PIECES OF THE PUZZLE - THE MYSTERIOUS STORY OF THE RED HEIFER

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Have you ever felt compelled to study the details of the sacrifice of The Red Heifer?  The study is fascinating and I keep coming back to it year after year.  If you’ve never heard of it, this was a sacrifice of a perfect Red Heifer that God commanded of Moses to make for the people in order to cleanse them before entering the Tabernacle in the wilderness.  Apparently, the ritual was put into place immediately as the Tabernacle came into use as God had instructed Moses. 

The requirements were that the heifer must be three years old and perfectly red; it must be physically free from any blemish or defect; it must never have been used to perform any physical labor; it was to be taken to a specific place outside the camp where it was slaughtered and burned; its ashes were mixed together with pure spring water to make a mixture to be sprinkled on the people for purification.

This practice started with Moses and was carried on all throughout history until the last temple was destroyed.  There have been nine red heifers and the nation of Israel is waiting on the 10^th to appear. 

Originally the people were contaminated and became impure because of the making of the golden calf.  You can read the story in Deuteronomy, Chapter nine of your bible.  To make it very short here it was a time when Moses had ascended to the mountain of God to receive the commandments of God.  The people were tired of waiting on their leader to return.  They were bored and restless, and they appealed to Aaron, whom Moses had left in charge to create a golden calf.  Miriam’s son Hur tried to persuade the people that this was wrong and they killed him for standing up to them.  Now bulls were a pagan symbol of worship in the land of Cannan and also in some areas of Egypt from where the people had just been released from slavery.  Aaron, probably afraid of the same fate as Hur, complied with their wishes and made the calf that they wished for him to make. Many scholars have pointed out too that there were Egyptians that had tagged along with the crowd as they left Egypt and that they had been secretly conspiring, persuading the people to make the calf.  Aaron was said to have stalled for time, thinking that Moses would soon return.  When that didn’t work he was said to have commanded that the people bring all their gold for it, thinking they might be stingy and not want to give it.  They complied.  It is unlikely that Aaron actually intended this calf be an idol, as he proclaimed a Feast for Yahwah after he finished making it.  (Exodus 32:5). 

At first it appeared that the people worshipping the calf seemed to associate it with the God who brought them out of Egypt.  It was said by some that the Egyptian conspirators knew magic tricks that made the calf appear to jump out of the fire.  Many believe that this was when the people’s hearts turned from worshipping God to worshipping the golden calf.  They allowed themselves to be tricked into believing a lie by sensational magic.  What ever the circumstances leading up to this, there are many theories, as time went on the truth came out.  Most of the people had wanted Aaron to make them a God to lead them because Moses had tarried so long on the Mountain.  They had allowed themselves to be deceived.  Whatever their original intentions, it becomes clear in Exodus 32:8 that the people immediately fell to worshipping the calf and violated the first commandment that God was giving to Moses on the Mountain (Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me.)

Now, God is omnipresent.  He could see the people in the camp and tend to Moses on the Mountain at the same time.  He KNEW this was going on the whole time, yet; He was giving Moses instructions of His will.  God informed Moses of his displeasure with the people and that they would die for their sins.  He told Moses that a new people, descendents of Moses would take their place and carry His will with them to the nations of the world. 

Moses was very distressed.  He prayed for God to forgive the people, reminding God of the covenant with Abraham and begging for mercy.  God decided to be merciful. 

Moses had promised the people that he would return in 40 days.  When the 40^th day arrived, Moses returned at sunset with the Commandments of God in his hands.  His assistant, Joshua was waiting on him at the foot of the Mountain.  They returned together at the end of the 40^th day after receiving the Revelation of God, just as promised.  When they approached the camp and saw what was taking place Moses threw the tablets of the commandments on the ground in frustration, breaking them into a million shattered pieces.  He took the golden calf and ground it to dust and spread the dust over water and made the people drink it.  This was his way of showing them the worthlessness of their idol and the lack of power it had.  Moses then stood at the entrance of the camp and told everyone who worshipped God to stand with him.  The entire tribe of Levi came. He then commanded those who were of God to slaughter those who had worshipped the golden calf, no matter how important those people were to them.   That day three thousand of the children of Israel lost their lives because of the sin of idolatry.

