will then be near the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. Don’t trouble them or start a war against them, because I am not going to give you any of the land that I have given them.’
How beautiful – Lot who followed a promise that was not his – receives his own promise.
He also received a people and a land.
But, just like Israel – the descendants of Lot forgot their father – sinned – and were displaced.
But it gets even better than this.
What was the greatest of the blessings offered to Abraham?
Gen 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”
The blessing was to come to all nations. We now know that was Jesus the Christ.
Lot may well have shared in Abraham’s promise of land and a people – but how could Lot share this promise?
Because Jesus was part Moabite!
The line and lineage of Jesus came through Israel and the Moabitess Ruth.
Lot and Abraham are finally joined in the child of promise.
Some Concluding Comments:
We often see the Flood on the ancient world, and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as God’s judgement on the wicked, but they were more than this. They were acts of salvation and love.
God could not bear to leave his servants, Noah and Lot one moment longer in a hate filled and sinful world. The very flood that destroyed the wicked, bore Noah and his family up to salvation.
The very fire that rained destruction on Sodom, saved Lot’s tormented soul.
2Peter2:5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomor’rah to ashes he condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked 8 (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds),9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgement.
This gives new insight into the coming Judgement: Why is Jesus returning to this world?
To save Israel…yes, but that’s not what Peter’s is saying…
To establish his world-wide kingdom…yes, but that’s not what Peter’s is saying…
To establish peace and justice…yes, but that’s not what Peter’s is saying…
… The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial….
He is coming for you, because he loves you and cannot let you suffer one moment longer.
It is for you he will return.
Living in Sodom
We may wonder why Lot chose to live in a city of homosexuals.
We had better be careful.
I live in Sydney – the No 1 homosexual capital of Australia.
Sydney is the most popular homosexual holiday destination in the whole world and I live there.
My excuse – I had better be doing what Lot was doing. I am here to preach Jesus and him crucified.
Sins of Sodom
Some “fundamentalist Christians” have taken a violent hatred to homosexuals, matched only by their hatred of abortionists. These “Christians” often love the death penalty, love the US military and their murderous attacks around the world, love the USA gun lobby, but passionately hate gays and abortionists.
Why?
These fundamentalist right wing ‘Christians’ love to quote the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah!Look what God does to homosexuals! He consumes them in fire!! But they fail to recognize that homosexuality was not the besetting sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe that they are wilfully ignorant of Sodom’s profound sin.
See Ezekiel 16
48 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
What were the sins of Sodom?…
Pride, full of food, idleness, neglect of the poor & needy.
Luke 17 Jesus says of Sodom:
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
What was Sodom’s sin ??
They ate, drank, married, bought, sold, built, planted.
So why do some fundamentalist Christians wilfully neglect the truth of the Bible, and say homosexuality was the main sin of Sodom?
Because it’s not their sin !!
They can stand aloof – and from a distance – condemn homosexuals as Godless.
Luke 18:11 The Christian stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, homosexual, gay, queer, or even as this publican.
We don’t want to recognise the sins of Sodom, of pride, full of food, idleness, neglect of the poor & needy – because theyare all our sins.
We need the grace of God for forgiveness, as homosexuals also do.
I just love
Jephthah, one of history’s most misunderstood characters.
I just love
his words “for
I have opened my mouth to the LORD, and I cannot take back my vow.”
I find these some of the most beautiful words
of the OT – I wish I could live like that.
The story of Jephthah’s
daughter (Judges 11:31-40) is a strange one and has puzzled believers
throughout the centuries. It is a shame that this story detracts from the full
details of the life of this giant of faith.
How de we know Jephthah
was truly a man of God? Under inspiration, he is listed in Hebrews 11 as one of
the faithful of old. Hebrews 11:32 gives us a selection of four of the ‘Judges’
from the book of Judges to represent all the men and women of faith. They were:
Gideon (we’d all probably
agree with that choice – although he made a
gold ephod to worship)
Samson (didn’t he keep the
company of prostitutes?)
Barak (didn’t he just play
second fiddle to Deborah – and hide behind a woman’s skirts?)
Jephthah (didn’t he kill his daughter?)
Don’t you just love the way God picks the misfits,
the ones we would have rejected?
Each of these has their story, but for now we look at Jephthah, and
hopefully we will see that Jephthah is the most profound type of Jesus anywhere
is the Old Testament – a much closer parallel with Jesus than Moses, Joshua or
Joseph.
I
will describe a person to you…just sit back after you’ve read this and think of
who it might be.
There
was a man in Israel who was rejected because of his birth. He was born under
peculiar circumstances, and people wondered about his parents. The Jewish
people were very concerned about their heritage, their pure line back to
Abraham and if a man could not prove that line through both parents, then the
leaders of Israel would reject him. The Elders of Israel, and his own brothers,
rejected this man because of who his parents were (or were not).
So he was rejected and despised by
his own people. They wanted nothing to do with him. They forced him to leave
his home. He found himself ‘a prophet without honour in his own country’.
