He gave us His Word...such a simple phrase...such an incredible gift. We hold in our hands the very words of God...and His promise to each one of us. He gave us His Word. Do you ever stop to think about that? What if you went out to the mailbox this afternoon and there in a package with your name on it...was a letter from the president...or a movie star...or a sports hero...you fill in the blank. How long would it take you to open it?
God has written you a letter. To read it is not a "have to"...it's a "want to." To read it is not a "discipline"...it's an adventure. To read it is not a "so many minutes...or hours a day...or you won't get to Heaven" kind of a thing...it's a living relationship...a living conversation...with the living God.
Throughout the Bible, God's words are compared to bread...take the scroll...eat it...this bread is my body...that is broken for you. When was the last time you smelled fresh bread baking? Did the aroma make your mouth water? Could you hardly wait for it to come out of the oven? Did someone have to twist your arm behind your back to make you eat it...while it was warm and soft? When did we stop thinking of God's words...as delicious, baked bread?
I would like to end our conversation about God's Word with two stories. The first...about a man who was left out...the second, about a man who was passed by. May God bless you with the knowledge of how much he loves you.
He had been to Jerusalem...to worship...and he was on his way home. What had happened to him there...and what was he feeling now? There was nothing more important than ascending the holy hill...and worshipping in the temple. I wonder what he felt, as he stood outside the gate...unable to enter? Was he watching the crowd? Was he watching the fathers with their sons? There was no greater purpose for a man than to have a son...many sons...to carry on his name...and inheritance. Seth-son of Adam...Shem-son of Noah...Isaac-son of Abraham...David-son of Jesse...but he knew his name would die with him.
He was not allowed to enter the temple...not even the outer court of the gentiles...because he was defiled. Sometime...earlier in his life...he had been violated. He had been castrated...emasculated...his testicles had been cut off. The very thing that made him a "man" had been taken away...and he would never be the same again. His body did not mature like other men his age. His muscles were softer...his hips were rounder...his voice was higher...his breasts were fuller...he was a eunuch...a dry tree.No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD. Deuteronomy 23:1
He was on the outside...looking in. To die without descendants was considered the greatest tragedy for a man. That was him...the barren man...the one who would never have a son. How did he feel as he stood outside the gate...and watched them all enter? Did his heart yearn to go in with them...did his soul ache for what had been taken from him? Did he long to hear the Torah read...its words explained by the rabbi? That would never happen. He could never bring an offering or a sacrifice...he could never be part of the assembly.
And now he was on his way home...reading the text...the words of the prophet Isaiah...trying to figure them out on his own.The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." Acts 8:32-33That's where he stopped...right there...it felt so familiar to him. "In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." The man the eunuch was reading about...had died childless...no descendants...in humiliation...just like the eunuch was going to one day. Who was this man the text was speaking of? Was it the prophet Isaiah...or was Isaiah writing about someone else? Who was this one that died in such a tragic way?
Can you only imagine what it must have been like for him...on the outside...no children...emasculated...no one to explain the scriptures to him. The party, with all its warmth was going on inside...and he was out on the cold porch...looking in...his nosed pressed to glass...alone in the darkness.
God saw him...sent an angel to a man named Philip...told Philip exactly what road to take...to intercept the eunuch. The eunuch had been seeking God...but he didn't know that God was also seeking him. Haven't you ever wondered about this story in Acts? Why an angel for just this one man? Read the New Testament...this is unusual...it's not an everyday experience. He wasn't the apostle Paul, or Peter...or John the beloved...he was a castrated man...on his way home.The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:34-35 NIVPhilip began with that very passage of Scripture...right there...Isaiah 53:8...he died with no descendants. What did the eunuch think when he heard this passage prophesying about Jesus? Jesus...God's son. Jesus...loved by God. Jesus...who died humiliated and childless.He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave. But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD's plan will prosper in his hands. Isaiah 53:9-10 New Living Translation
Can you see the puzzled look on the eunuch's face as he heard that the one he had been reading about...Jesus...would have a multitude of children...many heirs? How could that be? He had no way of knowing that he, himself was about to become one of the heirs.When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners. Isaiah 53:11-12 New Living TranslationThis man...Jesus would bear people's sins...and people would be counted righteous. The eunuch had never been allowed to bring a sacrifice to the temple for himself...is it possible that this man...Jesus...did it for him?"Sing, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women," says the LORD.
"Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home!"
"For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will take over other nations and live in their cities."
"Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more," Isaiah 54:1-4
If there was hope for the barren woman...could there be hope for him? Did his heart begin to beat just a little bit faster as Philip continued reading. We tend to be people of verses...in Jesus' day...they were people of passages...multiple chapters were read at one time. I am convinced that Philip continued reading. Why? Because there was a special message waiting for the eunuch...right down the pages of the text.
Read along...look through the eunuch's eyes...hear the words. I know the passage seems long to some of us ...but not to the eunuch...he was hearing the very words of God reaching out to him...offering him food for his soul...offering to make a covenant with him...the dry tree...offering him love...offering to lift his shame."Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink — even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk — it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!"
"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David..." Isaiah 55:1-3
"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts"
"The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."
"You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD's name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love. "
"Be just and fair to all," says the LORD. "Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. Blessed are those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest by refusing to work. And blessed are those who keep themselves from doing wrong." Isaiah 55:4-13, 56:1-2 NLT
Here it comes...the passage just for him...
Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree."
God has written you a letter. To read it is not a "have to"...it's a "want to." To read it is not a "discipline"...it's an adventure. To read it is not a "so many minutes...or hours a day...or you won't get to Heaven" kind of a thing...it's a living relationship...a living conversation...with the living God.
Throughout the Bible, God's words are compared to bread...take the scroll...eat it...this bread is my body...that is broken for you. When was the last time you smelled fresh bread baking? Did the aroma make your mouth water? Could you hardly wait for it to come out of the oven? Did someone have to twist your arm behind your back to make you eat it...while it was warm and soft? When did we stop thinking of God's words...as delicious, baked bread?
I would like to end our conversation about God's Word with two stories. The first...about a man who was left out...the second, about a man who was passed by. May God bless you with the knowledge of how much he loves you.
He had been to Jerusalem...to worship...and he was on his way home. What had happened to him there...and what was he feeling now? There was nothing more important than ascending the holy hill...and worshipping in the temple. I wonder what he felt, as he stood outside the gate...unable to enter? Was he watching the crowd? Was he watching the fathers with their sons? There was no greater purpose for a man than to have a son...many sons...to carry on his name...and inheritance. Seth-son of Adam...Shem-son of Noah...Isaac-son of Abraham...David-son of Jesse...but he knew his name would die with him.
He was not allowed to enter the temple...not even the outer court of the gentiles...because he was defiled. Sometime...earlier in his life...he had been violated. He had been castrated...emasculated...his testicles had been cut off. The very thing that made him a "man" had been taken away...and he would never be the same again. His body did not mature like other men his age. His muscles were softer...his hips were rounder...his voice was higher...his breasts were fuller...he was a eunuch...a dry tree.No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD. Deuteronomy 23:1
He was on the outside...looking in. To die without descendants was considered the greatest tragedy for a man. That was him...the barren man...the one who would never have a son. How did he feel as he stood outside the gate...and watched them all enter? Did his heart yearn to go in with them...did his soul ache for what had been taken from him? Did he long to hear the Torah read...its words explained by the rabbi? That would never happen. He could never bring an offering or a sacrifice...he could never be part of the assembly.
And now he was on his way home...reading the text...the words of the prophet Isaiah...trying to figure them out on his own.The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." Acts 8:32-33That's where he stopped...right there...it felt so familiar to him. "In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." The man the eunuch was reading about...had died childless...no descendants...in humiliation...just like the eunuch was going to one day. Who was this man the text was speaking of? Was it the prophet Isaiah...or was Isaiah writing about someone else? Who was this one that died in such a tragic way?
