15 While I, Dan…

¹⁵ While I, Daniel, was watching the vision   and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai  calling, “Gabriel,  tell this man the meaning of the vision.”

¹⁷ As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

¹⁸ While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.  Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.

 

a cedar

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedrus_libani

 

cedars of lebanon

1Ki 4:33
the cedar tree: The word airez, whence the Chaldee and Syriac arzo, and the Arabic and Ethiopic arz, and Spanish alerze, unquestionably denotes the cedar; it is thus rendered by the LXX and other versions, κεδρος, and by the Vulgate cedrus; and the inhabitants of mount Lebanon still call it ars. The cedar is a large and nobel evergreen tree, and grows on the most elevated part of the mountain, is taller than the pine, and so thick that five men together could scarcely fathom one. It shoots out its branches at ten or twelve feet from the ground; they are large and distant from each other, and are perpetually green. The wood is of a brown colour, very solid and incorruptible, if preserved from wet. The tree bears a small cone, like that of the pine. Num_24:6; 2Ki_19:23; Psa_92:12
the hyssop: Exo_12:22; Num_19:18; Psa_51:7; Heb_9:19
of beasts: Gen_1:20-25

New Living Translation (©2007)
He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 1 Kings 4:33
“So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.” 1 Kings 5:6
One of Solomon’s buildings was called the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. There were four rows of cedar pillars, and great cedar beams rested on the pillars. 1 Kings 7:2
New Living Translation (©2007)
But King Jehoash of Israel replied to King Amaziah of Judah with this story: “Out in the Lebanon mountains, a thistle sent a message to a mighty cedar tree: ‘Give your daughter in marriage to my son.’ But just then a wild animal of Lebanon came by and stepped on the thistle, crushing it! 2 Kings 14:9
xodus 3:2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

Judges 9:8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
By your messengers you have defied the Lord. You have said, ‘With my many chariots I have conquered the highest mountains–yes, the remotest peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars and its finest cypress trees. I have reached its farthest corners and explored its deepest forests. 2 Kings 19:23
King James Bible
Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants [shall be] with thy servants, 2 chronicles 2:8
2 Chronicles 2:9 to provide me with plenty of lumber, because the temple I build must be large and magnificent.

2 Chronicles 9:10 (The men of Hiram and the men of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones.

2 Chronicles 9:11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
ezra 3:7 They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
ezekiel 17:3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:
ezekiel 31:3 Behold, the Assyrian [was] a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.

Psalm 92:12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

Isaiah 10:33 See, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will lop off the boughs with great power. The lofty trees will be felled, the tall ones will be brought low.

Isaiah 10:34 He will cut down the forest thickets with an ax; Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

Jeremiah 17:8 He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 50:18 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.

Ezekiel 17:3 Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: A great eagle with powerful wings, long feathers and full plumage of varied colors came to Lebanon. Taking hold of the top of a cedar,

Ezekiel 17:4 he broke off its topmost shoot and carried it away to a land of merchants, where he planted it in a city of traders.

Ezekiel 19:11 Its branches were strong, fit for a ruler’s scepter. It towered high above the thick foliage, conspicuous for its height and for its many branches.

Ezekiel 31:5 So it towered higher than all the trees of the field; its boughs increased and its branches grew long, spreading because of abundant waters.

Ezekiel 31:8 The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor could the pine trees equal its boughs, nor could the plane trees compare with its branches–no tree in the garden of God could match its beauty.

Ezekiel 31:10 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because it towered on high, lifting its top above the thick foliage, and because it was proud of its height,

Ezekiel 31:16 I made the nations tremble at the sound of its fall when I brought it down to the grave with those who go down to the pit. Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and best of Lebanon, all the trees that were well-watered, were consoled in the earth below.

Ezekiel 31:17 Those who lived in its shade, its allies among the nations, had also gone down to the grave with it, joining those killed by the sword.

Ezekiel 32:22 “Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword.

Daniel 4:10 These are the visions I saw while lying in my bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous.

Daniel 4:20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,

Zechariah 11:1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedars!

The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. ps 29:5

Judges 9:15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

1 Kings 5:6 “So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians.”

Psalm 104:16 The trees of the LORD are well watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

Isaiah 2:13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan,

Isaiah 14:8 Even the pine trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult over you and say, “Now that you have been laid low, no woodsman comes to cut us down.”