He was also denied his rightful
inheritance. As the first-born of his father, he should have been given his
father’s inheritance, but he was denied this inheritance by his brothers who
wanted to take it for themselves.
He was put out of his home, his
family and his country, and went to live far away in the area of Galilee. Here
he found acceptance with the Galileans.
While
in Galilee, he gathered around him a group of rough men. They were not the
sorts of men that would appeal to those down south. With these new friends in
Galilee, he started to do great things and their exploits became so great that
their fame began to spread throughout the whole country of Israel. People all
over Israel heard of their great deeds.
At that time, a great enemy opposed
the people of Israel. Because they had sinned, God had allowed parts of Israel
to be ruled by a fierce nation. The people of Israel were desperate for
salvation.
They turned to Galilee, to the very
one they had rejected, and asked him to come back as their saviour. He came to
them, bringing salvation from Galilee.
But
he came to them, only on condition
that they recognise him as their elder brother, and their head. He demanded
that that they confront the error of his rejection; he brought salvation only
on the condition that they accept him as their older brother and their leader
that they once rejected.
And the Spirit of the Lord was on
him.
His generation was cut off…he left no line of
children in Israel. He gave the greatest sacrifice a man in the ancient world
could give. He sacrificed his line and lineage in Israel…not for those who had
loved him, but for those who had despised and rejected him. In those days, the
most important thing a man had was his family name and inheritance, which
passed to his children after his death. If a man left no children, no son or
grandson, then he lost his most precious possession. This man gave up his place
in Israel…not for himself…but for his brothers who had once rejected him.
But he gained a greater family. He
left no natural family but won a more numerous family. All those who had
rejected him now accepted him as their older brother. He became the head and
elder brother of a much greater family in Israel, than he could ever have had
from a natural line of children.
And he
destroyed the pride out of Israel.
Who could I be talking about but
Jephthah the Gileadite!!
Did you think
of someone else?
I guess we all thought of Jesus when we heard that
description. Jephthah’s life was so much like our Lord’s.
Read the book
of Judges Chapters 11 and 12.
Jephthah
was born in Gilead (the land east of the Jordan River, between the Sea of
Galilee and the Dead Sea). He was the son of a prostitute, and as such he was
not considered to be a legitimate son and heir of Gilead his father. Jephthah
was the first born of Gilead, and so was due to inherit his father’s land.
However, the younger sons born to Gilead’s wife, rejected him and threw him out
and refused him his rightful inheritance, because he was the son of a
prostitute.
Expelled
from his home by his brothers, he went to live in the land of Tob (Southern
Galilee). There he collected a group of rough friends who would go raiding with
him, against the surrounding nations (the Ammonites, and Ammorites). Their
exploits soon made them well known.
Then
the Ammonites made war against eastern Israel, and the men of Gilead realised
that they were in need of the very person they had rejected. They sent to
Jephthah and asked him and his men to come and save them from the Ammonites.
Jephthah replied that they had rejected him, and that he would only come back
on condition that they accept him as their ruler and their head. The men of
Gilead swore before the Lord that they would indeed do this.
Then
Jephthah sent messages to the King of Ammon, asking that they resolve their
differences peacefully. Jephthah clearly told the king of Ammon that the Lord had not promised the land of Ammon to
the people of Israel. Israel had been
instructed to leave the land of Moab and Ammon alone, as these lands had been
promised as an inheritance to the children of Lot (Abraham’s nephew). The King
of Ammon refused to listen to Jephthah, and the battle was to go ahead.
Then
the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he made an extraordinary vow to
God. Jephthah promised God that, if he was granted victory in this battle, he
would give to God the first thing that came out of the doors of his house, as a
burnt offering.
Jephthah
battled with the Ammonites, and God gave him victory over them. Then, on his
victorious return to his home, his daughter, his only child, came out to greet
him. Jephthah, true to his vow, told his daughter that he must fulfil what he
has promised to God. She asks that he let her have two months to “bewail her
virginity”. Then he did to her according as he had vowed.
The
story of Jephthah is a wonderful example to all believers, of one man’s faith.
We sometimes wonder why it appears as though he sacrificed his daughter. God
never demands human sacrifice (but accepts it in the case of Jesus our Lord who
gave his own life, and in us “who daily make spiritual sacrifice”). Jephthah
voluntarily made the vow to God (God did not ask for it). Jephthah may have
offered his own daughter as a burnt offering, or may have dedicated her to God,
so that she remained a virgin (unmarried) all her life, in service to her God.
In either case, she was Jephthah’s only child, and so he would have no
grandchildren – no offspring to carry on his name in Israel.
So whether Jephthah sacrificed his
daughter, or dedicated her as a virgin all her days, the outcome is the same –
he lost his line in Israel. He gave up the greatest possession a man had. He
had no more children, no grandchildren, and his line died out of Israel. And he
did all this for those who had despised and rejected him, to bring them
salvation.
