What Can we Learn from a Flower?

I bought an Amaryllis bulb for my wife several weeks ago. She is a very busy lady and forgot about it for a few weeks. About a month ago, she finally potted it and put it in the window.

It grew up, up and up. We wondered if it was one of those beanstalks like that of Jack. It looked like that was all it was going to do until it reached height of about 29 inches. Then, it put out these beautiful blooms.

I usually don't get too caught up in flowers but this one really got my attention. I just kept thinking of how amazing life is - even plant life. I kept saying to myself, "How could this just be an accident? This little flower is so beautifully designed. How could anyone miss it?"

But there are all kinds of things we miss every day, like the many breaths we breathe, each heartbeat and the happy thoughts which flow through our minds. We sometimes miss out on the refreshment of a drop of water on a parched tongue. We easily ignore the coolness of the breeze on a summer day or the warm touch of a loved one's embrace. How often do we fail to value the sweetness of a child's laughter and cute, innocent remarks? Do we really appreciate the many little honeydew drops from heaven which fall upon us each day such as the smile of a friend or the unexpected kindness shown to us by a stranger?

The flower should cause us to stand in awe of our Creator. Genesis, the first book of the bible, states: 

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1.11-12)

As I look a little closer at this great flower, I see the intricate design of something that was created for beauty for the the enjoyment of God's crowning creation – mankind. Jesus talks about the glory of the lilies. 

The flower also teaches us the importance of having the peace of God and demonstrates the value of a worry-free life. Jesus says: 

Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Luke 12.27)

The bible also talks often about how the beauty of a flower soon fades and compares this to our own short lives which will soon be over. (Isaiah 40.7-8)

It is easier to see the brevity of life as we grow older. Time is like a rolling snowball; it picks up more and moves faster with each rotation. Soon we will be finished with this short trial we all call life (in this world as we know it).

After this life is over, we will all stand before our Holy God in judgment (Hebrews 9.27). How will you stand before him then, as a condemned sinner or a forgiven saint? Are you ready to meet your Creator? (Amos 4.12)

Jesus died to take the judgment away from sinners such as ourselves. Through faith you can know that when you stand before God that your judgment has already been absorbed by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross upon which he died.

Road Signs to Bethlehem: The Time of the Messiah’s Coming.

God not only informed us ahead of time about Jesus being born to a virgin and the place of his birth (Bethlehem) but the bible also gives us the time of the coming of the Messiah. This prophecy would not so much be fulfilled at the Messiah’s birth but rather at the time of his official recognition by the nation of Israel. It tells of his subsequent death as it says he would be “cut off” which speaks of his crucifixion. It tells us that there would be 483 years from the time that a command would be given to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem until the Messiah. It also foretells of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Romans.  

Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…[i]

This is the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy weeks. These are not weeks of days but rather of years. The final week is yet future so this is focusing upon the first 69 weeks which is equal to 483 years. The first week would be fulfilled in the completion of the building of the walls of Jerusalem. The full 69 weeks or 483 years would be fulfilled at the time of the Messiah. The final week or seven years are coming in the future.

There is no place that I know of in the bible which tells us how long the Messiah would live. So, even though the time of his recognition as King would be exact, the time of his birth would only be approximate.

For our purposes, there is not enough time to show exactly how all of this was fulfilled; but we can say that the beginning of a period of 483 years until the time of the coming of Jesus into the world does certainly correspond to the time of a command that went out from King Artaxerxes of Persia to rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah wrote:

Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.[ii]

Other similar decrees went out around the same time but this is the only one which authorized the rebuilding of the city itself.

This decree of Artaxerxes went out in the year 445 BC. The Jews months all had thirty days so we must account for an adjustment of about five days per year. Sir Walter Scott wrote a book on this called The Coming Prince. In it, he calculated 483 years X 360 days. According to Scott, this was fulfilled on the very day Jesus rode triumphally into Jerusalem.[iii]

Perhaps the knowledge of this is one reason why an old man, named Simeon, who was at the Temple as the baby Jesus was being dedicated, had been looking for the Messiah. The bible tells us that Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel.”

And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. (Luke 2.26)

Simeon takes the little one into his arms and prays saying, "My eyes have seen your salvation."