 

your love is better than wine

i have been reading this lately and finding much spiritual intoxication within… let’s hear it for the monastery!
thought to post some of the chapters and some excerpts.

Bernard of Clairvaux
On the Title of the Book: The Song of Songs
The instructions that I address to you, my brothers, will differ from those I should deliver to people in the world, at least the manner will be different. The preacher who desires to follow St Paul’s method of teaching will give them milk to drink rather than solid food, and will serve a more nourishing diet to those who are spiritually enlightened: “We teach,” he said, “not in the way philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually.” And again: “We have a wisdom to offer those who have reached maturity,” in whose company, I feel assured, you are to be found, unless in vain have you prolonged your study of divine teaching, mortified your senses, and meditated day and night on God’s law. Be ready then to feed on bread rather than milk. Solomon has bread to give that is splendid and delicious, the bread of that book called “The Song of Songs.” Let us bring it forth then if you please, and break it.

2. Now, unless I am mistaken, by the grace of God you have understood quite well from the book of Ecclesiastes how to recognize and have done with the false promise of this world. And then the book of Proverbs – has not your life and your conduct been sufficiently amended and enlightened by the doctrine it inculcates ? These are two loaves of which it has been your pleasure to taste, loaves you have welcomed as coming from the cupboard of a friend. Now approach for this third loaf that, if possible, you may always recognize what is best. Since there are two evils that comprise the only, or at least the main, enemies of the soul: a misguided love of the world and an excessive love of self, the two books previously mentioned can provide an antidote to each of these infections. One uproots pernicious habits of mind and body with the hoe of self-control. The other, by the use of enlightened reason, quickly perceives a delusive tinge in all that the world holds glorious, truly distinguishing between it and deeper truth. Moreover, it causes the fear of God and the observance of his commandments to be preferred to all human pursuits and worldly desires. And rightly so, for the former is the beginning of wisdom, the latter its culmination, for there is no true and consummate wisdom other than the avoidance of evil and the doing of good, no one can successfully shun evil without the fear of God, and no work is good without the observance of the commandments.

3. Taking it then these two evils have been warded off by the reading of choice books, we may suitably proceed with this holy and contemplative discourse which, as the fruit of the other two, may be delivered only to well prepared ears and minds.

Before the flesh has been tamed and the spirit set free by zeal for truth, before the world’s glamour and entanglements have been firmly repudiated, it is a rash enterprise on any man’s part to presume to study spiritual doctrines. Just as a light is flashed in vain on closed or sightless eyes, so “an unspiritual person cannot accept anything of the Spirit of God.” For “the Holy Spirit of instruction shuns what is false,” and that is what the life of the intemperate man is. Nor will he ever have a part with the pretensions of the world, since he is the Spirit of Truth. How can there be harmony between the wisdom that comes down from above and the wisdom of the world, which is foolishness to God, or the wisdom of the flesh which is at enmity with God? I am sure that the friend who comes to us on his travels will have no reason to murmur against us after he has shared in this third loaf.

4. But who is going to divide this loaf? The Master of the house is present, it is the Lord you must see in the breaking of the bread. For who else could more fittingly do it ? It is a task that I would not dare to arrogate to myself. So look upon me as one from whom you look for nothing. For I myself am one of the seekers, one who begs along with you for the food of my soul, the nourishment of my spirit. Poor and needy, I knock at that door of his which, “when he opens, nobody can close,” that I may find light on the profound mystery to which this discourse leads. Patiently all creatures look to you, O Lord. “Little children go begging for bread; no one spares a scrap for them;” they await it from your merciful love. O God most kind, break your bread for this hungering flock, through my hands indeed if it should please you, but with an efficacy that is all your own.