The Israelites in Ephraim (on the
west bank of the Jordan), crossed over the Jordan River to make war on
Jephthah. Ephraim was the most numerous tribe in Israel, and they wanted to be
a part of every victory. Their pride was at stake. God gave Jephthah another
great victory, and the men of Ephraim were destroyed, teaching them that God
wins battles for the believers, not the pride of men.
Below
is a comparison of the lives of Jephthah and Jesus in tabular form.
Jephthah
Jesus
The
illegitimate son of his Father. His brothers asked, “where is your
mother”, knowing he was the son of a prostitute.
The
supposed illegitimate son of Mary. The Scribes and Pharisees said to him..
“We have Abraham as our father”…implying that Jesus didn’t.
Rejected
and thrown out by the rulers of his people and his own brothers.
The Jews
rejected Jesus as “a prophet without honour in his own country”.
He was
denied his rightful inheritance as the firstborn of his father.
The Jewish
leaders said of Jesus “here is the son and heir..Let’s kill him that the
inheritance may be ours”.
He ran away
to Tob (Southern Galilee)
Jesus went
to Galilee where he found the acceptance that he did not find with the Jewish
leaders.
Here he
collects a band of followers – all rough men
Jesus
collected ‘rough’ men of Galilee as disciples.
Their
exploits make them famous.
Their
miracles spread their fame.
Jephthah
comes as a saviour from Tob (Galilee). Ammon oppressed Israel at that time as
a consequence of Israel’s own sin.
Jesus comes
as a saviour from Galilee. The Romans oppressed Israel. We are all oppressed
by death as a consequence of our sin.
Jephthah’s
family and the elders of Israel appealed to him to come and save them. He
only was willing to come as their saviour IF they recognised him as their head and older brother.
Jesus also
saves us on the condition that we recognise him as our head and older
brother.
When in
desperate trouble, the family of Jephthah and the Elders of Israel turned to
their saviour and
accepted him as their leader and older brother.asked for his helpmade him their judge (or king)
In the
future, natural Israel will see Jesus as their saviour and will accept him as
their leader and older brother, will ask for his help and will make him their
judge (or king). Zechariah 12.
He defeated
Israel’s great enemy with God’s spirit and power.
Jesus
defeated sin & death for us and will defeat enemies of Israel in the
future
The spirit
of God was on him
Jesus had
the unbounded spirit of God.
His victory
cost him his line and lineage in Israel – his virgin daughter stayed a
virgin. He made the greatest sacrifice…not for himself, but for those who
had rejected him.
“He
was cut off out of the land of the living…and he was left with no
generation…(Isaiah 53)” “While we were yet sinners he died for
us”.
But
Jephthah inherited a greater family … all of the Israelites in Gilead
Jesus
inherited all the believers as his brothers and sisters. He “saw the
childbirth of his soul” (Isaiah 53).
He
destroyed Ephraim…the pride of Israel.
Jesus
brings salvation at a cost…the destruction of our pride.
Now we can review the curiosity of the
daughter, and her fate.
A few points in summary;
God did not ask for
the sacrifice. Jephthah offered it.
However – Jephthah is placed in the list of faithful people in Hebrews 11, so
we can assume God accepted the sacrifice.
God has asked for human
sacrifice in the past – notably Gen 22:2 ‘Then God said,
“Take your son, your only
son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you
about.“
Although God stopped the
final act – it remains that God asked for it! God will NEVER ask us to sin –
ever. Therefore the sacrifice if Isaac would not have been a sin.
We really don’t have a
full comprehension of God’s morality. We don’t see the whole picture…and we
wont until the kingdom age (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Now, back to Jephthah’s vow. This vow was a direct response to the Spirit
of the Lord upon him. As soon as he was flooded with the Spirit – he commits
himself to the vow.
And we should note that Jephthah never vowed to give his daughter. He may not have expected a human to come out. Almost all translations say…whatever comes out …not whoever.
“Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said , If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”
I will offer
it ….not him/her. They may have lived in a compound, and opening a gate
would release a goats or a sheep. Did he expect one of these?
Who was in
charge of these events? Who had control over who emerged from the House?
God did. It
was God who had it in His control.
I believe it was done to set up the
parallel of ‘and who shall declare his generation’
However, Jepthah MAY not have killed his
daughter.
She went to bewail the fact that she would
always be single. (Judges 11: 37) “But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me
two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never
marry.”) – she did not lament loosing her life.
The vow MAY have been converted to a ‘living
offering’ – devoted to God.
The main moral to the Jephthah’s daughter’s
story does not depend on wether she died, or remained a virgin. The point is
that she was Jepthah’s ONLY child
11:34
‘When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him
but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only
child. Except for her he had neither son nor
daughter.’ Notice the repetitive emphasis – ‘only child’, ‘except for her he
had neither son nor daughter’.
He lost his line and lineage in Israel, a
terrible price for a man to pay…saving those who despised him. This exactly
mirrors Jesus, who gave up his line/lineage to save us while we were sinners.
Both Jephthah and Jesus lost their ‘inheritance’ in the process of saving
sinners.
Renewed 