Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: shepherd

  • The Gardener, the Shepherd and the Hunter: a shepherd

    The Gardener, the Shepherd and the Hunter: a shepherd

    Once upon a time there was a man named Kahyin Smith. (His friends called him Cain, a nickname long forgotten since his time near the beginning.)

    Now I know that if you think back to ACT 1, SCENE 1 or most recently SCENE 2 of our story that you might think of Cain in Moses’ story. I mention this not only because we will momentarily continue with ACT !, SCENE 3, but in keeping with our LINE of thought,

    I’d like to ask you a question:

    IN the beginning..

    Do you think that ‘Once upon a time..’ mirrors Moses’ story ‘IN THE BEGINNING’ in some way?

    Please add your ANSWER to a COMMENT at the end of any of these SCENES.

    Continuing with SCENE 3 of our Story:

    Now Abel was a keeper of flocks..

    So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground.

    Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering; but for Cain and his offering He had no regard..

    Does Cahyin know that Heḇel made an offering that the LORD accepts while this brother of his worked even harder EVERY DAY as a farmer cultivating the soil full of weeds and thistles, I wondered?

    I struggled to keep my eyes covered to keep out so many pictures of this world. And without me saying a single word, my Guide answered me with a question of his own.

    Why would it make any difference to you if one brother’s offering is better than the other’s OR if either brother knows about the offering of the other?

    Hmmm.. I had not considered that they may not have had just one place to make their offerings. Since Cain worked the farm while Able wanders the fields as a ‘keeper of sheep..’ maybe goats.. and other creatures roam the earth too.., I wondered; then I asked my Guide,

    But even if they worshiped at the same stone altar, how would they know if God accepted either offering? Could both brothers see the LORD?

    Look closer.. What do you see?

    Two men approaching each other from a distance.

    It seems to be the end of a day — twilight — and a stone altar stands at the edge of one field and also near a field — I think it’s wheat — the one coming from a partially cultivated field behind him has an armful of early, small stalks.

    And he seems to have some tinder, like thistles and dry stocks, too. (It must be to start a fire.)

    Do YOU see the LORD?

    I hear a young lamb in the arms of the shepherd as he also approaches the altar of sacrifice.

    I don’t see anyone else.

    .. And do you hear His Voice?

    I looked back on the scene then listened.. But now the scene had quickly progressed and both men had reached the altar.

    I could hear a quick crackling of dry branches and thistles burning away in an instant.. then a low roar of burning fat as the fire brightened where the slain lamb had been laid..

    And a bright smoke rose into the darkness from the sacrifice of the lamb, while the fire faded into coldness where so many thistles and an unripened harvest had been lain so hastily.

    Do you hear His Voice?

    YES!

    The LORD’s Voice sounds in my own hearing like a Fatherly rebuke of a child who has done something he shouldn’t have.

    “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy?

    “If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door;

    and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

    Genesis 4:6-7 NASB20 – :וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה

    a change of Scene..

    And Cain talked with Abel his brother..

    Genesis 4:8a KJV

    What do you suppose Cain said? (I couldn’t hear his words.)

    AND What words do you think Cain and Abel had in their conversation of our NEXT Scene?

    Synopsis (so far)

    I’m going to have to leave our story right here for now.

    So far: I had discovered that the garden near Eden was not exactly paradise. And you must realize by now that Cain was a Gardener, and just now that his brother Abel was a Shepherd.

    NEXT: We will meet a hunter. (Any guesses who?)

    Don’t forget to COMMENT on Moses’ IN THE BEGINNING compared to ONCE UPON A TIME..

    The Gardener, the Shepherd and the Hunter

    Roger Harned, Christian Author

  • Who will keep watch at the gates?

    Who will keep watch at the gates?

    From the Watchtower

    Are YOU a watchman on the watchtower of Scripture given by God?

    Does your Shepherd preach TRUE Scripture without distortion?
    Note from Doctrine of the Bible: 
Some contemporary ‘translations’ of the Bible are *biased against true Scripture and do NOT actually translate Scripture from the original Hebrew and Greek. *Examples of Anti-Trinitarian bias of the NWT (New World Translation) of the Jehovah Witnesses cult

    (Don’t be misled by that Watchtower of the cult which denies Christ Jesus by twos and distorts Scripture.)