5. Tell us, I beg you, by whom, about whom and to whom it is said: “Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.” How shall I explain so abrupt a beginning, this sudden irruption as from a speech in mid-course? For the words spring upon us as if indicating one speaker to whom another is replying as she demands a kiss— whoever she may be. But if she asks for or demands a kiss from somebody, why does she distinctly and expressly say with the mouth, and even with his own mouth, as if lovers should kiss by means other than the mouth, or with mouths other than their own ? But yet she does not say: “Let him kiss me with his mouth”; what she says is still more intimate: “with the kiss of his mouth.” How delightful a ploy of speech this, prompted into life by the kiss, with Scripture’s own engaging countenance inspiring the reader and enticing him on, that he may find pleasure even in the laborious pursuit of what lies hidden, with a fascinating theme to sweeten the fatigue of research. Surely this mode of beginning that is not a beginning, this novelty of diction in a book so old, cannot but increase the reader’s attention. It must follow too that this work was composed, not by any human skill but by the artistry of the Spirit, difficult to understand indeed but yet enticing one to investigate.

6. So now what shall we do? Shall we by-pass the title? No, not even one iota may be omitted, since we are commanded to gather up the tiniest fragments lest they be lost. The title runs: “The beginning of Solomon’s Song of Songs.” First of all take note of the appropriateness of the name “Peaceful,” that is, Solomon, at the head of a book which opens with the token of peace, with a kiss. Take note too that by this kind of opening only men of peaceful minds, men who can achieve mastery over the turmoil of the passions and the distracting burden of daily chores, are invited to the study of this book.

7. Again, the title is not simply the word “Song,” but “Song of Songs,” a detail not without significance. For though I have read many songs in the Scriptures, I cannot recall any that bear such a name. Israel chanted a song to Yahweh celebrating his escape from the sword and the tyranny of Pharaoh, and the twofold good fortune that simultaneously liberated and avenged him in the Red Sea. Yet even though chanted, this has not been called a “Song of Songs”; Scripture, if my memory serves me right, introduces it with the words: “Israel sang this song in honor of Yahweh.” Song poured from the lips of Deborah, of Judith, of the mother of Samuel, of several of the prophets, yet none of these songs is styled a “Song of Songs.” You will find that all of them, as far as I can see, were inspired to song because of favors to themselves or to their people, songs for a victory won, for an escape from danger or the gaining of a boon long sought. They would not be found ungrateful for the divine beneficence, so all sang for reasons proper to each, in accord with the Psalmist’s words: “He gives thanks to you, O God, for blessing him.” But King Solomon himself, unique as he was in wisdom, renowned above all men, abounding in wealth, secure in his peace, stood in no need of any particular benefit that would have inspired him to sing those songs. Nor does Scripture in any place attribute such a motive to him.

8. We must conclude then it was a special divine impulse that inspired these songs of his that now celebrate the praises of Christ and his Church, the gift of holy love, the sacrament of endless union with God. Here too are expressed the mounting desires of the soul, its marriage song, an exultation of spirit poured forth in figurative language pregnant with delight. It is no wonder that like Moses he put a veil on his face, equally resplendent as it must have been in this encounter, because in those days few if any could sustain the bright vision of God’s glory. Accordingly, because of its excellence, I consider this nuptial song to be well deserving of the title that so remarkably designates it, the Song of Songs, just as he in whose honor it is sung is uniquely proclaimed King of kings and Lord of lords.

9. Furthermore if you look back on your own experience, is it not in that victory by which your faith overcomes the world, in “your exit from the horrible pit and out of the slough of the marsh,” that you yourselves sing a new song to the Lord for all the marvels he has performed? Again, when he purposed to “settle your feet on a rock and to direct your steps,” then too, I feel certain, a new song was sounding on your lips, a song to our God for his gracious renewal of your life. When you repented he not only forgave your sins but even promised rewards, so that rejoicing in the hope of benefits to come, you sing of the Lord’s ways: how great is the glory of the Lord! And when, as happens, texts of Scripture hitherto dark and impenetrable at last become bright with meaning for you, then, in gratitude for this nurturing bread of heaven you must charm the ears of God with a voice of exultation and praise, a festal song. In the daily trials and combats arising from the flesh, the world and the devil, that are never wanting to those who live devout lives in Christ, you learn by what you experience that man’s life on earth is a ceaseless warfare, and are impelled to repeat your songs day after day for every victory won. As often as temptation is overcome, an immoral habit brought under control, an impending danger shunned, the trap of the seducer detected, when a passion long indulged is finally and perfectly allayed, or a virtue persistently desired and repeatedly sought is ultimately obtained by God’s gift; so often, in the words of the prophet, let thanksgiving and joy resound. For every benefit conferred, God is to be praised in his gifts. Otherwise when the time of judgment comes, that man will be punished as an ingrate who cannot say to God: “Your statutes were my song in the land of exile.”

