We Saw His Star in the East....

"We saw His star in the East and have come to worship Him." 

(Matthew 2:2)

High above the busy traffic in Southern California sits the Hale Telescope, the world's largest until 1993. Just 70 miles northeast of San Diego, Palomar Mountain was chosen as the location for the telescope because the surrounding area was sparsely populated.  This was a critical decision as artificial light produced by more densely populated urban areas would interfere with the natural light of the stars, making the display of night skies difficult to observe. 

Artificial light produced in such areas as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City is known as light "pollution" because the glow from these busy urban areas diminishes the ability of astronomers to search the night skies overhead.  It "pollutes" the ability to see the reality of God's Creation.

The Psalmist writes,

"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the works of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge."

(Psalm 19:1,2)

When I look at the skies on a clear night I am reminded of the vastness of God and how small I am.  It moves me to worship.

I wonder if the Magi felt something similar when they saw the star in the East.  Little is known of them from scripture but they are thought to have been a sect of wealthy pagan priests from the area of Babylon who searched out the mysteries of the Universe through astronomy and astrology. Perhaps they too heard the heavens declaring the glory of God.  Matthew's gospel tells us they saw His star in the East and came to worship Him.

Searching and pondering the wonders of the night skies and the magnificence of God moves us to worship Him too.  The majesty of His Creation compels us to pause in wonder, to stare in fascination, and to drop to our knees in praise.

But just as the artificial light produced by large city areas diminishes the heavenly lights above us, so too does the artificial light that exists in the fast-paced world we live in today.  There seems little opportunity in the busyness of this 'information age' to search and ponder.  The artificial light produced by our culture gradually creeps into our lives and diminishes our ability to see the True Light of the World, Jesus.

The One whose hands stretched out the heavens 

     and marshaled the starry host at Creation 

          came to us as a little baby born in a stable 

               2000 years ago. 

                    Not many noticed. 

                         Perhaps they too were busy,

                              living in the artificial light of their time.

But some noticed,

      because they were looking.  

          The Magi searched, saw, came, worshiped.

Today we live in a culture of literal and figurative artificial light.  As the bright artificial light of urban areas makes it harder to discern the stars of the sky, the artificial light of our culture can make it hard for us to discern the magnificent awe-inspiring truth that,

"The true light that gives light to every man

was coming into the world."

John 1:9

This Christmas may the Light of the World shine bright in our lives.  May it dispel the artificial light of the world we live in.

Tears in a Bottle

"Record my misery; put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your record?"

Psalm 56:8

These words of lament were penned by King David when he was pursued by Saul who wanted to kill him.  In fear for his life, pressed in on every side by his adversary, David fled to an enemy's country. He poured out his heart to our God, beseeching Him to "put my tears in Your bottle".  In David's time bottles (or more literally "wine skins") were used to preserve precious liquids such as oil or wine. David was asking God to remember his tears; that the tears he shed were not in vain but were precious to God.

God understands the language of tears.  The prophet Isaiah, speaking of Messiah Jesus, writes,

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering."

Isaiah 53:3

The writer of the Book of Hebrews says, 

"During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions

with loud cries and tears to the One Who could save Him from death..."

Hebrews 5:7

Yes, God understands the language of tears.  He remembers our sorrows.  He has, in a sense, placed them in His bottle; precious liquid.  He keeps a record of every tear shed.

He keeps that record so that someday He can personally wipe every one of those tears from our eyes. In that day, 

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away.

He Who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!...

Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Revelation 21:4,5

Jehovah Jireh

The LORD Who Provides

From Genesis 22, regarding the offering of Isaac on the altar:

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"  "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.

"The fire and the wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham answered, "God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son."

You know the story:  Abraham builds the altar, binds Isaac and lays him on top of the wood.  As he reaches for the knife to slay his son an angel of the LORD calls out, "Abraham! Abraham!  Do not lay a hand on the boy...Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and...saw a ram...He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.  

So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide.

(Genesis 22:6,7,11-14)

In Hebrew the Name is Jehovah Jireh...The LORD Who Provides.

Did you know that not once in all 4 gospels is the lamb mentioned at the Last Supper, a requirement for the Passover Meal? (Exodus 12)  The cup, the bread, the bowl - all mentioned in the gospels.  Where is the Lamb?