Moses went back up the mountain and prayed to God for the next 40 days while the people mourned their dead and atoned for their sins before God.  When the 40 days were up God told Moses to hew another set of tablets.  Moses ascended to the mountain a third time for God to inscribe the commandments.  Over the next 40 days God inscribed the commandments and told Moses that He had forgiven the children of Israel.   As Moses stood on the mountain with the commandments in his hands God taught Moses how the people could make atonement for their sins through repentance and prayer.  God proclaimed thirteen attributes for the people to recite in the days of their repentance.  These are a story unto themselves, but you can read of them in Exodus 34:6-7. 

After all of this Moses invited God to go before them and to use them as His people again.  God promised a covenant to Moses.  On the tenth day of the month of Tishrei (Yom Kippur) Moses returned to the camp and brought the commandments and told the people of God’s covenant with them.   God had promised them many blessings and miracles.  Moses’ face shinned so bright that the people were frightened and looked at him in awe.  Moses veiled himself and proceeded to teach the children of Israel the Torah.

Well……I tried to make that explanation as brief as possible, but you can’t leave much out and have the whole story.  Getting back to the reason for the Red Heifer, can you see how this ritual would signify the reversal of the sin of the golden calf? 

There are many mysteries surrounding the thought and ritual of The Red Heifer.  It was originally used to purify the people, especially from the contamination of death.  Death was considered the worst impurity of all impurities, life was considered the most sacred of all pure.  Sin had brought the death of three thousand people.  Think of the form of sin here.  They let others in the culture persuade them of untruth.  Can you see that around us today?  They didn’t just get up one day and decide to be disobedient to God, it seeped in on them from worldly influences.  Are you getting a picture of this now?  Could we in the United States of America be guilty of the sin of idolatry too?  The answer is not hard.  Do we too need to be made pure from the water and ashes of a red heifer?  Well, it did happen.  Just like God was merciful to the People of Israel who followed Him, He has looked down on us today and provided a way for us to be cleansed of the impurity of death from association with the ways of our current culture.  Our Red Heifer came in the form of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 

After years and years of God teaching His people the story in a million different ways, God sent His Only Begotten Son.  The Son of God lived out the story in every aspect of His life on earth.  Can we not look upon His life and see that He was our sacrifice, our salvation, our only hope?  The church stands like Moses and says, you who believe in God come to my side.  Take a stand and live out what you believe no matter how hard the turn may be for you.  You may have to give up some things that are dear to you in order to come out of the world.  The answer though, on the other side of the cross, is life!  Life is worth it all. Eternal life is the final gift of God to His people.  Jesus died that we may live forever.  It is a pardox, much like the paradox of the Red Heifer.

Those who administered the ashes of the Red Heifer had to contaminate themselves outside the camp with the death of the cow.  This made them impure.  In taking on these impurities from death though, they were able to cleanse the people that they served. 

In considering this I think of the people today who have willingly made the sacrifice in risking their own lives to give medical help to those who have possibly fatal diseases, such as the doctors and nurses who have recently been in the news for treating cases of ebola.  I have noted that those who know God and have gone to their jobs with the backing of prayer and the heart of a servant of God have fared much better.  Is this a coincidence?  

Such was the case with our dear Jesus who took on our sins before God on the cross.  Sin is the greatest disease there is.  He took on all of our sin.  He was pure, but he became impure for a time  with our sins on the cross in order to cleanse us from the sin we have brought on ourselves.  

The priests of the temple went through the same ironic service year after year, always teaching in their actions the mercy and justice of God.  Mercy and justice existing together are yet another form of paradox we must consider in this story.

This is only a small sampling of the stories behind the mystery of The Red Heifer.  It is said that the whole Torah can be explained just from this one story.  It contains so much more than man can even begin to understand.  It is all about being obedient and faithful to God even when you do not know or understand what is going on in your circumstances.

The amazing story of The Red Heifer is a wonderful thing to consider as we make our way through a pagan world. 

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 107 WHAT JOSEPH AND CINDERELLA HAD IN COMMON

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

On the long, long journey to and from Israel's funeral, Joseph’s brother’s probably had a lot of time to think about what would happen to them in “life after father.”   

Odd as this sounds; these facts reminded me of Cinderella!  

I recently watched a modern-day version of  the "Cinderella" story.  It was very well done and the production really impressed me.  I loved the way the whole story emphasized the fact that Cinderella learned how to be herself and not try to impress others with false and superficial ways.  She learned not to be a people-pleaser and to require those who loved her to accept her for the beautiful person that she really was. 

