Christmas Trivia

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Now for some Christmas trivia questions!

 1. Was Jesus actually born in December?

No, because just like now shepherds are not “in the field keeping watch over their flocks at night” in December – it is too cold.  What is really important is not when we celebrate but that He was born and that the world celebrates Jesus with us.

2. How many wise men were there?

We do not really know. Tradition holds to three wise men and we have even given them names.  I think we have concluded that there were three because there were three gifts.

3. When did the wise men show-up?

Probably two years after the actual birth. In the book of Matthew the wise men find Mary and the baby in a house not in a stable.  Also Herod killed all the baby boys two years old and under because that is the “time” that the wise men gave Herod.

4. Is Jesus a grandson of Solomon?

No, Mary’s lineage that is listed in the book of Luke goes back to David’s son Nathan (Luke 3:31,32). However, both Mary and Joseph do have Zerubbabel in their lineage.  Zerubbabel is the governor of Israel that is responsible for rebuilding the Temple – see Haggai, Zechariah and Ezra.  There is an interesting reference in Zechariah 12:12 about the family of David and Nathan.

5. Jesus is our High Priest but how could He be a priest if He is not in the line of Aaron?

This may be a stretch but please follow long. Mary went to go visit Elizabeth her “cousin.” Elizabeth had to be in the line of Aaron in order to be married to Zechariah, who was behind the curtain in the Temple when the angel visited him; so Mary was related to Aaron probably on her Mom’s side.  The scripture that backs this up is in Zechariah 6:9 -15 especially verses 12 + 13.

So have a very Merry Christmas and in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us ever one!”

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 3

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Iron was a metal that was naturally present in Israel, even though it took the Israelites some time to learn how to work it (1 Samuel 13:19-21).  Iron requires a lot of heat and hammering to produce a usable material; however, iron has to be protected or it will rust, and eventually the object made of iron will be useless and destroyed.  Iron was used for tools made for cutting and digging because of the hard, sharp edges that could be made with iron.

Our “iron things” (some of our natural character traits) come from inside of us and can represent some of our toughest obstacles to overcome.  Proverbs 27:17 (as iron sharpens iron) tells us why a person may rub us the wrong way, God wants our hard areas worked on and that is done by having to work with other people’s hard areas.   An example in David’s life is his relationship with his brothers (1 Samuel 17:28+29).  As an over achieving little brother who had killed a lion and a bear, and had been in the king’s service as a harp player he apparently allowed these accolades to develop as a sore spot with his brothers. Our own attitudes can be a hard, sharp cutting point in our life.  People will view them as either our greatest asset or our biggest bane, but yielding this “iron” to God’s testing and use is really what is important.   These “iron areas” will either be protected and maintained in us, rust and cause real problems, or sharpened and gotten rid of.

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 2

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Now that we have the “lead out” let us move on to the next metal.

Tin was imported, possibly from Spain or from Western Europe, and was a valuable metal in Israel.  It was worked into various articles like cooking utensils and artwork.  Tin was added to copper to make bronze.  Today, as in ancient times, tin is a major impurity in silver.

A modern-day use of tin is to cover other metals, so they don’t rust or oxidize.  Iron our next metal is treated this way; it hides or protects it from contact with other things.  Even though we call cans from the grocery store “tin cans” they are really made of iron.  In our modern slang attaching the word “tin” to something carries an inferior or cheap label. Examples are a “tin ear”, a “tinny sound”, a “tin man.”  Even in the movie The Wizard of Oz the “tin man” was rusted and had to be oiled; if he was pure tin that would not have been necessary, he was only tin-plated.

In people, “tin”, like lead, comes from the outside of us. The “tin things” in our lives will harden us and even change the way we look; just as copper changes color and becomes harder when tin is added to it to make bronze.  In 2 Samuel 12 Bathsheba was a “tin” to David.  Even though Solomon was born, this incident changed David’s life he had a lot of unrest and bloodshed in his family from then on.  Fear of things will act as “tin” and can have a great influence on our lives by limiting or covering us and changing our perspective and even our habit patterns.

WHAT TYPE OF METAL ARE YOU? Part 1

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Metals have always been important to man and all of them are of use and value.  We have even given humans metal characteristics: good as gold, dirty copper, you sunk like lead.  In the Old Testament of the Bible God told Jeremiah, that he was to be a tester of metals and that the Israelites were the ore that Jeremiah was to observe and test. With God having given Jeremiah this command, I wondered what lessons there were to be learned. (Jeremiah 6:27)

In the Bible Israel is described as being a “land flowing with milk and honey” but it only had copper and iron as naturally occurring metals.  Lead, tin, silver, and gold all had to be imported by dealing with foreign nations. So let us look at the six metals (In the Bible six represents the number of man.) that were used in Israel during Bible times and see if we can observe something about people and how we behave.

Lead, then as now, was used to make fishing weights, and solder, and it was something to be inscribed into.  Lead may have been imported in pure form into Israel; if it was an impurity in another metal, such as lead in silver, the refining process required great heat and air so that it could be burned out or separated from the other metal.

In people, lead symbolizes the things from outside of us that keep us held down in the spirit and in the natural.  Worrying, fighting, and just dealing with these “imported” things can “solder” us together and give shape to our lives.  Only the heat and wind of the Holy Spirit will refine the lead out of our lives.  An example of “lead” was the grumbling aliens that followed Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land.  The aliens kept complaining and caused Israel to stumble.  Another example of “lead” would be if you have ever been told by someone that you are useless and no good and you have believed what was said about you instead of believing what God says about you.

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