Is this the reason why the wise men from the east asked “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.”[iv] How is it they knew what this star meant? Was it because of Daniel’s prophecy? They came from the same area where Daniel lived (Babylon/Persia) and from where Daniel wrote the book that bears his name.

Although this prophecy from the book of Daniel does not give us the exact time of Jesus’ birth, those who would have been familiar with it would have known that he was coming and the approximate time of his arrival.

What can we learn from the fact that God’s prophets foretold the lineage of the Messiah, that he would be born of a virgin, that he would come out of Bethlehem, and the timing of his coming? The most important thing we learn is this:

The Lord Jesus is truly our Messiah!

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[i]   Daniel 9.25-26

[ii] Nehemiah 2.7-8

[iii] Matthew 21.1-11

[iv] Matthew 2.2

Road Signs to Bethlehem - The Place of Messiah's Birth

Up until the time of Jesus, the only thing we know much about Bethlehem was that it was called the city of David. This was the hometown of the great King of Israel. It was at Bethlehem that David Shepherded his Father's sheep when the giant, Goliath, and the Philistine army was threatening the army of Israel's King, Saul. 

But then, the prophet Micah writes to God's people and says:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.[i]

This cannot be a reference to David unless you believe that David was the ancient one who was "from everlasting." David had already died many years before the time of Micah. The verse can only refer to the Ancient of Days that Daniel writes about.[ii] This is someone who had no beginning and will have no end. 

We had been told that the Messiah and King would come from one of Jacob's twelve sons. That son would be Judah. 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. [iii]

He would also come from David, the King, but he would also come to us from Bethlehem.

The country and territory of Judah had a population of thousands. Humanly speaking, nearby Jerusalem would have been the likely place for the King to be born, seeing that David and all of the remaining Kings of Judah had their thrones there. Jerusalem was also a much larger city. Instead, God chose the little village of Bethlehem.

It would be in a field near Bethlehem that an angel would appear to announce the birth of the Savior to some shepherds. No Royalty, no cameras, no newspaper reporters, no paparazzi, but there was a great host of angels and these lowly Shepherds who would witness the birthday of the baby King. 

If the Messiah is going to come to us through this virgin, Mary, the one who was to marry Joseph, surely they would have to be living in Bethlehem, right? 

But there is a big problem. Joseph and Mary did not live in Bethlehem, but in Nazareth, around 100 miles away. Here, the foreknowledge of God would play a powerful role. This was fulfilled providentially by God. 

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the land of Israel was under the dominion of the Roman Empire. The Roman Emperor Augustus had made a decree that all persons must return to their native city to be accounted for and taxed. Joseph and Mary, who were now married, had to make their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

God would use the decree of a pagan king to fulfill the prophecy of the birthplace of the Messiah. When the wise men from the east came following a star and bearing gifts in search of the young Messiah, they stopped in Jerusalem to ask specifically where the Anointed one would have been born. Strangely, the biblical scholars knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The reason they knew this was because of the verse from the book of Micah.  [iv]

Can you see the greatness of God here? Through the prophecy of a man named Micah, who lived over 700 years before Christ, he narrows the birth of his Son, Jesus down to one tiny town – Bethlehem.

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[i] Micah 5.2

[ii] Daniel 7.9-22

[iii] Genesis 49.10

[iv] Matthew 2.5-6

Road Signs to Bethlehem - A Virgin Shall Conceive

God gave us many road signs which, if we follow them, will lead us to a manger in Bethlehem. These, along with many others, reveal to us the identity of the Messiah. Yet, humanity is too blind to be able to see them. Only by God’s grace do any of us realize that the Messiah is the Lord Jesus.

Previously we saw that the Messiah would be of the seed of the woman, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of the seed of David.[i] [ii]

We find many other signs in the bible as well. We will focus on three of those road signs in this series. The first one is perhaps the most amazing.

The Sign of the Virgin Birth.

In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, the bible tells us:

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.[iii]

This was fulfilled when the angel messenger appeared to Joseph to explain to him how the girl he is engaged to (espoused) is expecting a child. The gospel writer Matthew tells us that this is the fulfillment of this prophecy.[iv]

An angel had also appeared to Mary to tell her that she would be the mother of the child who would be the “Son of the Highest.” The word “virgin” is repeated here.  

