Author Archives: Mark

Joy

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I owe this blog to my youngest son, Matthew.  After a discussion of a reoccurring habit of mine while I drive a car, which is the verbal stating that things would be better if everyone else in the world realized that roadways belong to me and that they should get off of them when I am driving, he asked a serious question. “What is the Biblical definition of the word JOY?”  BJ, Matthew and I fumbled around quoting verses and expounding ideas that we have heard but in the end I had to say I did not know one and would have to study it. Now, I know, I studied it before and parts of that came back into my mind but this one had to be a fresh study, plus I have no idea where that notebook is with that study in it.

So over a cup of coffee and after too early of an awake-up, here goes.

First, Matthew joy does have to do with happiness. I did get the feeling that our English, 21st century and TV/advertising defined word of happy or really fun does not go quite deep enough.   After reading all the definitions about the words for joy, and there are several, I drew these rather general conclusions.

Many of them talk about inward and outward expressions and feelings and the things that cause the joy.  Some of the words are connected with the word rejoice and shouting and yelling.  Jumping around and playing trumpets and other musical instruments were also components of the definitions.  And the one that I really liked was the one about the mood and feelings when you are making, getting ready for and having a party or feast.  My mind, even with coffee, could not focus on definitions or words but went to memories and unrelated Bible verses.

Here Matthew is the meaning of joy.

1. When little children are banging on tambourines and drums yelling at the top of their lungs and jumping around having a great time because they can.

2. The feelings, smells, business, and fun when you are getting ready for a big party or meal. Not just Thanksgiving or Christmas but birthdays and homecomings, times when you want everything perfect just because it is for someone important to you and then having a great time with the person you prepared it for.

Since this is a Bible Study blog let me get to the Word.

Jesus is and has been getting the “Feast” ready for us when we go home to be with Him. Imagine the party (the joy) that He has been planning; it is so big that He has built us houses, there will be banquet tables, angelic choirs and bands even a heavenly taxicab service to pick us up.  So if I can rephrase a popular verse- “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” (see Lord) It always sounds like we have the joy and that we will be strong because of it. How about reading it this way- because the Lord has joy we have strength – it is His joy in us that is our strength.

References: The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Ishmael and Esau: Family and Foe – Part 2

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Esau (Edom) is also a shadowing of personal/family troubles but he is more complicated even than Ishmael.  When Jacob was sent off to find a wife Esau did something interesting, he went to Ishmael for a third wife.  At one time I thought that was to make Isaac and Rebekah mad but I now think it was just the opposite; in an attempt to please mom and dad he went back to “family” just like Jacob was doing (Genesis 28:6-9).  Esau married Mahalath, Ishmael’s daughter. So all of the types and shadows that may apply to Ishmael live on in Esau’s family. ( see Part 1 and Three Books)

Now the bad blood, remember it started in Rebekah’s womb (see Timeline), that had existed between Esau and Jacob (Genesis27: 41-45) seems to have been forgiven in the 20 years that they were separated (Genesis 33) but you have to wonder if Jacob’s mistrust was well-founded or did he create another offense when he did not travel back right away to the family area.

I am sure it was different then but he certainly had two interesting names, Esau means “hairy” and Edom means “red.”

Edom and Israel were always fighting in the Old Testament and all of the Major and Minor Prophets have sections that talk about the destruction and downfall of Edom. Since this area corresponds to modern-day Jordan you just know that this story is not over yet.

https://ificouldteachthebible.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/three-books-three-views/

Please see the above link for more about Edom.

References: NIV footnotes,

Josephus is a Jewish historian, his writings may seem a little frightening but I only read the section that corresponds to what I am reading in the Bible.  My copy is a Nelson’s Super Value Series book and it does a good job of describing what each section covers and the parts in the “books” are very well labeled.  It adds an interesting perspective to the Bible passages that I am studying.