I0. Again I think that your own experience reveals to you the meaning of those psalms, which are called not Songs of Songs but Songs of the Steps, in that each one, at whatever stage of growth he be, in accord with the upward movements of his heart may choose one of these songs to praise and give glory to him who empowers you to advance. I don’t know how else these words could be true: “There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the just.” And still more that beautiful and salutary exhortation of the Apostle: “With psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and chanting to the Lord in your hearts.”

11. But there is that other song which, by its unique dignity and sweetness, excels all those I have mentioned and any others there might be; hence by every right do I acclaim it as the Song of Songs. It stands at a point where all the others culminate. Only the couch of the Spirit can inspire a song like this, and only personal experience can unfold its meaning. Let those who are versed in the mystery revel in it; let all others burn with desire rather to attain to this experience than merely to learn about it. For it is not a melody that resounds abroad but the very music of the heart, not a trilling on the lips but an inward pulsing of delight, a harmony not of voices but of wills. It is a tune you will not hear in the streets, these notes do not sound where crowds assemble; only the singer hears it and the one to whom he sings – the lover and the beloved. It is preeminently a marriage song telling of chaste souls in loving embrace, of their wills in sweet concord, of the mutual exchange of the heart’s affections.

12. The novices, the immature, those but recently converted from a worldly life, do not normally sing this song or hear it sung. Only the mind disciplined by persevering study, only the man whose efforts have borne fruit under God’s inspiration, the man whose years, as it were, make him ripe for marriage years measured out not in time but in merits – only he is truly prepared for nuptial union with the divine partner, a union we shall describe more fully in due course. But the hour has come when both our rule and the poverty of our state demand that we go out to work. Tomorrow, with God’s help, we shall continue to speak about the kiss, because today’s discourse on the title sets us free to resume where we had begun.

 

lest we forget

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Momentous Speech to UN Assembly
Aimee Herd (September 25, 2009)

“Are these plans of the camp where one million Jews were murdered a lie?!”
After the Iranian president again referred to the Holocaust as a “lie,” earlier this week, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu stood before the UN General Assembly on Thursday, and delivered an historic and moving speech.
Wielding a copy of the minutes from the Wansee Conference (during which the Nazis had planned the “Final Solution”), and the actual blueprints of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps, signed by Hitler’s deputy, the Prime Minister asked, “Are these plans of the camp where one million Jews were murdered a lie?!” (Photo: AFP/Getty)
Netanyahu praised those diplomats who walked out on Ahmadinejad’s bloviating, and reprimanded those who stayed saying, “Yesterday, the man who called the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. For those who refused to come, and those who left in protest—I commend you, you stood up for moral clarity.
“But for those who stayed—I say on behalf of the Jewish people, my people and decent people—have you no shame? No decency? What a disgrace, what a mockery of the charter of the UN.”
The Israeli PM warned against the growing trend of Islamic fanaticism saying, “…perhaps some of you think that this man and his regime threaten only the Jews—well, if you think that—you’re wrong, dead wrong.
“In the past 30 years, this fanaticism spread across the globe with a murderous violence that knows no bounds…”
“Wherever they can, they enforce a backward system of government,” said Netanyahu, noting that the “struggle between the modern world and extremist Islamism [is] a struggle between the 21st Century and the 9th Century.”
However, the PM pointed out that, “Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And our future promises magnificent bounties of hope.”
There were many other powerful statements in PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, watch a video excerpt HERE.
Source: JPost Staff – Jerusalem Post, FOXNews

 

are you lost?

prejudice died at the cross. we are one in the spirit.

The pastor of New Life City Church, Belfast is planning to stand and hold a cross for 40 days on the dividing line between the city’s Protestant Shankill and the Catholic Falls as a sign of peace.

Pastor Jack McKee will be there every day from 12 noon until 3 pm for 40 days (except Sundays) from Wednesday 9 September until Saturday 24 October.

