(March 2004 Edition)
At the Lord's Table - Jacob's Latter
I Don't Know the Why of Her Suffering
At the Lord's
Table
Jacob's Latter
It was by guile that Jacob obtained the birthright and then the blessing that promised inheritance of the Abrahamic covenant. His very birth name implied that he would become a man of guile.
One big step toward his eventual transformation from man of guile to prince with God was the vision he had at the holy sanctuary of Bethel, the ‘house of God.’
And he lighted upon a certain [holy] place, and tarried there all night…and he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:11-12).
This dream was a confirmation that, despite his faults and failings, his weaknesses and wanderings, God would be with him wherever he went. Said God:
Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest…for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of (Gen. 28:15).
What better testimony could we have that salvation will be ours, not by human achievement or legal righteousness, but by God’s protection, care and loving assurance?
Jesus and Jacob’s ladder
Jacob’s ladder was a two-way communication
between God and man, and between man and God. At the base was a stone. At
the top was a heavenly gate. Beyond the gate was the Majesty on High. In
between, linking earth and heaven, God’s mighty angels shuttled to and fro,
bringing hope and comfort to fearful humans doomed to die.
In John 1 we read about Nathanael. Jesus, knowing all hearts, said of him that he was no Jacob: “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, ‘Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile’” (v. 47).
He was a true prince with God, not a man of guile. Jesus’ knowledge of him convinced Nathanael that Jesus was the fulfilment of all the promises to Israel. At his very first meeting with the one who would become his Master, he gave this mighty confession of faith: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (v. 49).
Jesus’ reply is instructive:
Hereafter ye [note the plural: this was a message to all disciples] shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (v. 51).
Jesus was claiming to be like Jacob’s ladder, linking earth and heaven, bringing the love of God to humanity spiritually asleep and stricken by sin and death. With faith in the Son of man, Nathanael would be blessed like Israel and inherit God’s promises.
Jacob’s ladder on boats
Some of you know that for a time I was a seaman. Every big ship has a
ladder called ‘Jacob’s Ladder.’ It extends down the side of the ship from
the deck to the sea. It swings and sways alarmingly, and it is perilous to
ascend and descend. It is used by marine pilots and customs officers, and
anyone who has to climb from a small boat or lifeboat up on board the big
ship when it is away from the wharf or dock.
Although it looks perilous, in all my time at sea I never saw or heard of anybody falling into the sea while going up or down ‘Jacob’s Ladder.’ One reason is that there is always a safety net at the bottom of the ladder.
Our Jacob’s ladder
Like Jacob and
Nathanael, in our dreams we have a ladder. The Lord
Jesus is that ladder. He links earth and heaven – Jesus is our connection
with our Heavenly Father.
The Table of the Lord reminds us that the angels of God are going up and down ministering to those who partake in faith, providing our safety net so that we will not fall and be drowned in perdition. The Lord Jesus “is able to keep us from falling, and present us faultless before the presence of his Father’s glory with exceeding joy.”
Abraham Hammond
BE NOT ASHAMED
Be not ashamed of Christ your Lord, in word, in deed, or thought,
But show to all the world around the doctrines which he taught.
Be not ashamed because your Lord is not ashamed of you;
He counts as brethren all who love and keep his precepts, too.
Be not ashamed of him in word, but boldly speak his name,
And never give the world a cause to couple it with shame.
Be not ashamed of him in deed, but firmly do his will;
Care not for what his foes may say: keep his commandments still.
Be not ashamed of him in thought but treasure in your heart
The thought of all his love to you and bravely do your part.
Be not ashamed of Christ your Lord, be not ashamed at all;
God calls Himself the God of those who on His great Name call.
I Don't Know the Why of Her Suffering
Bro. Gary Burns, now asleep in Christ, put the problem: “I just don’t understand why God would take [such a good brother or sister] from us in their prime.” And he gave the answer biblically and triumphantly. We read about Stephen in Acts 7 and we are comforted. We know, in some dim way, “as in a glass darkly,” why Bro. Gary died in the terrible way he did. And it was terrible, make no mistake. Leukemia is not a nice way to die. But then, as Gary himself was brave enough to point out, neither is crucifixion. Golgotha may have had a garden, but it was not a pretty place. They called it Skull Corner.
My problem is tougher. Like most fundamental questions in the universe, Job asked it before me: Why does God bother giving light to the miserable? Why bother keeping bitter people alive? What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning? (Job 3).
Gary’s ordeal lasted a year and a half. A friend of mine has been eight years with a very rare disease that is totally disabling and has a host of unpredictable symptoms. Her body is wasted and deformed, as good as dead. But her mind lives on in her skeletal frame, with little sign of dementia, constantly tormented by the effects of the disease, desperately wanting to communicate.
She is in a special center for nursing people with rare diseases. I decided to visit my friend in this place. The experience was spiritually challenging. However can these ‘angels of mercy’ labor so gently, so tenderly, so kindly with anyone when there is hardly any response. Some patients seem to be in a hopeless stupor (we can’t tell!). Most are, or seem to be, brain dead. My friend is twisted and trembling, but alert as a deer in the forest, anxious that the nurse may forget her pills (she takes ten different powerful prescription drugs every day). The consultant says she could last another four years like that. But why? Am I wrong to pray -- God forbid?
Paul told the Colossians, There’s a lot of suffering to be entered into in this world – the kind of suffering Christ takes on. I welcome the chance to take my share in the church’s part of that suffering. He reminded the Corinthians, Isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which distress goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible as a result. So there’s a possible answer to my Why? My friend may be suffering for me, so that I will be more caring and compassionate and less self-centered. Just as Jesus did for us all.
