I wonder why we are not told the name of the man of God who
prophesied against Jeroboam and the altar he had set up at Bethel. His words are certainly powerful, that the
priesthood of this abomination will be killed and human bones burned on this
altar. In addition, he prophesies very
specifically about another, Josiah by name, who will rise and see to these
things. Jeroboam finds that the man is
definitely from God when he attempts to stop him from prophesying and his hand
is “dried up, so he could not withdraw it.” Back in the wilderness, Aaron and
Miriam challenged Moses’ leadership, claiming they had an equal claim to his
position as God’s anointed. Do you
recall what happened at that time? Miriam was struck with leprosy as a sign of
God’s choosing of Moses for the role he had.
Here, the people apparently believed this to be a similar sign and act
accordingly to destroy the altar at Bethel.
The man refuses to go with Jeroboam at his pleading, like Samuel refused
to go with Saul after his sin. The Lord
has judged Jeroboam, now all that is left is to await the final judgment
against him.
The disciples might not have been at the crucifixion, at
least all of them, but Mark tells us of some specific women who were bold to
stand with Jesus and that also there were “many other women who came up with
him to Jerusalem.” One man, Joseph of
Arimathea, who was a member of the council, took courage and went to Pilate to
ask for the body of Jesus. His
identification with Jesus in His death, particularly His death on a cross, a
cursed man according to the law, was probably the end of his term on the
council. Only a true believer would have
done such a thing, lovingly caring for the body of Jesus, even to the extent of
burying Him in a tomb rather than in a common grave with other criminals. The Roman practice was to leave the crucified
on their cross for the birds to have them, in some cases absolutely forbidding
the bodies to be taken down. Jewish law
would, likewise, have forbidden an honorable burial such as this for a man
hanged on a tree. Joseph breaks all
convention in the matter to identify with Jesus. He was clearly an extraordinary man.
It is important in considering the letter to the Philippian
church to remember that Paul writes what is often referred to as the “epistle
of joy” from a prison cell. He isn’t
pleading for acquittal, isn’t complaining about his situation and the
unfairness of it all, he is calling them to rejoice and his hope is
secure. He says, “you are all partakers
with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel.” How could he say that somehow his imprisonment is connected
with grace? Paul believed that whatever
happened to him was somehow connected with God’s grace, be it positive or
negative from a human perspective. That
is truly the mind of Christ who prayed the Father to take away the cup of
suffering but then “nevertheless, not my will but thine.” Like the disciples praying for boldness that
would lead to persecution, Paul held the kingdom of God and the proclamation
and defense of the Gospel to be more important than his own comfort and
popularity.
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