God Himself will provide the Lamb for the burnt offering...

For God so loved the world He gave...

Jehovah Jireh

The God Who Provides

The New Testament is in the Old concealed; the Old Testament is in the New revealed.  It is one story and it all points to Jesus.

"El Olam"

  The Forever, Lasting, Eternal God

"Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon

the name of the LORD, the Eternal God." 

 (Genesis 21:33)

We often miss it in our English bible translations but God has many names in the Old Testament, such as Elohim (God), Jehovah (LORD) Adonai (Lord).  In middle-eastern culture a person's name was meant to convey that person's character, his authority and reputation.  So when God wanted to reveal aspects of His character and nature to the Hebrew people He did it by revealing His different names at different times to different people.  He was continually revealing more of who He was with each new name.  This morning I stumbled on a bit of treasure in the above verse.

In Hebrew "the LORD, the Eternal God" is "El Olam", and it means the forever, lasting and eternal God.  But the root of the Hebrew word Olam has a sense of something mysterious and hidden.  Abraham calling upon God as El Olam reveals that our God is indeed forever, lasting and eternal - but there is still a sense of mystery and hidden-ness to Him; things Abraham would never fully understand yet would believe.

So - what did Abraham do when he called upon El Olam?  

     Build an altar as he usually did? 

           Offer a sacrifice?  

                 Nope...he planted a tamarisk tree.  

A rabbi once taught me that when I see something specific in scripture it means God has something specific He wants me to know.  The rabbi taught me to ask the question, "Why do I need to know that?"  i.e., why do I need to know it was a tamarisk tree?  

The tamarisk tree is one of the slowest-growing trees in the Middle East.  It takes at least 3 generations before it will be full grown and offer much-needed shade in the intense heat of the desert.  The bedouins say that you don't plant a tamarisk tree for yourself, you don't plant it for your children.  You plant it for your children's children and future generations.

Planting this tamarisk tree was an act of faith by Abraham.  ("Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness." Rom. 4:3)  Abraham, recognizing that God was El Olam - the forever, lasting, eternal God - planted a tamarisk tree that would be of no benefit to him nor would it benefit his son Isaac; but he planted a tree which would be a blessing to those who would come after. He planted the tree, in faith, for his grandchildren and future generations.  But in calling on El Olam Abraham also recognized there were things about God which would remain mysterious and hidden to him.  

I don't think it is coincidental (is anything with God?) that the very next incident we read of in the life of Abraham is God asking him to offer up his only son Isaac - the heir of the promise, the father of Abraham's grandchildren and future generations - on an altar.  This, after Abraham planted the tamarisk tree.

Oh, the hidden-ness and mystery of El Olam!

"Yet he (Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God,

but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,

being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised."

(Romans 4:20,21)

And God did what He had promised.  He still does today and forever.  He is indeed El Olam.

BTW, the rabbis ask, "How many tamarisks trees have you planted today?"  Great question to ask ourselves also.

Show Me Your Glory

"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."

Genesis 22:2

In bible study there is something called "the rule of first-mention".  Simply put, it means the first time any important word is used in all of scripture, we have a key to understanding that word and a foundation for its fuller development in later parts of the bible.

As we enter into the Season of the Cross (Lent), I am reminded of the first time the word 'love' occurs in our bibles.  It is in the account of God requesting Abraham take his son to a mountain and sacrifice him as a burnt offering.  We know the rest of the story:  Abraham and his son immediately set out on a 3 day journey for the mountain.  Isaac is not a little boy as our Sunday School stories would suggest.  He is at least a teenager who is able to carry all the wood necessary and who willingly let his father bind him.  At the most intense moment, the Angel of the Lord stops Abraham from slaying his son and God Himself provides the substitute sacrifice.

What do we learn about love as it is first mentioned here in Scripture?  The picture here is of a father's love for his son.  His love does not hold on or hold back, but lets go.  It is a love that trusts.

This love is sacrificial.  All consumingly so.  In the burnt offering as opposed to other types of offerings, nothing was held back; all was given to God.

This love is a picture which will find its full development centuries later when another Father offered His Son on the same mountain.  A love that does not hold back but offers sacrificially and all consumingly.  A love that gives all...

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16