SEASONS - THOUGHTS ABOUT ASH WEDNESDAY AND LENT

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

February 10th was Ash Wednesday which was also the first day of Lent.  I do not feel this time is commanded, but I do not feel it is wrong either.  Any specific period of time set aside to grow closer to God is a good thing!  I have observed Lent many times and I have not forgotten all that the season has to teach, nor all the blessings I’ve received when I have taken the time out of my life to observe Lent.     

There is also a lot of golden wisdom to be obtained in the understanding of the meaning behind Ash Wednesday.  I find it very helpful.  Ash Wednesday happens on the first day of Lent each year, following Shrove Tuesday.   It marks a 40 day period of prayer and fasting, very similar to the 40 days spent by Jesus in the dessert when He was tempted by Satan before His crucifixion.  These are the days leading up to Easter (as the Catholic’s and Episcopals say ( I like to say “Resurrection Day”.)  Whatever you like to call this day; the fast of Lent ends with the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ and a very joyful time. 

On this day ashes are imposed on the foreheads of the faithful.  They appear in the shape of a cross and are worn all day as a testimony to the fact that we come from ashes and we will return to ashes.  Without God, we are nothing at all.  Perhaps we will be reminded of the mark of Cain who came from the dust of the ground and was doomed to return to the ground from whence he came.  He did not provide the proper sacrifice for his sins.  He was doomed to live with the mark of his own sins until he returned to the ground from where he was taken originally.  If only he had turned and obeyed God and provided the right sacrifice, he would not have to eventually die in his sin and be no more.  He would have gained the essence of eternal life.  But Cain thought like Cain and he continued in rebellion, much like mankind, much like the message of the dust of the ashes that we wear on Ash Wednesday.  There is nothing we can do for ourselves and there is no hope outside of a miracle of God.

The whole idea of the season is to examine your heart and repent of any unrepented sins before the day that celebrates The Resurrection of Christ, who IS the miracle provided by God.  

Personally, by the time this season rolls around every year – I have already done most of this work of the soul in the observance of the Month of Elul and The Days of Awe from the Hebrew calendar which lead up to The Day of Atonement, so if I join in and observe Lent, much of the spiritual housekeeping of my adopted Jewish heart has already taken place; but it never hurts to be thorough when it comes to your soul and eternity – so I often chose to join in with my friends, even though I do not feel this is commanded.  This is especially true, since we know from history and study that the whole idea of Lent was started by a monk many years ago, and possibly evolved from his study of those observing Elul and The Days of Awe.    The important thing is to be sure you repent, during any time or season.   This is what really matters.  After all, repentance should actually be a DAILY observance of all Christians, and this extra, though not commanded season, helps me keep aware of that fact all through the year.  

Seasons come and go and what do we learn in them?  How do we keep them pure with the right intentions before God?  

I try not to be  too legalistic with any season, but just strive to let God lead me to where He wants my heart to go whenever or where ever that proves out to be.   Every year for me is different in some way, because God doesn't have me living a stagnant life.  Nothing is ever the same if you are really alive!  Yet, all of God is constant and never changing.  What a balancing act!  It can get off center if you aren't paying attention to your true focus.     

I tend to lean in Hebraic directions and  I have noticed some years when I observe Purim and participate in The Fast of Esther, that it all  fits right into the whole mood of Ash Wednesday and fasting for Lent – so I don’t see any harm here, though it certainly confuses a lot of my friends who don't understand either subject whether from the Hebraic point of view or the Catholic point of view.  It gets even more confusing when we have one of those years when the calendar that God chose and the calendar that man has let evolve in the church get out of sync.  This is one of those crazy years when Purim comes long into Lent and Easter comes before Passover (completely backwards!)  I just laugh and go on.  God knows what I’m doing – and He knows my religious observances are always for Him, not mankind. 

The day is coming when God is going to either pull us outside of time with Him or step back into time with us.  I'll let him unravel the web we have woven, and until then, the Hebraic calendar will come first for me and when it is possible and logical, I'll join in with the others.  I'll keep holding on to the main things, the things that I feel will matter in the end.  
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 Just recently God has led me to a deep study of the life of Cain and Abel.  I have seen so many clues in their stories that make me stop and think.  One thing that always jumps out at me is the mark of Cain and it has me always noticing any time other people in the bible have been known for displaying or having a mark on their arm or their forehead.  Now I look for those things in order to grasp a better understanding.  

I notice every Ash Wednesday of Lent that the cross is a mark on the forehead of all of the faithful who go for ashes.  Of course this is in total contrast to the mark of Cain, as Cain was marked for the committing of sin, but the faithful also have their counter mark, their identification as being servants of The Most High God. They instead are marked for their submission to God's will.   