The 40 days will conclude with a special concert in the new City Life Centre, a refurbished warehouse which bridges the city’s dividing line. Among the special guests will be the Waterford and Omagh Peace Choir. The event will be attended by political dignitaries and will be open to the general public.

In 2002 Pastor Jack walked with a cross for 40 days around the Shankill and the Falls communities (right). He stopped off at the Sinn Fein office on the Falls Road and left them the gift of a mirror etched with a Celtic cross and the words of John 3:16 in Gaelic.

 

Beyond Personality, thank the heavens..

from the Business of Heaven, cs lewis comp.-mere christianity excerpt, book 4  November 5

A good many people nowadays say, “I believe in a God, but not in a personal God.” They feel that the mysterious something which is behind all other things must be more than a person. NOw the Christians quite agree. But the Christians are the only people who offer any idea of what a being that is beyond personality could be like. All the other people, though they say that God is beyond personality, really think of Him as something impersonal: that is, as something less than personal. If you are looking for something super-personal, something more than a person, then it is not a question of choosing between the Christian idea and the other ideas. The Christian idea is the only one on the market.
Again, some people think that after this life, or perhaps after several lives, human souls will be ‘absorbed’ into God. But when they try to explain what they mean, they seem to be thinking of our being absorbed into God as one material thing is absorbed into another. They say it is like a drop of water slipping into the sea. But of course that is the end of the drop. If that is what happens to us, then being absorbed is the same as ceasing to exist. It is only the Christians who have any idea of how human souls can be taken into the life of God and yet remain themselves-in fact, be very much more themselves than they were before.

 

good pageant question

  

Miss Marjorie Joesting, Miss Washington D.C.

Is World Peace More Important than Salvation?

Well, Mr. Barker, I think C.S. Lewis will say it best in the fifties..

It is impossible….not to inquire what our own civilization has been putting first for the last thirty years.  And the answer is plain.  It has been putting itself first.  To preserve civilization has been the great aim, the collapse of civilization, the great bugbear.  Peace, a high standard of life, hygiene, transport, science and amusement – all these, which are what we usually mean by civilization, have been our ends.  It will be replied that our concern for civilization is very natural and very necessary at a time when civilization is so imperilled.  But how if the shoe is on the other foot? – how if civilization has been imperilled precisely by the fact that we have all made civilization our summum bonum?  Perhaps it can’t be preserved in that way.  Perhaps civilization will never be safe until we care for something else more than we care for it. 

The hypothesis has certain facts to support it.  As far as peace (which is one ingredient in our idea of civilization) is concerned, I think many would now agree that a foreign policy dominated by desire for peace is one of the many roads that lead to war.  And was civilization ever seriously endangered until civilization became the exclusive aim of human activity?  There is much rash idealization of past ages about, and I do not wish to encourage more of it.  Our ancestors were cruel, lecherous, greedy and stupid, like ourselves.  But while they cared for other things more than for civilization – and they cared at different times for all sorts of things, for the will of God, for glory, for personal honour, for doctrinal purity, for justice – was civilization often in serious danger of disappearing? 

At least the suggestion is worth a thought.  To be sure, if it were true that civilization will never be safe till it is put second, that immediately raises the question, second to what?  What is the first thing?  The only reply I can offer here is that if we do not know, then the first and only truly practical thing is to set about finding out. 

“Er, Thank you..?.., Marjorie.”

*marjorie did not win. 

 

 

translated

read this passage in Acts today and was struck with the intent of the Lord to reach the Ethiopian eunuch via his messenger, Philip.  First, an angel appears to Philip to tell him where to go.  When he gets there,  the Holy Spirit tells him to run to the man’s chariot.  (It also seems like the spirit might’ve given him some speed to catch up to the chariot! ) God, it seems, is going the extra mile to reveal himself to this man, a eunuch nonetheless, an impotent servant to a potent kingdom.   I am interested in this passage not only for this reason, that God saw and heard this man’s questioning heart seeking him, but also that he spoke so directly to Philip as to how to make this appointment to share the Gospel of Jesus with him.   and then, that, once Philip completes the task, the Holy Spirit literally spirits him away!  as in translated outta there, beam me up/out/over/whathaveyou!  

it is the specificity of the Lord’s messenger and then the Holy Spirit’s voice and Philip’s ability to see, hear and accordingly respond to the directions that fascinate me.    as he shares with the man, who readily shares his need of illumination, the veil is removed from the ethiopian’s eyes and he understands how to become a member of God’s kingdom and takes the described steps.  It also interests me to note that he is pondering a scripture from the Tanakh (OT) that prophesies concerning the Messiah.  In my view, the Holy Spirit is activating the church in the book of Acts to continue the work that Jesus did in rending the curtain of the temple in two, for him who would have eyes to see and ears to hear, to know that they can now draw near to the throne of God, that the promise has been fulfilled and can be realized now in daily life. 

