1 Corinthians 10:3,4 (NIV) They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Here I am, all these years later, with history as my insight, and I am saying "how could they not know?"
Answering my own question, how could they have known? Would I have known and understood?
When Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus, beginning in the law and ending in the prophets, he verbalized to those disciples about who he was, and what would become of him. Beginning in the law and ending in the prophets. That would have covered Genesis through Malachi. Trust me, it was not a dry story. Let me give you an example: In 1 Samuel 30 David and his men have returned to their hometown of Ziklag, after a long battle. They expect their families, a good meal, and some rest. What they find is the city in ruins and their families gone. At this point the men turn on David. How David encouraged himself in the face of this rebellion I do not know, but he did, and they all go in pursuit of the raiders.
Let's for a moment put flesh and blood on these men. When they came back to Ziklag, home in sight, there is no sense saving any of the lousy rations you have been eating, because there will be a steak on the table, waiting for you when you get there, and these men are coming back hungry. Because of this, they have little food, if any and they are all exhausted; not just tired, but battle fatigued.
All head out to rescue their families, but 200 cannot go on and David allows them to rest by the brook Besor while the rest continue on in pursuit and an eventual battle that they win. On their return they gather those that waited by the stream, incapable of participating with the vigor of others. In their heads they may have only hoped to get their families back alive, and that would have been more than enough, but David, going against the popular opinion of those who did not believe they should get much of anything in terms of reward, splits the booty, equally between everyone.
Consider this abbreviated saga in light of our redemption. There are many of us that are not on the so called front lines of battle. There are some that are incapable of doing what others do (for a variety of reasons), and yet scripture tells us that as over-comers in this life there is a reward.
How are we any different? Sure you can act arrogant, boasting about your earned Doctorate, and how you flaunt your money, but the truth is you are broken and irreparable without God.
God redeemed us, just as he redeemed these men.
This is a work in progress, as I suppose all these writings are.
Here I am, all these years later, with history as my insight, and I am saying "how could they not know?"
Answering my own question, how could they have known? Would I have known and understood?
When Jesus walked along the road to Emmaus, beginning in the law and ending in the prophets, he verbalized to those disciples about who he was, and what would become of him. Beginning in the law and ending in the prophets. That would have covered Genesis through Malachi. Trust me, it was not a dry story. Let me give you an example: In 1 Samuel 30 David and his men have returned to their hometown of Ziklag, after a long battle. They expect their families, a good meal, and some rest. What they find is the city in ruins and their families gone. At this point the men turn on David. How David encouraged himself in the face of this rebellion I do not know, but he did, and they all go in pursuit of the raiders.
Let's for a moment put flesh and blood on these men. When they came back to Ziklag, home in sight, there is no sense saving any of the lousy rations you have been eating, because there will be a steak on the table, waiting for you when you get there, and these men are coming back hungry. Because of this, they have little food, if any and they are all exhausted; not just tired, but battle fatigued.
All head out to rescue their families, but 200 cannot go on and David allows them to rest by the brook Besor while the rest continue on in pursuit and an eventual battle that they win. On their return they gather those that waited by the stream, incapable of participating with the vigor of others. In their heads they may have only hoped to get their families back alive, and that would have been more than enough, but David, going against the popular opinion of those who did not believe they should get much of anything in terms of reward, splits the booty, equally between everyone.
Consider this abbreviated saga in light of our redemption. There are many of us that are not on the so called front lines of battle. There are some that are incapable of doing what others do (for a variety of reasons), and yet scripture tells us that as over-comers in this life there is a reward.
(Do not get discouraged here, for there are plenty of us that feel like we have not overcome anything. The men left by the brook had to have felt the same way. Certainly those that fought in the battle that freed their families did not feel that the "brook sitters" deserved anything, but David, who is repeatedly referred to as an analogy for Christ, did.)
Those that sat by the brook did not merely lie down, whining I don't want to do this, they were out of energy, and incapable. This scene has our redemption written all over it. We are all incapable of saving ourselves and therefore our David is Christ. We have done nothing to deserve reward and yet he has given it to us. We have lost our families and yet family will be restored in the kingdom. And most relevant of all is the fact that the men that gathered themselves to David were the losers in the worlds eyes. These were the guys that were in trouble, lost their jobs, lost their families, lost their homes and land, and you can pretty much guarantee they had lost their pride along the way.How are we any different? Sure you can act arrogant, boasting about your earned Doctorate, and how you flaunt your money, but the truth is you are broken and irreparable without God.
God redeemed us, just as he redeemed these men.
This is a work in progress, as I suppose all these writings are.
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