There are so many examples of different "marks," and I’m astounded when I begin studying them all.   Go just one step further and consider if the ashes on the forehead (the place of the brain, or the symbol of the mind) is the first step to the circumcision of the saved, or the mark of God over the heart of His own.  Could the marking of the heart, so symbolic of perfect love, be the next step after the marking of the mind?  I think it is a natural progression that every Christian pilgrim must travel.  What stays and resides inside the mind eventually shows up from the heart in either love or hate.  

Is your mind marked with the holy scriptures?  

Is your heart marked with the love of God?

I look at the passage in Ezekiel 9 which speaks of The Glory of God instructing a man with a writing kit in his hands to go about Jerusalem and mark the foreheads of the people who have lamented and wept or grieved over the detestable things that have happened in the city.  Instructions were given for everyone who did not have this mark to be killed, showing no mercy. 

 In one sense these people are like Cain in that they are protected from death.  The reasons though are very different.  They are protected because they have been faithful and true, Cain was protected so that he could suffer enough to possibly see his own sins and change.  It never happened.  God always allows us these times to consider our sins and He is patient as He waits to see if we will change.  Some of us remain in sin, like Cain, but those of us who are willing to humble ourselves and change eventually reap unimaginable blessings in eternal life.  

Lent is well under way now.  It began on February 10th this year.  Did you notice the marks on people's foreheads?  More importantly, have you noticed the mark of love and kindness from a neighbor or a friend?  That too might be symbolic of the mark of Christ over their heart.  Some sacrifices involve giving instead of giving up.  Sometimes God leads people to make changes in how they relate to their fellowman as well as how they relate to God.  

Whatever customs we follow and however we observe them today; in the end we will all be marked, one way or the other.  

Which way will you chose and what will be the sign over your heart?  

Will the things that you have been taught in your head sink down into your heart and spirit and spill out to others in the world or will you be like Cain and turn your face away?

We all have a choice.  

The mark comes from God, but the meaning of it is found within our own souls.  

What will your mark look like?
      

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 106 ISRAEL'S BODY IS RETURNED TO THE LAND OF CANAAN

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

The day came when Israel breathed his last breath and the nation of Israel presently living in the land of Goshen in Egypt lost their beloved patriarch.  

When Israel died Joseph mourned deeply.  He wept and kissed his father for the last time and directed the physicians working under him to embalm his father, Israel.  

The Egyptians were the first culture of people to perfect the art of embalming.  It was quite a process.  Joseph’s physicians took a full 40 days with this process for Israel, but the normal time could actually last up to 200 days.  Even after this 40 day process, they still mourned up till 70 days.  The embalming was important in that they had to carry the body of Israel across the hot desert for a period of many days in order to carry out Israel’s desire to be buried in the cave of his homeland.

Due to the poor condition of human remains found in Palestinian tombs in modern days we know it was not the general Hebrew custom to embalm the dead, but there are two times when it is spoken of in the scriptures; here at the death of Israel and later with the death of Joseph.  Jesus spoke of how his body was anointed or prepared, but not embalmed.  Both times the scriptures speak of embalming the process was carried out by well respected Egyptian physicians who specialized in such processes.  They were called "healers."  This kept the body from decay and the Egyptians sometimes actually kept the bodies of their loved ones inside their homes.  The Egyptians thought this preserving of the body very important since they believed in the afterlife the spirit would at some point come back and reenter the body again.  

When we look upon the followers of Christ at a later date, we can note that they did not embalm their deceased ones in an effort to preserve their bodies indefinitely.  Faithful Hebrews and true Christians realized that the soul leaves the body when it dies and that the body returns to dust.   In Israel's case, Joseph needed his body to be preserved for a very long journey.

Once the embalming and the customary Egyptian mourning process had been performed, Joseph was free to request the burial and another funeral be carried out in Canaan.  When it was time for his father to be buried, Joseph got up and spoke to the court of Pharaoh saying, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me.  Tell him, ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die, bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.”  Now let me go up and bury my father, then I will return.’”

It is presumed that Joseph is mourning in Goshen and that is why he did not go to Pharaoh himself, but sent others.  Though Joseph was a loved and respected Viceroy of Egypt, he was still not a free man.  He was still under the authority of Pharaoh.  Pharaoh showed favor to Joseph and told him to go to bury his father as he had instructed him to do.  

So Joseph went up to Canaan to bury his father and all the officials of Pharaoh accompanied him on this journey.  The dignitaries of Joseph’s court and the dignitaries of Egypt all went with Joseph.  The members of Joseph’s family and their households and all the people that belonged to them also were traveling with Joseph.  The Egyptian warriors rode ahead of them to assure their safety in the land and that there was no fighting over rights to the cave of burial.   So there was a very large company of people with many chariots and horsemen traveling with Joseph to bury Israel.   This was a very honorable and royal burial.  Jacob was treated the same by the Egyptians as the highest dignitaries of the land of Egypt.

