REVERE YOUR MOTHER

Leviticus 19 might seem to be an unlikely passage for Mother’s Day, but if we look closer it has a powerful message.

This chapter reiterates most of the Ten Commandments, adding comments and elaborations.  It is in this chapter that we find what Jesus called the second greatest commandment: “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 18).  Verse 34 says that we are also to love the “stranger” as ourselves.  In verse 3, we have a curious expression of the Fifth Commandment:

Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.

The first thing that strikes me is the reversal of word order from that of Exodus 20:12.  In Leviticus 19, God puts “mother” first!  When speaking of honor for parents, only this verse and Leviticus 21:2 place the mother before the father.  If it was intended for nothing else than to catch our attention, we should give it some. 

The second word I notice is “reverence” (NASB).  The Hebrew word is translated  “revere” in the English Standard Version and the New King James Version, and “fear” in the King James Version.  The word means to have deep respect and honor for someone.  Now here’s the surprising part: It is the same word that is used in verse 14 with reference to God!  Most translations obscure this connection by translating the same word with different English words.  The New American Standard Bible keeps the connection closer by using “reverence” in v. 3 and “revere” in v.14, two words that virtually mean the same thing.  The King James and the New King James translate it “fear” in both verses.

The point is, that reverence or profound respect for one’s mother has a lot to do with reverence and respect for God.

The Bible gives us clear guidelines for showing respect for our mother.

I.                Show an obedient attitude toward your mother.  (Ephesians 6:1-3)

Children and young people need to develop an attitude of respect and to learn how to make godly appeals to parents.  Parents are human and their judgment is not always perfect. Yet a child can appeal respectfully to parents and abide by their decision.  Daniel used respectful appeal regarding his diet in Babylon (Daniel 1:8-16).  Abigail used godly appeal to keep David from executing murderous rage (1 Samuel 25:23-33).  Attitude is all important! 

II.              Respect your mother’s counsel.

  

Even when we are grown and out of our parents’ house, we can still respect their counsel, and in doing so, we show reverence for God.   

Prov. 23:22—“Listen to the father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”

III.            We can care for them when they are old and infirm.

 Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day because they, in the guise of honoring God, were nullifying God’s commandments.

And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"' (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."  (Mark 7:9-13)

Finally,

IV.            We can honor their memory with a godly life.

Even after our mothers have gone on to eternity, we can honor them by living a life that they would be proud of.  Regardless of our failures up to this point, we can still end well.   We can bring honor to the memory of our mothers.

This Mother’s Day, let us meditate on our biblical responsibility to honor our mothers, and thus honor and revere the God who gave them.

A NEW LOOK AT OLD PROPHECIES

I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.  – John 5:43

Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. – Matthew 24:15-16

But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. – Mark 13:14

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. "Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. "Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  – Luke 21:20-24

 

Picture this scene:  Jews in Jerusalem are excited about renewed hopes that their beloved temple will be rebuilt.  A powerful world ruler has expressed support for the idea of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem to its former grandeur, and some Jews are taking this also to mean the rebuilding of the temple.  But just as hopes begin to rise, it becomes clear that the city is to be rebuilt and renamed in honor of the ruler’s own family and a shrine erected to his own god.  What’s more, edicts are issued forbidding certain traditional Jewish practices. Outraged Jews gather around a leader who promises to vanquish the ruler’s armies and rebuild the temple.  With the aid of a popular spiritual leader, he gains great support from most Jews, who begin to refer to him as their Messiah.  A three-year war ensues and the armies of the world ruler finally prevail. He orders the pagan shrine to be erected on the temple mount, and all Jews are banished from Jerusalem.

Does this sound like some end-time novel or book on biblical prophecy you have read?  Actually, this all occurred from A.D. 132-135!

Forty-seven years after the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrian acceded to the throne of Rome.  He was a versatile, ambitious man who sought to restore the grandeur of the ancient cities of the Roman Empire.  He rebuilt the Pantheon in Rome, built temples to Venus and Roma.  In Megara he built at temple to Apollo, and in Athens, one to Zeus.  So when, during tours of Egypt and Syria, Hadrian gave orders to rebuild the great city of Jerusalem, some optimistic Jews might have hoped it would include rebuilding their temple, as well.  That was never Hadrian’s plan.  His plan was a new city named Aelia Capitolina, and the shrine was to be devoted to the chief of the Roman gods – Jupiter.