Can you only imagine what it must have been like for him...on the outside...no children...emasculated...no one to explain the scriptures to him. The party, with all its warmth was going on inside...and he was out on the cold porch...looking in...his nosed pressed to glass...alone in the darkness.
God saw him...sent an angel to a man named Philip...told Philip exactly what road to take...to intercept the eunuch. The eunuch had been seeking God...but he didn't know that God was also seeking him. Haven't you ever wondered about this story in Acts? Why an angel for just this one man? Read the New Testament...this is unusual...it's not an everyday experience. He wasn't the apostle Paul, or Peter...or John the beloved...he was a castrated man...on his way home.The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Acts 8:34-35 NIVPhilip began with that very passage of Scripture...right there...Isaiah 53:8...he died with no descendants. What did the eunuch think when he heard this passage prophesying about Jesus? Jesus...God's son. Jesus...loved by God. Jesus...who died humiliated and childless.He had done no wrong, and he never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave. But it was the LORD's good plan to crush him and fill him with grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD's plan will prosper in his hands. Isaiah 53:9-10 New Living Translation
Can you see the puzzled look on the eunuch's face as he heard that the one he had been reading about...Jesus...would have a multitude of children...many heirs? How could that be? He had no way of knowing that he, himself was about to become one of the heirs.When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of one who is mighty and great, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among those who were sinners. He bore the sins of many and interceded for sinners. Isaiah 53:11-12 New Living TranslationThis man...Jesus would bear people's sins...and people would be counted righteous. The eunuch had never been allowed to bring a sacrifice to the temple for himself...is it possible that this man...Jesus...did it for him?"Sing, O childless woman! Break forth into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem, even though you never gave birth to a child. For the woman who could bear no children now has more than all the other women," says the LORD.
"Enlarge your house; build an addition; spread out your home!"
"For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will take over other nations and live in their cities."
"Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more," Isaiah 54:1-4
If there was hope for the barren woman...could there be hope for him? Did his heart begin to beat just a little bit faster as Philip continued reading. We tend to be people of verses...in Jesus' day...they were people of passages...multiple chapters were read at one time. I am convinced that Philip continued reading. Why? Because there was a special message waiting for the eunuch...right down the pages of the text.
Read along...look through the eunuch's eyes...hear the words. I know the passage seems long to some of us ...but not to the eunuch...he was hearing the very words of God reaching out to him...offering him food for his soul...offering to make a covenant with him...the dry tree...offering him love...offering to lift his shame."Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink — even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk — it's all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!"
"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David..." Isaiah 55:1-3
"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts"
"The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."
"You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD's name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love. "
"Be just and fair to all," says the LORD. "Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you. Blessed are those who are careful to do this. Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest by refusing to work. And blessed are those who keep themselves from doing wrong." Isaiah 55:4-13, 56:1-2 NLT
Here it comes...the passage just for him...
Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely exclude me from his people." And let not any eunuch complain, "I am only a dry tree."
Can't you see the look on the eunuch's face? Can't you see Philip stop speaking for just a moment...and turn with joy in his eyes...to face the eunuch...as he prepares to deliver the good news.
For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant —
to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. Isaiah 56:3-5
The eunuch must have been overwhelmed with emotion. He was in. No more standing outside the gate. He was inside...in God's house...within God's walls...no longer on the outside looking in. He was in...with Jesus...on the inside! A memorial...a name...better than sons and daughters! Something no one...I repeat...no one...could ever cut off!As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
There was nothing standing in the way of the eunuch being baptized...nothing...he was in...he was no longer defiled...no longer an outcast. He was sought after.And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:36-39
The eunuch went on his way rejoicing. The God of the Universe had sent him a divine message of salvation! All of this...the angel...Philip...the words of the text...for one castrated man that we never hear about in scripture again! Do you see how awesome that is...doesn't it give you hope...that God sees you too!
Had anything changed on the outside? No...he was still a eunuch. When he gave his heart to Jesus his testicles did not miraculously grow back. But he was a changed man. He had a hope and a future. He had a promise of restoration...that would be complete and everlasting. He went on his way rejoicing.