The family of Jacob left their young children and their herds in Egypt because Joseph had agreed with Pharaoh to return.  If not for this Pharaoh might not have been so quick to agree to let him leave.  Leaving the children, a few servants and their livestock behind was almost like a promise of surety that they would not try to escape with the great wealth of Egypt that Pharaoh had entrusted to them for Jacob's burial. 

They grieved as they traveled.  They reached the threshing floor of Atat near the Jordan River and there they lamented loudly and bitterly. 

It was a usual practice to make a hedge of thorns about a threshing floor, that it might be preserved from the enemies and thieves.  Mention is made in the Talmud of the wilderness of Atat, perhaps so called from the thorns and brambles in the area that formed a circle around the threshing floor.  Jerome says it was three miles from Jericho, two from Jordan, and was in his time called Bethagla, the place of a circuit; because there they went about after the manner of mourners at the funeral of Jacob.

I could not help but think of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore as He was crucified.  Both the death of Christ and the death of Israel were symbolized and remembered by a circle of thorns.  From Christ came our eternal life and from Israel came a nation of people who worshiped God and produced a Messiah; just as a rose comes from a bush of thorns, both deaths eventually produced new life.

It was in that place of the thorns that Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.   The Threshing Floor of Atat had one large area big enough to hold all of the mourners who came to mourn for Israel.  They mourned encircled by walls of thorns.   The Canaanites living in the area saw them grieving and heard their cries and they said “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”  They probably had no idea the mourning was over Jacob, who was not an Egyptian at all.  Because of this, the place has since been called Abel Mizraim, the place of Egypt's mourning.

We know that seven is the number of spiritual completeness.  Seven days after the person's body was put into the grave the mourning was complete.  The seventh day signaled the end of the time of mourning for Joseph.

So Jacob/Israel was carried to the land of Canaan and buried in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre.  It was the field that Abraham had bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.  It was the burial site of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob's wife Leah.  Now Jacob too, would rest with his ancestors in the cave that Sarah had influenced Abraham to purchase because she thought it was the burial place where God had placed Adam and Eve.  

After Joseph had buried his father he returned to Egypt.  All of those who had traveled with him also returned.  Was it hard for them to leave the land of Canaan again?  The scriptures do not tell us, but I suspect they longed to stay.  Perhaps the grieving going back was more than the leaving behind of their beloved patriarch, it was also remembering that they now had become foreigners in a strange land.

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE: BLESSING THE LAND - THOUGHTS ON JEREMIAH 29

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Today I'm repeating a blog I wrote right after the last election.  Not much of my thinking has changed.  I still offer these simple, but often overlooked answers as a way for our country to change in spite of the culture deteriorating around us.  There is hope still.  Let's grab onto it!  So here are my thoughts from back in November of 2012:

I don’t often quote myself.  That would seem rather arrogant to say the least; but without really realizing what I was saying, I did make a very thought provoking statement in a previous blog that has stayed on my mind and sort of haunted my thoughts.  The article was about a totally different subject than the one I’m discussing today, but that one little statement has taken me into a whole new realm of ideas to consider.  The statement I refer to is: “Isn’t that just like our Great God to turn dread and fear into a time of celebration and joy? He is a God of great reversals.” 

My heart and my mind has been bogged down with all ofthe recent governmental changes made by our supreme court, the elected officials and the world around us.  In the midst of all of those problems I keep looking at the sad financial state of most of America.   My spirit has been troubled.  My first instinct is to ignore it and go on living "happily ever after", but that would be so irresponsible! Eventually I would come to see the hard reality of my own illusions.  It often feels like there is a hovering, uncontrollable cloud looming over us, a cloud full of storms that could bring nasty weather at any moment. It feels like heavy oppression.  It has occurred to me that oppression often comes from living in a constant state of total chaos and confusion, and that seems to be what our country is living under.  Oppression is not godly.

My prayers are often lifted up to God for direction in this subject; and I am constantly asking God to give us change and relief.  I am always hoping that the people and the leaders of the people will wake up and return to the values that our nation was founded on and once again become one nation under God.  I find that I am constantly repenting to God for the current state of our nation, for the corruption, the greed, the paganism, the lack of any morality and the lack of compassion and concern for each other. 

Praying prayers similar to Abraham, I am always bringing up the fact that there are still at least ten good men left in this land, and hoping for mercy.   I can actually see many, many good men hiding behind this smokescreen the media is always presenting, and I note that they are still out there living their lives and striving for better days.  The recent question has been:  Is hoping and trying to survive as free Americans all futile in the end?  Will we be defeated in spite of our best efforts to make a change?  I’ve pondered this from many angles. 

While sorting through all the various answers out there, I read a very uplifting article by Steve Elliott from “Grassfire Nation” regarding his own personal feelings about the state of things the day following the election.  I’ve heard that Glenn Beck read and was inspired by the same article.  I haven’t listened to what Mr. Beck took away from it yet, but I want to share some of the places that my own thoughts wandered to after reading this. 