Ishmael and Esau: Family and Foe – Part 1

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These are the first-born children of both Abraham and Isaac. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael but he was not considered the “promised child” and Esau (see Three Books and The Day) sold his birthright to Jacob. So neither of these men received the rights of the first-born; this is in agreement with the shadowing of Adam and Jesus. ( FYI Muslims say they are the spiritual children of Abraham through Ishmael.) You can read that both of these men maintained a relationship with their fathers because both of them showed up to help bury their fathers; Genesis 25:9 for Abraham and Genesis 35:29 for Isaac. Josephus, a Jewish historian, actually uses the death of Isaac as a dividing point for his history book The Antiquities of the Jews.

Ishmael is an interesting “type and shadow” he was born from an Egyptian and got an Egyptian wife; Egypt for Christians is associated with our bondages and addictions before we are saved.  So even though Egypt still holds that shadow Ishmael takes on an added shadowing because he is something personal/family in our lives.  One of the last mentions of him is in Genesis 25:18 which refers to the fact that his descendants lived in hostility (or to the east of) all of their brothers. According to Josephus Ishmael became the father of the Arabians. (see Part 2)

Now the Arabians do show up later in Scripture in some interesting places. In  2 Chronicles 17 Jehoshaphat has tribute brought to him by Arabs, Jehoram is attacked by them in chapter 21, and in chapter 26 Uzziah is beating them again with God’s help.  Nehemiah has trouble with them because of Geshem and they are mentioned in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel where they are condemned to the sword or are under God’s wrath.  But a scripture that ties all of this together is in Galatians 4:21 – 31. Hagar represents Mount Sinai (the Law) that is in Arabia and Paul links that to physical Jerusalem while the heavenly Jerusalem is linked to Sarah.

References:1.12.2 The Antiquities of the Jews, Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance

https://ificouldteachthebible.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/patriarch-timeline/

The Lord my/your God

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Have you ever noticed in the Old Testament who claims God as their Lord?  We know Balaam as the guy who had a donkey talk to him to refocus his thinking; even that did not help him by the end of his story. In Numbers 22:18 Balaam, son of Beor, claims the Lord as his God when he is talking to the princes of Moab.  This is pretty amazing since he clearly was not an Israelite. In Numbers 22:5 it says his native land was near the River (Euphrates).  According to verse 6, the king of Moab credits him with the blessing of Abraham. How? My best guess is he was a grandchild of Abraham from his third wife – Keturah (Gen. 25: 1) or he was a descendent of Edom (Esau) because he is a “son of Beor” (Genesis 36:32); remember Abraham was a man who would teach his children about God (Genesis 18:19). Balaam knew God and could talk with Him, but he still became a “seed type #2” in Luke 8: 13.

King Saul after an amazing call to be king. Enjoyed many victories that clearly had come from God. He even had Samuel, the prophet for his tutor. Saul reached a point when he becomes a “your God” person.  After a great victory against the Amalekites, he forgets God and surrenders to fear and greed.  When Samuel confronts King Saul about his disobedience in 1 Samuel 15:15 King Saul says that the cattle were for sacrificing to the Lord your God.  Why not say the Lord our/my God? It is a shame that his thinking and his words showed that even though he had known the Lord he stopped claiming Him as his God; he became “seed type #3” in Luke 8:14.

(see LORD vs. Lord)

LORD vs. Lord

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Ancient Hebrew is a very descriptive language but the problem is translating it to English, sometimes our words cross meanings with it and we have one word for two meanings. An example is our word Lord; Hebrew has two completely different words for what we call Lord – Adonai, and Yahweh. The NIV translation will use the word Lord but with two different cases to represent the two Hebrew words – LORD and Lord. The preface in the NIV Bible has a great explanation of why the translators did this.

From the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance, we get the meaning of Adonai as the one true God who has majesty and authority and Yahweh as the one true God that makes personnel and covenant relationships, the name also gives the picture of a God who exists or causes existence.  Psalms 68:17-20 uses both of the words so replace the word Lord with a form of its meaning and see how it changes the idea of the passage.

The James Moffatt Translation uses the word Eternal instead of Yahweh (Lord) and I always felt that it was very powerful in the way it changes the passage.  So try replacing the word Eternal when you see the word Lord especially if you read the NIV translation.

(see The Lord my/your God)