 In this particular version of the old fairy tale, I loved how they added so many extra little details about Cinderella's life, including her thoughts.  She too had come to a sad time in her life, just like Joseph in our story today.  They both had lost the father they deeply loved.  Cinderella's  father's death was devastating to her.  It changed her world completely.  It was so similar to Joseph's story in that now there was a whole new set of circumstances for her to live through and many changed relationships that she must now deal with.  These circumstances were not easy.  She bravely faced the hard changes with love and courage.  She would miss her father so much!  Nothing would ever be the same again.  I could not help but think of Joseph.

Because they had stayed with their father and done everything the way he wanted basically so they could live underneath his blessings, Joseph’s brothers were now were living at the mercy of the hand of Joseph.  They were foreigners and strangers, living in a foreign land, much like Cinderella’s step-sisters when they had come to live in Cinderella's father's home.  They really had no right to anything in Egypt now, but because of their relation to Joseph, they had come into a rich and rewarding life in that land.  They probably appreciated this about as much as Cinderella's step-sisters.  Until Israel's death they took all of this for granted and simply thought they were entitled, but they surely did not want anything to happen to make them lose the blessings they had gained.

Joseph’s brothers depended on Joseph’s heavily blessed provision from God to survive.  Joseph had shared all he owned freely with them, holding back nothing.  They couldn’t take it all from him like Cinderella’s step family did, because Joseph had grown very powerful in the land; but they needed some type of reassurance that Joseph would always continue providing. They were very afraid of losing this easily gained good fortune that they had not worked a day in their lives for.

 

They knew Joseph had said long ago that they were forgiven, and he had never shown signs of holding a grudge against them for the way they had wronged him, but now; since Israel had died, they wondered if Joseph would become bitter and remember how they had treated him.  

Would he realize how different life could have been and might still be if none of their terrible evil deeds had ever happened and he had grown up in the land of Canaan knowing the constant love of his father and his other relatives?  

Maybe they had even  seen Joseph showing his two Egyptian sons the special places associated with his childhood days in the land of his birth during the time of Jacob’s funeral.  Perhaps they had seen a longing in Joseph's eyes that frightened them as he thought of “what could have been?”

  

The weaker brothers became very afraid of their grieving brother, and they decided to take action based upon their fears.  They all got together and sent word to Joseph asking him to consider that their father had requested before he died that Joseph forgive the wrongs they had committed against him. They knew Joseph would never question his father's last wishes.  

When Joseph received this message, he sat down and wept.  

At this point in our story, one cannot help but think of the shortest verse of the bible; that verse of just two little words: “Jesus wept.”  Joseph must have suffered a sadness similar to the sadness that Jesus felt as he looked upon those that he loved, yet he knew they had betrayed him in their weakness and in their humanity.  He loved them so much; yet they had hurt Him.  They had broken his heart.

The stinging tears of Joseph might have also been over a lot of the things he had lost; his father, the goodness of faithful brothers growing up, his home, the wasted years he had spent in prison for false acquisitions, the fact that his own sons did not really know the people that were his ancestors.  So much must have come to mind at the time and  many things such as this must have given Joseph great sadness and he wept.  

 As he wept, he must have prayed.  

Can’t you imagine Joseph talking to God as he was weeping and asking Him how all of this could be?  I’m sure his prayers were full of emotions and questions.   Even in his questions, it seems he trusted God to provide whatever answers he needed.  He did not lean on his own understanding.  He waited on God to guide him.  

At some point he came to himself and felt the peace of God within.  God must have spoken to him; because it is evident in the way he once again handled the very underhanded treatment of his brothers.  I say “underhanded” because it is clear that the brothers were acting out of fear and not really telling the truth.  

Of course Joseph’s father had wanted him to forgive his brothers, and Israel must have known in his heart that Joseph had already done this long ago.  Joseph had spent many days with Israel as he lay suffering and dying and if Israel had been concerned about how Joseph was going to treat his brothers he would have spoken directly to Joseph at that time, not his brothers.  Anyone reading Jacob’s last words to his sons would have realized this.  The brothers were simply fearful of Joseph’s power, and they were very full of their own terrible guilt.   They had carried it around with them unconfessed  for so many years, and now they simply could not let it go.  It had become a part of them.

Perhaps many of Joseph’s tears fell simply from the fact that he knew his brother’s own sins would always keep him from having a proper brotherly relationship with them, no matter what Joseph did to reassure them or mend the past.  Even if one party forgives, if the other party can't let go of their sin and move ahead, there is a block on the growth of the relationship and it will never mature and grow into what was originally intended.  