Many of us have had things "cut off" down through the years. Some of us had our innocence "cut off...we were molested. Some of us have had our trust "cut off"...our spouses were unfaithful. Some of us have had our health "cut off"...we are sick. Some of us have had our descendants "cut off"...we are childless.
Many of us are lonely...feeling like we are on the outside looking in. Many of us feel like we haven't prayed hard enough...or been good enough...or righteous enough...or holy enough...because we or someone we love hasn't been healed. I don't know all of the answers...but this I do know. I know that I am not passed by...I am sought after.
The crippled beggar man that sat at the entrance to the Gate Beautiful had been passed by all of his life. Most beggars have their "spot." They beg at that "spot" their entire lives. If the crippled beggar had been at that spot...from the time he was a child...which is probable because the entire city knew him...he would have been at least 7 years old when Jesus came to the temple as a baby. Every year that Jesus went to the temple with his parents, every year that Jesus went to the temple as a young man...every year that Jesus went to the temple as an adult...Jesus probably walked past this beggar. The crippled beggar watched Jesus teach...he watched him drive the moneychangers from the temple. He heard how Jesus made the lame to walk. He knew Jesus was crucified and I am sure he heard of the resurrection. But all of it never touched him. He was still paralyzed...he had been passed by.
Yet, it was this man, that God chose to use, as the next greatest witness to the power of God after Pentecost. He was healed! He jumped for joy. God saw him after all! He had not been forgotten or passed by...and neither have you.
I absolutely believe that God has the power to heal...and does heal...but with that said...many are not healed...many of us feel abandoned by God...as we pray for healing that doesn't come. Is God impotent? Are we just not praying correctly? Or, is there something else...something beyond all of this... that we are missing.
The Old Testament is filled with scriptures describing God's people as being spiritually blind...they cannot see the truth of God...spiritually deaf...they cannot hear the voice of God...spiritually lame...their feet cannot walk in the path of God...spiritually mute...their voices do not praise God. Jesus came to fix all of that. He came as the final sacrifice...he came and died for our salvation. He rose from the dead...the first fruit of all in Him who will one day be raised from the dead and have a body like his. And, he offers it all to us as a gift...if we will just take it...put our trust in him...ask for forgiveness of our sins...live in a relationship with him....love others like he loved us.
The best way to illustrate what Jesus did in the spiritual realm was to do it in the physical realm. He healed the blind, the deaf, the mute, the lame. This was a walking, living, word picture of what God does spiritually for each of us...these miracles were the first fruits of all restoration. When He comes again...He will make ALL things new.
When we are in eternity with Christ...our afflictions will seem as just a moment. We will not feel cheated. It is hard to imagine...but it is true. He will restore. He will renew...and we will be with Him. Lazarus was raised from the dead...but sometime later on in his life he died. Have you ever thought of that? Did people think that God didn't love him anymore? Every person that is healed will one day die of something else unless Jesus returns before their death. There has to be more to this picture than meets the eye.Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life... That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. 2 Cor 5:4-7 NLT
Did you catch that phrase...so that which is mortal...our dying bodies...may be swallowed up by life? The ancient Canaanites worshipped the god of Death...Mot...who was said to have a throat that reached from the heavens to the underworld. When people died...Mot...Death... swallowed them forever. The prophet Isaiah reversed this image...He told us that God will swallow death.On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:7-8
Do you realize that when we die...we are swallowed by life? When I miscarried my baby...as horrible as it was...my baby was swallowed by life! When you pray for healing for Sister Sally Mae who has been faithful to the Lord all her life...and she doesn't get better...she dies...do you realize she has been swallowed by life? God hasn't let her down...she has been swallowed by life. It doesn't feel that way does it. But things are not as they seem.
The eunuch left...without a physical healing...for now...but one day...all will become new. That is why we live by believing...not by seeing.
All things will become new...He gave us His Word on it!Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
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!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Rev 21:1-5 NIV
He gave us His Word!
Until next time...always remember...You are Sought After!
Cynthia