  His methods and means are inscrutable, but when they are noted or described, as in the following passage, it opens my mind to all the possibilities there are in God, and that it is because he so loved the world that he gave and continues to give his son to us in so many things, ways, using people like me and you, becoming all things to all people-like me and you. 

    ²⁶But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and proceed southward or at midday on the road that runs from Jerusalem down to Gaza. This is the desert [^[g]route].

    ²⁷So he got up and went. And behold, an Ethiopian, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure, had come to Jerusalem to worship.

    ²⁸And he was [now] returning, and sitting in his chariot he was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.

    ²⁹Then the [Holy] Spirit said to Philip, Go forward and join yourself to this chariot.

    ³⁰Accordingly Philip, running up to him, heard [the man] reading the prophet Isaiah and asked, Do you really understand what you are reading?

    ³¹And he said, How is it possible for me to do so unless someone explains it to me and guides me [in the right way]? And he earnestly requested Philip to come up and sit beside him.

    ³²Now this was the passage of Scripture which he was reading: Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth.

    ³³In His humiliation ^[h] He was taken away by distressing and oppressive judgment and justice was denied Him [caused to cease]. Who can describe or relate in full ^[i]the wickedness of His contemporaries (generation)? For His life is taken from the earth and ^[j]a bloody death inflicted upon Him.^(D)

    ³⁴And the eunuch said to Philip, I beg of you, tell me about whom does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?

    ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this portion of Scripture he announced to him the glad tidings (Gospel) of Jesus and about Him.

    ³⁶And as they continued along on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch exclaimed, See, [here is] water! What is to hinder my being baptized?

    ^37[k]And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart [if you have ^[l]a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah and accept Him as the Author of your salvation in the kingdom of God, giving Him your obedience, then] you may. And he replied, I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

    ³⁸And he ordered that the chariot be stopped; and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and [Philip] baptized him.

    ³⁹And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [^[m]suddenly] caught away Philip; and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.

    ⁴⁰But Philip was found at Azotus, and passing on he preached the good news (Gospel) to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

   

 

Footnotes:

1. Acts 8:1 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
2. Acts 8:1 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
3. Acts 8:2 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
4. Acts 8:4 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
5. Acts 8:22 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
6. Acts 8:23 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
7. Acts 8:26 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
8. Acts 8:33 Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with A Commentary.
9. Acts 8:33 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
10. Acts 8:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
11. Acts 8:37 Many manuscripts do not contain this verse.
12. Acts 8:37 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
13. Acts 8:39 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.

Cross references:

1. Acts 8:5 : Acts 6:5
2. Acts 8:21 : Ps 78:37
3. Acts 8:23 : Isa 58:6
4. Acts 8:33 : Isa 53:7, 8

 

 

it’s my year

Luke is symbolized by an ox, a sacrificial animal, because his Gospel begins with
the story of Zachariah entering the Holy of Holies to sacrifice. The Prophet
Jeremiah portrayed various metaphors of God’s relationship with his people
Israel. One of those metaphors is the yoke; God is yoked to his people. The yoke
is a tool of the ox.

Romans 12

 1I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

The Bearer of Burdens — Luke’s Jesus

 

The powerful ox
     Symbolism and meaning

The ox in the Temple and the stall
     Infancy and beginnings, Luke 1–4.13

The ox plods a long, slow journey
     Luke’s style and structure

The ox, the herd, and the drivers
     Luke’s characterization

Those who are burdened with heavy loads
     The ministry of the ox

Strength to bear the burdens
     Luke’s spirituality

The sacrificial, saving victim
     The Passion, Luke 22–23

He rides again
     The Resurrection, Luke 24