Steve Elliott quotes that verse that we all quote in times of uncertainty; “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Then Steve informs us that we never read that whole passage of scripture found in Jeremiah, Chapter 29. If we did we would see that God’s answer came in the form of exile for 70 years.  I reread the passage for myself and confirmed that Steve was absolutely right.  Apparently the plan the Lord had in store for Israel was a plan of exile, and He proceeds through the Prophet Jeremiah, to explain to 

the people how they should live in exile.

This became even more interesting to me when I read of the states in this country that are desiring to succeed from the union.  A civil war of sorts seems to be brewing.  A huge division is forming among the people that apparently cannot be healed.  There is a now a group of people in Washington, DC that are making a demand of the president that anyone who signs a paper stating that they wish to succeed from the union be stripped of their citizenship and exiled from the country!  I saw this AFTER reading Steve Elliott’s article.  How strange that America has come to this point.  We are playing into the desires of the socialists without even putting up a fight.  It is their plan to conquer by causing divisions and strife and chaos.  We are letting it happen over and over again just like children following the pied piper.    

I do think Steve Elliott has hit on a very interesting suggestion.  There were six things that the letter from Jeremiah told the people going into exile to remember.  They were to:  (1) Build houses and settle down. (2) Plant gardens and eat what they produce.  (3) Marry and have sons and daughters.  (4) Marry off the sons and daughters so that they can have children.  (5) Increase in number.  Do not decrease.  (6) Bless the land.

Even without the threat of stripping one’s citizenship and shipping them out of the country, it surely seems that Christians in this country are already falling under another type of exile.  We have been forced to be compliant to laws that keep us from expressing the words and ways of our God in public.  We have been advised not to carry on our worship in private homes. We are often told to put our children in public schools that do not honor our God and that teach them the ways of other gods.  We have been bullied into complying with special interest groups that are totally opposed to keeping the laws of the God that we honor.  We have been infiltrated in our own houses and churches by so much sin and corruption that we often cannot carry out our true purpose.   It is a sad state, much like that of the children of Israel faced when going into exile.  They were forced to live under rulers that they did not relate to, rulers that carted them off to another strange land and forced them to live as slaves.  So what was God’s answer to them in their time of exile?  That is what Steve Elliott so eloquently pointed out in his article, and it is my favorite part of this story.  It seems very strange at first, but God told them to build houses, plant gardens, have children, get their children married and having children of their own, and to bless the land that they were exiled into. 

Did you hear that last part?  BLESS THE LAND.  We can’t give up now.  We must keep on doing what Christians do.  As people of God, we must be passing on a blessing – always.  It is our greatest witness of our faith.  It is the one thing that always pleases God.

So how do we go about being that blessing in a suffering land with a dying economy?  It seems the first thing we need to do is to build homes for our families.  I know, I know….how do you build a home for your family when you can’t even find a job?  What money are you going to use?  Let me tell you a secret America, sometimes when you lower your standards of living you are able to achieve more abundance.  Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? Consider this:  A home is the place where your family lives; it doesn’t have to be a mansion on the hill.  You “build” it by putting your family into it, making them as comfortable as possible and establishing a firm residence of love and compassion in your house.  You put the name of God above your doorposts and you honor Him above all else.  He is the first step to having a peaceful home – anywhere.  You eat there, you sleep there, and you raise your children there.  You come back to that place after your work for the day is done and you exist in peace no matter what is going on with the rest of the world outside.  Even if it is a large cardboard box, you honor God for giving you the box, and you make that box your castle.

The next thing you want to do is to “plant a garden.”  This can be taken in two ways:  a physical garden that will grow healthy safe food for your family (it has become harder and harder to eat healthy nutritious food in this country), and/or a type of income that comes from being productive with the gifts God has given you that will provide for your family.  If you are suffering from loss of income in this horrible economy I encourage you to look at the gifts that God has given you as an individual and try to find a way to use them that is profitable enough to feed your family.  Don’t give up, keep trying against all odds.  God has a purpose for you.  He has given each of us talents and abilities, whether our government or culture recognizes them or not.  Find yours and use it in the Christian community.  Even if you have to work for free for awhile, see where God leads you.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  If you are diligent and persistent you will find a way to feed your family.  It may not be luxurious or great at first, but if you give your energy to the work that God has created you for, He will increase you and bless you.  Part of this whole situation may be learning to be a good receiver and allowing others the privilege of blessing you too.  You can always remember to return the blessing in God’s good time.  This is not a “name it and claim it” philosophy.  There will be hard times and struggles, but if you do this God will not forsake you.  It is promised in Psalm 37:25.  God always keeps His promises.  Sometimes we just don’t see how He is going about it.