After he composed himself Joseph sent for his brothers.  

Can’t you see them coming before him trembling in fear, almost as much as that first day when they found out who he really was as he had revealed his true identity to them years ago in Egypt?

 They came and threw themselves at Joseph’s feet.  

“We are your slaves!”  they said to him.  

I’m sure a very old vision from the dreams of a young shepherd boy in a brightly colored coat must have flashed through Joseph’s mind when this happened.  Joseph had seen his dream from God come true several times now.  His brothers were bowing down to him, just as he had dreamed when he was a boy and they had made fun of him.  This flash-back to the past and remembering the dream probably also reminded Joseph that God was in the circumstances.  All of the details leading up to that moment of the dream coming true had been in God's control all along.  

 

And Joseph’s heart turned to the place of the peace of His Great God.  

“Don’t be afraid” he said to them, “Am I in the place of God?”

In other words, Joseph knew the only way judgment should ever be given was from the hand of God.  He knew in his heart he must totally forgive his brothers, no matter how hard it was for him in the flesh.  Joseph decided right then and there the proof of that old, old scripture so often repeated from Romans 12:19 (written way after the days of Joseph) “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.”

True forgiveness never involves revenge or judgement.  Only God may judge and only God can declare people guilty.  Joseph got that.  He realized that God's perspective was the only true perspective.   In spite of all they had done to him, and in spite of the fact that most likely they were again telling him a lie, Joseph forgave his brothers; completely and unconditionally, without restitution or repayment.

 

He did not overlook what they had done.  He agreed with their confession of their wrong.  They confronted one another and spoke of the facts together.  They did not sweep everything under the rug, but they talked the matter out and they came once again to the final conclusion that Joseph would overlook and forgive the wrongs that they had committed against him.

The forgiveness didn’t come because the brothers had fallen on their faces and begged, or because they had admitted their wrong and apologized.  Joseph wasn’t stupid.  He could clearly see this wasn’t a sincere apology, but only one brought in fear.  Had they not been afraid of the power that Joseph held over them, would they have even bothered?  Chances are slim to none.  Maybe some of them; but not all of them.  Joseph knew this but Joseph’s eyes were not on the humans who stood before him.  Joseph’s eyes were right where they had always been and right where they would always stay; fixed on God. 

Based on the spirit Joseph gained from listening to God, emptying his heart to Him and being obedient to God’s every word, Joseph explained his actions to his surprised and grateful brothers.  Joseph recognized in his life what so many selfish thinkers miss:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives!”

Had all of the circumstances of Joseph's life not happened the way they did the people of Egypt as well as the people of Israel would have starved to death.  God could have changed this in any way He chose to do so, but He decided to work through Joseph.  

God had shown Joseph the big picture.  Only God can do this, because only God sees the big picture.  This is because He is outside of time and we are inside of time.  We have tunnel vision; He has eternal vision.  His perspective is accurate, and ours is often shortsighted.  We do well to let God’s glasses do the looking for us in matters that are very important, such as this one was to Joseph.

For Joseph this was a moment of truth.  It was the realization of the culmination of all of his life's purpose.  He had matured so much in his walk with God that he didn't need dreams anymore.  Joseph had eyes to see.  God had opened them and he understood so far beyond the others living around him.  Things like this happen when your eyes are focused in the right place instead of worshiping yourself and the things of the world.  Joseph saw a glimpse, in these circumstances, of what Jesus saw on the cross.  He saw the end of the story; the one where God brings all bad circumstances around to work together for good.  Joseph had held on through it all and now he possessed within himself the greatest power and capacity that is possible from the human heart, that of unconditional love and forgiveness.

 

And so he told his brothers not to be afraid, that he would continue to bless them and provide for them.  As so often happens in this world, a whole newly forming nation was blessed from the goodness of one man’s heart toward God.

The people living in that day have long left the earth and gone into eternity, but if you could go back in time and talk to anyone from that day who lived in close proximity to this band of foreign brothers, they would tell you that Joseph was a lot like Cinderella.  He was one who always showed courage and kindness.

So my friends, the story of Joseph as well as the long walk through the Book of Genesis in this study is drawing to a close.  We will have one more lesson with a summary, but I will simply ask you every time you think of Joseph to remember Cinderella’s mother’s words to her; “be kind and have courage and you will do well.”  Joseph did!  


True kindness and courage can only come from God. 

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!