We now take a tour of the men God used to bring forth the
nation. Abraham was the man whom God
called to walk away from everything familiar to him, kith and kin (kith, by the
way, seems to mean something like familiar country and is an old English word -
rabbit trail) and follow where the Lord would lead to a land He would show him
that would be given to him and his descendants.
Abraham believed the Lord through twenty five years of not seeing the
fulfillment of the promise of a child and was the father of faith. Isaac was the man through whom the covenant
was renewed and through whom the covenant was passed to the next
generations. Finally we have the man
Moses who is venerated by the people to this day and who is the example of
great leadership and who was a man with whom God met face to face as with no
other man. Moses' yes to God's plan of
redemption was the most important yes in history until Jesus came for the
redemption of all humankind.
Jesus comes into Jerusalem as redeemer and Messiah and is
greeted as such by most of the people there, residents and those who have come
for Passover alike. Surely word of Him
has spread everywhere and the stories of what He has done along the way to
Jerusalem for the feast have gone before as well and the people are prepared to
receive Him. He comes on the donkey in
fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah and the owner of the colt apparently
knows who the "Lord" is who had need of the animal and is happy to
provide. What pride this man must have
felt at being chosen for this honor.
Jesus is prepared to receive the adulation and praise of the crowd but
then we hear the dissonant note from the Pharisees who fear a Roman reprisal
over the proclamation of a king other than Caesar. They are not prepared to lose their place of
honor in favor of this Messiah who is hailed as King by the crowds but referred
to as Teacher by the Pharisees.
Paul has received revelations which he is incapable of
expressing. The Lord showed him much and
yet these things are not the content of his message. He has been given great gifts in being shown
these things. Moses, remember, was the
only man prior to the incarnation who saw the Lord face to face and yet we have
no record of their conversations in the tent of meeting. There are some revelations that are so
personal they cannot be shared and should not be lest others think more highly
of us than they ought. In spite of
Moses' special revelation he was described as more humble than any man on
earth. Paul, perhaps, presumed that because
of these revelations and blessings from the Lord he could count on his prayers
being answered and his life then would be carefree and if he did, he learned
that such would not be good for him, he would become conceited and prideful and
of no use to God. Paul heard God's
"No" and believed in the character of God such that he knew that He
meant good by denying him this request.
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