So, if you can; plant a garden to feed your family.  It will be safer and you will be healthier.  If you do not have a way to do this, partner with someone who does.  Help them to make it happen on their land and share.  Many do not have the means or the place to plant a physical garden, but they can plant seeds into the economy by using their talents that will grow into the form of income that will support those who CAN plant gardens.  So if this is true for you consider that your “garden” might be a good idea, a side job, a form of artwork that makes a statement, a publication that awakens people to new ideas, a way to improve day-to-day life, a way to improve your community, etc.  Think outside of the box and just do something that can multiply into something that will help the whole world in the end.  God loves creativity – after all – He invented the concept!  Try to use your imagination to make the world better and bless the land. 

You might consider selling your current home and spending the equity gained to pay for a much less expensive but adequate place to live.  That frees up your mortgage payment to help you help others to make a better world.  It works like the little boy who brought the loaves and fishes to Jesus to feed the crowd.  What you give multiplies.  It gives you “seed” money to use.  You might sell some of your more luxurious possessions and put the value of that cash to a more constructive use.  Do you really need that third automobile?  Do you really have to eat out five nights a week?  If you find yourself being able to actually plant a physical garden and grow your own food, you will find yourself saving a bundle on the grocery bill.  You can then put that extra cash to work among others trying to do well within the Christian community.

An important thing for us all to consider in building houses and establishing residences for families is to study the ways that we can all get out of debt.  The government may think it has to live that way, but the people don’t have to buy into that philosophy.  It may sound crazy but I think those of us who have been the most prosperous in the past need to re-group by selling our equity, buying less and living in debt free homes.  Simpler is better.  You will have less property tax, less homeowner’s insurance, and less property to maintain.  Use what you are saving to help others.  If you don’t have enough equity to live without a mortgage, get a reasonably priced apartment or rent until you can buy.  

Every home in America should be trying to live debt free and establishing a savings account; and that money should be put into a bank that is owned and operated by Christian people who are running it based on Christian principles.  Help one another out; pool your resources with people who believe in your values.  They in turn will eventually find a way to invest in your business ventures too.  Forget anything financed, insured or owned by the government.  It may sound good, but more than likely, it is a trap.  Forget government housing programs and assistant programs.  Turn to local churches for help.  Local churches should in turn be building up a way to help those in need.   Find a job doing anything that is decent and rent any independently owned property and improve the place by putting your family into it.  

God told us to work six days a week and rest on the seventh.  Families with values make for good neighborhoods.  Teach your children living in your home how to be a good neighbor.  Help to make your own community DECENT and ORDERLY before God.

 

That brings us to the next step of the process; marry and have sons and daughters.  The true definition of marriage seems to be lost in our culture.  Let’s do our part to bring back the real definition of marriage – a union between one man and one woman under God.  The pagan cultures around us have given our children the idea that it is okay to live together without marriage.  They have been bombarded with media that proclaims “anything goes” as long as it makes you happy.  Why have we let this happen?  

Start reinforcing true values in your community.  Do this with love and respect, but do it.  Explain to your children that God’s definition of marriage began with Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.  Explain why this is true and right.  Teach your sons to be boys and your daughters to be girls.  Scientist have finally offered positive proof that homosexuality is not genetic.  Educate yourselves on the proper ways to raise children to respect their gender and celebrate it.  Do not show hate; love those who have been molded by this culture of wrong thinking.  Love them and help them to see God’s plan not by preaching it, but by your example of living it.  Let God judge, but keep your own house in order.  You will have to answer for it in the end.  It won’t matter to God on judgment day that the culture around you was doing otherwise.  He has called YOU.   The bible plainly states that homosexuality is an abomination to God.  So is hatred and lack of compassion for fellow human beings.  Be careful, but be true to God.  We are all sinners needing mercy and grace.  Some people’s sins are just different from others.  It is all sin in the end.  We all are guilty.  Show to others the mercy, grace and truth that God has given to you.  You can do this by simply putting one little four letter word into action without words – LOVE.  That is how God did it for us.  That was Jesus’s greatest lesson for us.

The next step of the answer is for your children to have children.  How will this come about in a culture that supports and celebrates the act of murder we call abortion?  Instill the sanctity of life in your family.  Teach this to your children while they are very young.  “Life, life and more life,” to quote Eugene Peterson.  Life is the answer.  Do not support the culture of death in any way, shape, form or fashion.  It is hiding and lurking in the shadows everywhere.  If you are not careful you will fall victim to it.  Be aware.  Be educated about the facts behind the facts of so many large organizations that are just money making engines for death, greed and selfishness.  Learn the facts about the work going on behind the scenes of many of the United Nations “good causes” and study the “charities” and “good works” that you contribute to.  Are they real?  Are they genuine?  Support the REAL ones.  Do they truly help in the way that they come across in the media?  Teach your children how to discern this for themselves.  God says for us to be good stewards with our money.  Do not promote the causes of the enemy by ignorance.