Outraged Jews rallied around an audacious, charismatic leader named Simon ben Kosiba, whom they renamed Bar Kochba (also spelled Bar Kochva), “Son of the Star,” a reference to Numbers 24:17, a Messianic prophecy.  Bar Kochba also referred to himself as N’si Yisrael, Prince of Israel (see Ezekiel 34:24).  Jewish Christians did not support the rebuilding of the temple, and they rejected this revival messiah.  Bar Kochba gathered a large army and received the enthusiastic support of popular Rabbi Akiva, who encouraged the rebellion on religious grounds. 

For a time the rebels prevailed, and it looked like the dream of a rebuilt temple would come true.  Bar Kochba took Jerusalem and erected an altar on the temple mount.  He also began rebuilding the city wall.  Coins were minted in honor of Bar Kochba and the liberation of Jerusalem.  But eventually the Romans committed a total of  twelve legions to Judea, overwhelming the defenders in Jerusalem and capturing Rabbi Akiba.  The rabbi was tortured to death in a most heinous manner.  The remaining Jewish army took refuge in a mountain fortress called Bethar.  When the Roman army, after a year of fighting, finally overran the stronghold, Bar Kochba along with all the Jewish defenders in the fortress, was killed. 

It is estimated that 580,000 Jews were killed during the war, which lasted (According to historian Emil Schürer) three and a half years.  Fifty fortified towns and 985 villages were destroyed.  Historian Ivor J. Davidson describes the aftermath of Bar Kochba’s rebellion:

Jerusalem was rebuilt as a Hellenistic Roman colony and was renamed Aelia Caplitolina, after the family name of the emperor, Hadrian, Publius Aelius Hadrianus, and the god Jupiter, whose temple stood on the Capitoline in Rome; a shrine to Jupiter was dedicated on the site of the former temple.  The city was to be an entirely Gentile place into which, officially, no Jew was permitted to enter.  (See Matt. 24:15-16, Mark 13:14, and Luke 21:24)  The Roman territory of Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina – it was now formally (for the first time, in fact) “Palestine,” named for the Philistines, not the Jews.  Hadrian ordered fierce reprisals against the inhabitants of Judea, destroying hundreds of settlements and slaughtering very large numbers of people – the worst atrocities ever committed against the Jews in the Roman world.

The Jewish Talmud renamed Bar Kochba, Bar Koziba, “Son of the Liar” or “Son of the Deceiver.” 

Just how does all this fit into biblical prophecy?  That’s a bigger subject that I will try to tackle at this point.  But facts are facts, and many of the facts regarding the Bar Kochba Rebellion of A.D.  132-135 look very similar to prophecies Jesus pronounced shortly before going to the cross for our sins.  It is amazing to me that so few Bible commentators and theologians give any attention to this crucial event.  They focus exclusively on A.D. 70 and the destruction of the temple as the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecies, yet that event, terrible as it was, was only the beginning of sorrows for Judea and Jerusalem.

The Bar Kochba revolt, also known as The Third Jewish War, was a definitive turning point in redemptive history.  Jewish Christians, who did not support the revolt, were no longer welcome among the mainstream Jews.  Hostilities solidified.  “The times of the Gentiles” officially began, by Roman decree, and Jerusalem was “trodden down by the Gentiles.” 

What comes next?

WHY THIS WASTE?

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."   (Matthew 26:6-13)

 I have noticed during my nearly 37 years in the ministry, that when a denomination or Christian organization departs from the central message of the Bible – the redemption of lost souls through faith in the Person and atoning sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ – they inevitably turn to social concerns and “humanitarian” efforts.  Whole bureaucracies within the denomination are formed for such endeavors as “world relief” and “human rights advocacy”. 