But perhaps there’s another answer too. My friend’s favorite cry is, What shall I do? But she can’t do much at all except to pray. Let’s be honest: in an active community like ours, with so much to do, most of us are too busy to pray. People like my friend can be the powerhouse of the brotherhood. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with, James tells us.
Very little that goes on in our brotherhood escapes my friend. Some things excite her. Many things depress and trouble her. All she can do is pray. I have a feeling that she is needed right now, and that realization does take away some of the awful pain of visiting her.
LAE
Editorial
A Conscience Void of Offence
Bible Christianity is not like any other religion. Good Jews are expected to be “circumcised and keep the Law” (Acts 15:24). Today ‘good’ Israeli Jews are expected to respond to suicide bombings with “an eye for an eye.” Muslims are required to “submit” to their clergy, keep halal and make the haj . ‘Good’ caste Hindus must spend their time avoiding the shadows of outcasts, black cats and other defiling influences. Roman Catholics must go to confession and good Mormons pay their tithes.
As Bible Christians, you and I are in a totally different and unique religious category. We are required to live not by ritual, custom or precept, but by our conscience, by God’s spirit within. The work of the law must be written in our hearts. Faith must work by love. We must have a good conscience.
Conscience a powerful word
Significantly, the word “conscience” occurs only in the New
Testament. There it occurs 33 times in ten different books. As brothers
and sisters of the Lord, we can have a weak conscience, a
convicted conscience, a pure conscience, a good
conscience, a guilty conscience, and a purged conscience. We
are warned about having an evil conscience and a defiled
conscience.
But if we have no conscience at all, or a conscience seared into insensitivity, we are utterly lost and unredeemable.
A
challenge to live by
Living by conscience rather than a rulebook is not easy. It doesn’t come
naturally to man. The ‘world’ must have legislation that is enforceable and
enforced. The alternative is anarchy. Retribution must be swift. Justice
delayed, says the ancient maxim, is justice denied. But as Christians, we
do not need legislation (Gal. 5:23). Our conduct should be far above it.
Very sensibly, we are required by any ‘worldly’ institution to provide full disclosure of our worth, and in many cases disposal of saleable assets, before receiving financial assistance. It ought not to be so amongst us. When seek financial assistance, we should be ready to provide all relevant information with a good conscience (Acts 4:32 to 5:4). To withhold information from our brothers and sisters is to lie to God.If we are to sign a legally enforceable contract, such as marriage, mortgage, or terms of employment, we should keep its terms “for conscience’ sake” not just because we are bound by the contract (Rom. 13:5).
It is a regular and sometimes required practice for brothers and sisters to sign formal legal contracts. This is not against any law of God. If we sign a contract we should keep the contract. A good conscience toward God requires that we act in good faith. “A conscience void of offence” is a worthy goal! Of special importance we note that the good conscience of Paul was “toward God and toward men” (Acts 24:16). We have godly obligations and we have human obligations. As disciples of the Lord, both must be kept and carried out in “good conscience”.
A good conscience “void of offence” is a precious possession. Paul tells us that we must be “circumcised in heart” (Rom. 2:29). That is a Jewish way of saying that we must have a tender and sensitive conscience (I Tim. 1:19).
“Anything separated by Jehovah from things in general for His special use is holy, irrespective of the nature or character of the thing,” John Thomas, The Mystery of the Covenant, p.1.
- How can we “profane God’s holy name”? (Amos 2:7; Ezk. 36:20, etc).
- What exactly is a holy kiss? (II Cor. 13:12).
- Why does God consider the children of a believer married to an unbeliever to be holy? (I Cor. 7:14).
- Why is Jerusalem the holy city? (Rev. 22:19, Ezk. 48:35).
- Why is the baby Jesus called “that holy thing”? (Luke 1:35).
- Why are shoes to be removed on holy ground? (Exo. 3:5). Why don’t we do it today?
- Why, if the Law of Moses worked death, is it called holy? (Rom. 7:11-13).
- Why is God thrice holy? (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8).
On one occasion I went to the airport by arrangement to meet a friend. The flight arrived, but there was no sign of my passenger. After what I thought was a long wait, I returned home, puzzled and a bit annoyed. Then, to my astonishment, my friend arrived. He had been delayed because he had been helping another passenger with a luggage problem. He had simply been a Good Samaritan responding to a need.
Our late Bro. Bob Young once told me about one meaningful moment when he realised how very near God can be to any one of us. One dark night he was driving his bakery van, taking home some of his workers into a rebel-held area of the city. He always checked with a sentry before entering, but on this occasion there was no one to be seen on the unlit street. It was very late, and his workers were hungry and tired. So he advanced cautiously, but then had second thoughts. He got out of the van with his flashlight to look around. A mere three feet in front, and level with the windshield was a wire strung right across the road, highly electrified. They all decided to spend the night at the bakery.
As a nurse I helped with the baptism of a Sis. Veronica Vickers. She was gravely ill in hospital. Doctors and matron tried to dissuade her, but she swept all caution aside. We filled a bath to the brim with warm water and four brethren gently lowered her tiny shrunken body in a blanket until just her face was above the water. She could not hold her breath, because she had no breath to hold. It took us forty minutes and many abortive attempts before her longing to be immersed into Christ was fulfilled. But the joy on her beautiful countenance as she was lifted out lives with me still after nearly fifty years.