Involve yourself with true ministries that promote true family values.  I highly recommend those suggested by “Family Life Today” and some of those that have been established by Chuck Coleson.  There are many others.  Welcome these efforts.  Bring these into your church congregations and promote the family in every way that you can.

Supporting the family, standing against abortion, and living for life all fall into the next suggestion that Jeremiah brought us from the Lord; “increase, do not decrease.”  Form families that bless the land.  If God’s people flourish and increase in spite of the enemy, how can they be defeated?   Sometimes you win battles simply because your soldiers outnumber the enemy’s soldiers.

This my friends is how I think we should fight the problems that satan has brought to America.  Understand that he is the one who underlines all these problems.  Our God is a Great God.  He is greater than anything or anyone.  He can turn dread and fear into joy and celebration.  We simply need to listen to him.  He can bring about a total reversal; we’ve seen it happen in the scriptures a million times in the lives of Jacob, Joseph, Ruth, Esther and many others.  We must remember this and have hope.

Rise up America and bless the land!

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 105 ALL THE SONS OF ISRAEL ARE BLESSED

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

We have heard how Jacob/Israel blessed Joseph and his two sons.  After this happened, the other eleven sons were called to Israel’s side to listen to the last words their father had for them. The description of the sons of Israel also gives us a pretty clear picture of the actual history of mankind through time.  All of the ways of mankind, both good and evil are seen in the personalities of Israel's sons, and in the wording of their blessings.  There is such a mix of good, evil and everything in between both extremes.  The blessings represent all types of people and point to their history during certain periods of time.

It is most striking to note that the two foreign born sons of Joseph, because of Israel’s legal adoption, are given the greatest blessings of all.   They were not true citizens of Canaan, yet Israel held a great love and favor for them, so much so that he claimed them above all the others who bore his name.  He saw the integrity of Joseph living in them.  This sounds to me like the fate of all gentiles living in Christ.  There might be technical difficulties in proving their bloodline, yet; through the adoption of a loving and caring God as Father, they have come into the royal family that God has chosen to bring his name to all of the earth.  

Through adoption Ephraim and Manasseh were blessed.  Through adoption the gentiles who believe on Messiah are blessed.  God looks at us and sees the integrity of His Son Jesus Christ living in us.  

 
Note the order of the blessing of the sons is not determined specifically by their birth or the order of their mothers, but certain prophetic and spiritual factors are taken into account.  These blessings of the historical Israel also bring us to see a picture of  how Israel will be in the last days, in that these words from the Patriarch were prophetic in nature.  In The Sons of Israel we can see a story of all the people of the earth.  

When it comes down to inheritance and blessings, the sons of Israel are very unlike Ishmael, the son of Sarah’s maid in the days of Abraham.  There was a much smaller inheritance for Ishmael because he was born to a servant, even though he was the firstborn of Abraham's seed. However, the sons of the servants/maids of Leah and Rachel do not take a separate or inferior place because of the circumstances of their birth.  They are blessed right along and together with the sons of  Leah and Rachel.  It was what they had done during the time of their lives that Israel looked upon and either blessed them or cursed them.  Israel was not looking through his own eyes, but he was guided by God's prophetic spirit as he proclaimed the destiny and fate of each son.  

 After blessing Joseph and his two sons named Ephraim and Manasseh, Israel addressed the sons of Leah, putting Zebulon before Issachar.  

Then he addressed Zilpah’s sons, then Bilhah’s sons, (the sons of the two maids of Leah and Rachel.)  

He addressed Joseph again, publicly in front of the others, repeating what he had already told Joseph.  

Last he addressed Benjamin, his youngest son from Rachel. 

So it might have been like this as Israel gathered his family together for this important family event and spoke with his first born; Reuben.  Israel began speaking to Ruben by noting that he was the first born.  He was the son that was born during the time of Israel's might, the first sign of his strength!  When he was born he excelled in honor and power.  

It is made very clear that originally Israel had held much hope for Reuben and this is how his comments were given out for everyone to hear; but then the tone of Israel's voice must have changed as he continued this prophesy over Reuben. 

“Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, unto my couch and defiled it.”  As we studied before, Reuben forfeited his birthright because of his sins both against God and his earthly Father.  It was entirely his own fault.  He had committed adultery with Bilhah, his own father’s concubine and this had deprived him of his privileges of the firstborn son.  He had lost the respect of Israel forever.
 

It must have been a very bad day for Reuben, but he had known his fate for a long time now.  Reuben had allowed his own lust to guide him and he had not asked forgiveness or sought to reconcile this wrong that he had done.   Reuben's common lustful sin is a very deadly sin we see that has been ruining otherwise good men of God throughout history.  It was the very first sin committed by Adam and Eve who were lusting after the forbidden fruit in the garden.  Through the lust of the eyes Satan has robbed the Kingdom of God many times over.  In the scriptures this common weakness of man is spoken of as “the lust of the flesh.”  This was the sin that caused Reuben to fall and it is the first sin that caused the fall of mankind.  How very Interesting to note that the first sin of man is played out in the picture of the words of Israel over his first born son who had fallen too.