 This shift in ministry emphasis in America began in 19^th-century and led to the coining of the term “Social Gospel”.  Seeing the misery very evident around them, Christians sought to relieve the effects of poverty and disease while maintaining their primary evangelistic mission.  Protestant denominations who held firmly to the Bible and its message of personal salvation believed that only spiritual regeneration through faith in Christ could make a lasting difference in society as a whole.  These used social relief efforts as a means of sharing the gospel.  Hospitals, clinics, schools, and rescue missions were formed with the intention of saving lost souls by means of their physical needs.  The problem is that if churches and Christian missions do not constantly renew their commitment to their Scriptural mission, the “felt needs,” the earthly ills, become the primary focus, and the evangelical mission is lost.

No denomination is immune to this phenomenon.  The pastor and seminary professor who holds the title “The Father of the Social Gospel in America” was Baptist pastor Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918).  His books included, Christianizing the Social Order and A Theology for the Social Gospel.  Baptists who held firm to the gospel of personal salvation would eventually separate from the liberal groups and form their own fellowships.  The same trends were played out – and are still being played out – among Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed churches, Lutherans, and other denominations. 

 Lest I be misunderstood, let me say that Christians must never be callous to suffering and need.  Our willingness to do what we can to help others is a demonstration of our faith in Christ (James 2:14-17) and our love of God (1 John 3:17).  A mission agency with whom I had the privilege of serving for twenty years operates a hospital in Bangladesh.  The ministry of that hospital has resulted in scores of conversions to Christ and the founding of a local church.  Reports from that field always put the emphasis on the spiritual results, not how many patients were seen.  When a devastating tsunami hit Bangladesh in 2004, that mission set up an emergency relief fund and called for volunteers to help administer food and other material needs and to help rebuild the thousands of homes that were destroyed.  God’s people responded, homes were rebuilt, and every penny of the money donated went directly to the relief needs – not to administrative costs!  That mission, and others like it,  have kept their focus on the biblical gospel while responding to immediate needs as they arose – all without forming a new department of “world relief”!

 When that faithful lady in the home of Simon the Leper (!) poured that fragrant oil on the head of our Savior, Jesus’ own disciples protested: “Why this waste?”  They still didn’t believe or understand the real mission of our Lord.  “For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body,” Jesus said, “she did it for My burial.”  She understood that Jesus had to die for our sins, be buried, and rise again that we might have eternal life and a new heart.  That is the gospel.

 Should we not pour out our most precious resources to spread the fragrance of Christ’s gospel of eternal life to a lost world?  Waste?  How many millions of Christian dollars are poured into political action committees and social activist activities?  How much fragrant oil is being wasted on social bandages, while spiritual lepers are eaten away by sin and pass into an eternity in hell?

 

 

A Birthday Fast

I was reading again in the Diary of David Brainerd, and I found this entry for April 20, 1743:

Set apart this day for fasting and prayer, to bow my soul before God for the bestowment of divine grace; especially that all my spiritual afflictions, and inward distresses, might be sanctified to my soul.  And endeavored also to remember the goodness of God to me the year past, this day being my birthday.  Having obtained help of God, I have hitherto lived, and am now arrived at the age of twenty-five years.  My soul was pained to think of my barrenness and deadness; that I have lived so little to the glory of the eternal God.  I spent the day in the woods alone, and there poured out my complaint to God.  O that God would enable me to live to his glory for the future!
 

Most of us prefer a birthday feast, not a fast!  But it was quite consistent with the temperament and holy aspirations of David Brainerd to spend his birthday fasting.  The greatest birthday gift Brainerd could ever have hoped and prayed for was a closer walk with God.  Is that our greatest desire?  Is that our birthday wish when we blow out the candles?

Brainerd would live only four more years, but he would see at least 130 of his beloved Indians come to faith in Christ, and his diary would travel the globe and influence countless Christians for the service of the Lord.  Among those greatly moved by the life and writings of Brainerd were the missionary Henry Martyn and the godly Scottish pastor, Robert Murray M'Cheyne.

Brainerd has also had a profound effect on my life, especially in times of deepest distress.  I am greatly comforted to know that the godly David Brainerd suffered spiritual struggles much like mine, and that God brought him through and used him greatly. 

Lord, renew my resolve to serve You with single-hearted devotion.  Amen.