Do you believe in miracles? There is no denying that the bible records many miracles which confirm the great prophecies they accompanied. It is true that it is scientifically impossible that a virgin (a woman who had never experienced sexual intercourse) could conceive a child. But it is not Spiritually impossible, because “with God, nothing shall be impossible.” This was the exact answer the angel gave Mary after she asked him the question, “How shall this be seeing I know not a man.”[v]

Creation was miraculous. God created a man (Adam) out of dust with no father or mother.

He created a woman (Eve) out of a rib. 

Don’t laugh, doctors graft bones, including ribs, from dead people and sleeping people all the time.

Natural conception is miraculous too, in a sense. How can two people of the opposite sex come together in a love relationship and produce a child? Oh, I know there is a lot we know scientifically about this but that doesn’t remove the wonder of life and how it transpires. God is the one who put all of this into motion.

The virgin birth of Jesus is miraculous in every way. This doesn’t mean that it cannot happen but this is why I asked, “Do you believe in miracles?” If so, realize that Jesus was conceived inside of a virgin and that she gave birth to him, our Messiah. 

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[i]   http://stephentlong.blogspot.com/2017/12/when-did-we-realize-that-messiah-was.html

[ii]  http://stephentlong.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-power-of-seed.html

[iii] Isaiah 7.14

[iv] Matthew 1.23

[v]  See Luke 1.30-38

Our Beautiful Bill of Rights

Photo by Luke Michael on Unsplash

Our young nation, The United States of America, mainly through the labor and prompting of James Madison, ratified ten amendments, The Bill of Rights, to its founding Constitution. The ratification was completed on December 15, 1791, 221 years ago today.

This is a brief synopsis of what that Bill of Rights has to say as best as I can understand them. May we all become familiar with these rights so that we may never forfeit them.

The primary and foremost right enacted in this bill is this: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” This is a two-edged sword. No denomination could be recognized by Congress as the established national religion to the disregard of others nor could it interfere with the free exercise of faith (religion).

The Bill of Rights does not claim to “grant” rights to individuals but rather recognizes that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” as the Constitution says. Here are the rights that it acknowledges to “we the people:”

1.     The First Amendment – The Right:

a.     To freedom of religion

b.     To freedom of speech,

c.      To a free press

d.     To peacefully assemble

e.     To petition the government to redress (rectify) grievances.

2.     The Second Amendment – The Right:

For the people to keep and bear arms.

3.     The Third Amendment – The Right:

For homeowners to refuse or accept the boarding of soldiers in their homes at any time.

4.     The Fourth Amendment – The Right:

To not have them or their property, unreasonably or without probable cause, searched or seized.

5.     The Fifth Amendment – The Right:

a.     To not be charged with a capital or infamous crime without the indictment
of a grand jury. (Except by military during war or public danger)

b.     To not be put in double jeopardy in charge of a crime.

c.      To not be compelled to have to speak as a witness against himself.

d.     To due process of law before being deprived of life, liberty, or property,

e.     To be justly compensated if one’s private property is taken for public use.

6.     The Sixth Amendment - The Right:

a.     To a speedy and public trial, if accused of any criminal prosecution, by an impartial jury from the district where the crime was lawfully determined to have been committed,

b.     To be told of the nature and cause of the accusation;

c.      To be able to be confronted with the witnesses against him;

d.     To have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor,

e.     To have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

7.     The Seventh Amendment – The right: 

a.     To obtain trial by jury in suits at common law (if exceeding twenty dollars in value.)

b.     To not have to be reexamined in any court of the United States,
than according to the rules of the common law.

8.     The Eighth Amendment – The Right:

a.     To not be required to pay excessive bail

b.     nor be imposed with excessive fines

c.      nor be inflicted with cruel and unusual punishments.

9.     The Ninth Amendment – The Right:

To retain other rights which cannot be denied or diminished by those rights enumerated in the Constitution.

10.  The Tenth Amendment – The Right:

Of the States, or the people, to have the powers which are not delegated nor prohibited to the United States by the Constitution.

The Power of a Seed

Most seeds are tiny little things, yet when planted in good soil, watered and protected, look what great things can come out of that tiny little seed.

We’ve established that God had promised that a seed, a descendent of the woman (Eve) would come to us and crush the head of the serpent, Satan.