The next words were spoken over Simeon and Levi:

“Simeon and Levi are brothers.  Their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.  Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury so cruel!  I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.”

No kind words for these two brothers who were next in line either!   These two were so much alike.  They encouraged one another in sin.   We studied their sins during the time that Isreal was living in Schechem.  There they committed the same sin as Cain, the sin of violence and murder that comes from great anger and hate.  It is a sin that often rises in a man’s heart jealousy.  God does not tolerate this sin forever, and thus it was this very sin that caused the flood that God sent in the days of Noah.  

Israel did not tolerate this sin either.  In the scriptures this deadly sin is referred to as “The pride of life.”  Many a man has fallen here, so did Simeon and Levi.  Corruption and violence were to have no part in the forming of God’s people.  They could not carry a blessing through the generations to come of Israel.
It was also a bad day for Simeon and Levi, but they too knew they had it coming and had lived with the knowledge for years now.  They had not sought forgiveness or reconciled with their father for going against his wishes and ways.  Nothing but trouble had come to Israel because of it.  


 

Then we hear of the refreshing blessing of Judah.  Judah’s blessing was true to his name, which means “praise.” 

“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.  You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son.  Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness  who dares to rouse him?  The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.  He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.  His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.”

Judah had lived righteously before God and before Israel.  Though he had made mistakes, he had repented and asked forgiveness.  His heart was true to the causes of Israel and he worshiped The God of Israel.

Judah’s blessing reflects the Golden Age of Israel.  It was the time that the nations around them were subdued and they prospered under God.  It was the royal time of David and Solomon all the way up to the Messiah who would own the scepter and the staff that Judah would pass on.  This Messiah that would come from Judah's bloodline would be called “The Lion of The Tribe of Judah.”

With the prophetic words of God from Israel's mouth, Judah was proclaimed a royal bloodline.  The One from the tribe of Judah will reign as the future Prince of Peace and His dominion will be to the ends of the earth.  Judah’s blessing held hope for a future for mankind.  Judah’s blessing held prosperity, but it was short lived, because Judah had other brothers!





After Judah was blessed  Israel came forth with a message of assimilation and rejection and apostasy for three other sons.

The next language from Israel which held both a historical and a future significance, went toward Zebulun, Issachar and Dan.  Here are the words that Israel spoke:

“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.  Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens.  When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.  Dan will provide justice to his people as one of the tribes of Israel.  Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward. “

At first these words over the three next sons sound so strange, but the history of mankind has proven the meaning.  Israel came under the influence of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia and the people were dispersed and assimilated.  These were idolatrous nations and these three tribes of Zebulon, Issachar and Dan served their idols right along with them.  Israel with his hand over them was seeing right into their future.  

Zebulun, whose name means “dwelling,” settled in the area of Sidon from which the worship of Baal originated.  This pagan worship was brought to Israel by King Ahab.  How this vision must have troubled Israel as he spoke the prophetic words over Zebulun.  


Issachar, whose name means “hire,” submitted to forced labor and became a slave.  Israel's vision proclaimed this in his future.  This too must have been very troubling to the dying man who wanted to leave his affairs in order before he went to meet God in eternity.

The prophecy Israel saw as he spoke to Dan was the most troubling of all. He looked into Dan's future and proclaimed these words over Dan, whose name means “judge.  He saw into the future that Dan was to ”become “like a serpent” and he knew in the last beats of his heart that Dan served Satan.  Because of this fact eventually the tribe of Dan was brought down and rendered powerless.  The tribe of Dan was often associated with idolatry.  With the fall of the tribe of Dan into complete evil ways, the fall of Israel was also great.  Because of the great sin of the tribe of Dan Israel was dispersed among the nations, and this remains the case with some, even today.  






Regarding the future, Dan is seen as a type of anti-christ who will eventually rule and reign over Israel for a time.  Only the salvation of God will be able to stop this.  

 

I think Israel was given divine prophetic insight as he proclaimed these harsh words over his own sons, and that is the reason for the next line he muttered like a prayer, like a cry for mercy he says; “I look for your deliverance LORD.”  In his dying breath he is thinking of the tragic ending for these sons gone wrong.  He wishes to change it for them, but he is helpless, the only one who can help is God and Israel cries out to God in pain and agony for these wayward sons upon his death bed.  

Then Israel speaks of Gad:  “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack at their heels.”





Gad means “troop” and though he must face many hard battles in the end he will prove victorious and drive the enemy out of the land.  We have seen this happen with the people of Israel over and over again.  They are sorely defeated, then they come back with an amazing resiliency and return to God.  