He also tells us that that promised seed would come to us through a man by the name of Abram, or Abraham. [i] The Apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament:

Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.[ii]

He would also come down to us through Abraham’s son Isaac, [iii] and to Isaac’s son, Jacob and his descendants.[iv]

This promised seed would come to us of royal descent. The bible says that he would descend from the great King, David.[v] This is reiterated by the prophet Isaiah:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9.6-7

When the virgin, Mary, was about to miraculously conceive the little embryo, who was the Lord Jesus, an angel appeared to her and said:

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. – Luke 1.32-33

Jesus:

            He is the seed of the woman -      to redeem lost mankind.

            He is the seed of Abraham -         the seed of God’s Covenant

            He is the seed of Isaac -               the seed of promise.

            He is the seed of Jacob -              the seed of the nation of Israel

            He is the seed of David -              He would come as the King.

Yet when he came the first time, he would not be born in a palace but in a stable. He would not wear royal robes but would live among the common man, the poor and the outcast. He would not sit upon a throne but would sit and teach the people from a boat or perhaps upon a rock. He would not wear a crown of gold but had a crown of thorns hard pressed upon his head. This is why he came – to die for you and me so we would be redeemed from our sin.

One day he will return and reign upon that throne. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.[vi]

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[i]   Genesis 12.7; 13.15; 15.18; 17.7-8

[ii]  Galatians 3.16

[iii] Genesis 17.9; 21.12

[iv] Genesis 35.12

[v]  2 Samuel 7.12-16

[vi] Philippians 2.10-11

When did we Realize that the Messiah was Coming?

Satan’s temptation of Eve and her subsequent fall and Adam’s in the Garden of Eden is the greatest scandal ever in human history. They fell from innocence into the grips of sin and into the judgment of God.

When Adam and Eve sinned against God, there had to be consequences:

• The serpent, an instrument of Satan would be made to crawl on his belly and eat dust.
• The woman, Eve, who had been deceived by Satan through the serpent, would experience sorrow in conception. Gynecology remains one of the fields of medicine in most demand today because of this.
• The man would have to work by the sweat of his face in order to get the ground to produce. There would no longer be just a garden which produced food unassisted such as Eden – Paradise lost.
• All humans would have to experience death. Sure enough, all have.

But God not only established judgment on the human race. He also provided deliverance and tells us how he would do that. He says to the serpent in Genesis 3.15:

          And I will put enmity between you and the woman, 

          And between your seed and her seed; 

          He shall bruise your head, 

          And you shall bruise His heel."

Obviously this moves beyond enmity with a snake and a woman. It must go deeper. The bible refers to this: “...that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan.” (See Revelation 12.9 & 20.2).

There would be, in human history, a great fight between the human race and the offspring of Satan (meaning those who would follow his dictates and promote his evil intent).

The latter half of verse fifteen switches from plural to singular. Though the seed of the serpent would bruise the heel of the woman’s seed, it would not be a final, mortal wound. A wounded heel is neither fatal nor final but a wounded head, the wounded head of the serpent, would be terminal. The woman’s seed (singular) would deal a fatal blow to the head to the seed of the serpent.

What a promise from God! This would be the early gospel or Protoevangelium, the only gospel that mankind would have for the earliest centuries of its existence. God would provide someone from among the human race who could overcome what Satan had just done to humanity.

At the cross of Calvary, the devil had Jesus where he wanted him – suffering and dying, vulnerable and seemingly helpless. Satan struck a blow to his heel – even literally as the nail pierced through his feet. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Jesus would there die for the sins of humanity and be buried but wouldn’t be left to destruction. He would rise again, and in doing so, extend his knockout punch to our adversary the devil.

To kill a snake, you can’t just pulverize him in the midsection. You must strike him directly to the head and that’s exactly what Jesus did to Satan. Oh, the devil’s still in business today, but the count is in. He has lost and will finally be cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20.10)

Jesus is the seed of the woman. You will notice that he is not called "the seed of the man," for Jesus had no earthly father but was born of a virgin. We’re told in Galatians 4.4-5:

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

This is what must have inspired Isaac Watts to write:

          No more let sin and sorrow grow. 

          Nor thorns infest the ground: 

          He comes to make his blessings flow. 

          Far as the curse is found, 

          Far as the curse is found, 

          Far as, far as the curse is found.