History will once again prove out.  Perhaps in answer to Israel’s plea in the earlier prayer; God will reveal His salvation.  After the time of Dan, things for the nation of Israel will turn for the better.  Gad, Asher and Naphtali show the results of God’s salvation for mankind in the end times that will come.

 We hear of the blessing  for Asher:  “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”  Asher is destined to live up to his name, meaning “happy.”  He will enjoy an abundance and share it with others.

 Asher portrays those who live uncomplicated lives, thriving on God's blessings and being thankful for them.  This makes for happiness.  It is very rare.  Asher was blessed!  Asher represents God's people receiving their eternal rewards and living with God in The Kingdom of God forever.  

Then we hear of Naphtali which means “my wrestling.”  The words spoken over Naphtali were:  “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”  The future time that is represented by the salvation of Naphtali is a time of freedom, victory and salvation for the tribes of Israel that are left.  Perhaps this is the time that the nation of Israel will recognize and acknowledge Christ as Messiah.  It is a turning point that symbolizes the complete freedom of the nation of Israel, that freedom was paid for by the blood of Christ.  It is waiting for birth, even now.  Naphtali received a great blessing, one even greater than Asher.  


 

Finally, the sons of Rachel are spoken of.   Joseph and Benjamin are a such a beautiful portrait of the glory of Christ in the millennial reign.  Joseph who was rejected by his brothers will be exalted by God.  He represents Christ who sits at God’s right hand and saves the world.  We saw this picture painted over and over as Joseph saved first the people of Egypt, then the people of Israel because he was obedient to God in all things.  


Joseph received the richest blessing of all the sons.  The words spoken to Joseph during this time were:  “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall.  With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.  But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.  Your Father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills.  Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.”

It is clear that Benjamin did nothing ever that displeased his father, but most of his blessings were not obtained by anything that he earned, he was simply and unconditionally loved.  Because he was so loved, he received a share in the Kingdom of his noble brother Joseph and he was eternally loved.

We see all the same things in the ages and different stages of the Church.  Throughout the building up of God’s church we see many failures, so many bad attempts to carry out the royal intentions that God has bestowed both on a nation and a people; so many failures, yet so much hope and occasionally, something that is good and right. 

Through Joseph and Benjamin we see two beautiful types of sons that represent the Son of God, Jesus Christ in past, present and future forms. 

Thus, through the lessons learned from Israel’s sons with all their curses and blessings, we can see the path to obtaining spiritual maturity, both as an individual, as a nation and as a spiritual body of believers.   

Finally, Joseph was repaid for his righteousness, his humility, his suffering and his patience to wait on God for his salvation.  He received the greatest blessings and everyone who was associated with him received blessings from how his blessing overflowed.  

As you hear the words over Joseph you cannot help but remember the words of Jesus, "I am the vine, you are the branches."  You have to think of The Good Shepherd and his rod and his staff.  Joseph was a type of  Jesus as the Messiah who walked the earth.  The spring mentioned is the Holy Spirit working in Joseph's life and the lives of his seed.  Joseph is clearly representing with his blessing the fruit of the reign of Our Messiah, Jesus Christ, a time of righteousness and truth, a time of plenty and abundance, a time of healing for the nations of the earth.  How Israel must have loved seeing the visions of Joseph!

Then we come to Benjamin, the youngest, beloved son of Jacob.  Benjamin had suffered in childbirth and his mother had died giving birth to him.  He had grown up with his Father’s favor .   These are the words that Israel uttered over Benjamin:  “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

To me, Benjamin’s blessing is the strangest and hardest to understand, but perhaps he represents one, or even a people, who will be blessed by the blessing of their older brother  as the land is ruled by his good rule.  Benjamin seems to be someone who will benefit from all the wars and someone who will divide the plunder or take what is left of this world’s blessings and enjoy them forever.  Perhaps Benjamin represents the nation of Israel during the millennial reign of Christ.  

 

Altogether through Israel’s sons we see quite a varied map of the condition of the men who have tended to planet earth from generation to generation throughout the times of history, including some from the past, present and future.  We see a mix of good and bad and divine and evil.  We see sin that brings judgment and punishment.  We see forgiveness that brings salvation and unconditional love.  We see wars and suffering and times of abundance and plenty.  

We can also see the patterns of the times that change and change again as men are always learning to live with God.  We see blessing, defeat, transition, change, victory, abundance and joy in different stages, just as the sons of Israel have experienced so many different things at different times.  

And when the time has come, God will give to each of us the appropriate blessings, just as Israel did to his sons, according to our spiritual maturity.

The last instructions Israel gave to all of his sons concerned his death.  He instructed them, as he had previously instructed Joseph, to bury him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hitite.  


Israel was to rest where Abraham and Sarah had been buried.  
Israel was to rest in the land where Isaac and Rebekah were buried.
Israel would find his own resting place next to the spot where Israel had buried his first wife Leah.  
Not long after these last instructions where given, Israel breathed his last breath and was gathered to his people.