    Is your Pastor a Gatekeeper of Scripture?

    Scripture reveals TRUE identity of the approaching enemy as well as the True Shepherd and faithful shepherds of the sheep of the Lord.

    The Gatekeeper Determines: ‘Who may enter the gate?’

    Speaking of gates.. (see yesterday’s post) .. Last year in 2020 I wrote mostly from John’s Gospel. And from the scene of Jerusalem we took a look at gates and watchtowers. Today our examples teach from both Old Testament & New Testament Scripture. Apply the imagery of these gatekeepers and watchtowers to your church.

    IF ANY may enter, expect wolves to be hidden among the flock which claims to be ‘the Lord’s.

    It was common practice of the people, including shepherds leading sheep for the slaughter of the sacrifice, to travel here from far away hills and trade within Jerusalem’s walls. Then they worshiped within the courts of their Temple, surrounded by walls of watchmen.

    The gatekeeper is much more than a ticket taker, so to speak, a man of authority.

    from “The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds – Part 1

    Scriptures

    2 Samuel 18-19

    “This one also is bringing good news.”


    So it appears, but is he?

    Ezra 1:2

    Hebrews 3

    Nehemiah 2,4,11 (excerpts)

    1 Chronicles 9

    Isaiah 60

    His watchmen are blind,

    All of them know nothing.

    All of them are mute dogs unable to bark,

    Dreamers lying down, who love to slumber;

    And the dogs are greedy, they are not satisfied.

    And they are shepherds who have no understanding;

    They have all turned to their own way,

    Isaiah 56:10-11a NASB

    Original talkofJESUS.com post

    The Gatekeeper & the Shepherds
    From March 7, 2020 – Part 1 – TOPIC: Gatekeeper – [Part 2 linked in Comment]
    Summer Reruns! with picture of sun wearing sunglasses
    Summer 2021 AD {Scriptural} Reruns
    • CLICK “…Continue reading ” above,
    • THEN Ask a question or comment at the end of this post
    • OR email Roger@talkofJesus.com with your reaction, questions & comments.

    Stay tuned from more Summer of 2021 Reruns from talkofJESUS.com

    (ditto: Summer 2022 – more to come)

  • The Beginning of the End – A Burden of the Prophets – 3

    The Beginning of the End – A Burden of the Prophets – 3

    I don’t understand what is going on. Who will tell us?

    Earthquakes, fires, famines, rulers we never thought would come to power… What is going on?

    It’s an age-old question. A king’s messengers may proclaim his threats, but who can the faithful believe? Only a true prophet of the Lord. And many have claimed their own messages falsely. Even now lies live in the deceitful hearts of evil men.

    In case you missed the beginning of our Advent series:

https://talkofjesus.com/beginning-end-prophets-1/ ‎
https://talkofjesus.com/beginning-end-prophets-2/ ‎

    We have only briefly spoken of the Prophets, so far focusing on Jeremiah in the 7th century before Christ; however now we return to the 8th century B.C. during a specific time at the beginning of the end of Israel and later Judah. Many have only heard of Isaiah, whose prophesies confirm Christ as part of our annual Gospel readings of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, the Messiah.

    The prophesies of Amos warn the shaken residents of lands facing destruction around 1750 B.C., including Israel and its neighboring countries.

    Amos 1:

    The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

    You have heard of it from this same proximity:

    And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. – Luke 2:8 KJV

    Only Amos, a keeper of sheep in these same hills lived not only prior to the nativity of Christ, but even before the fall of Israel and Judah.

    The LORD gave the prophet Amos powerful words which accurately predicted the fates of Israel and her neighbors.

    Yet even as in these last days, only a remnant of the faithful would listen and be saved.

    A true Prophet is no popular leader, only a messenger of the LORD

    Amos 7:

    12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

    14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.

    15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.

    The Destruction of Israel

    As messenger of the LORD, Amos continues warnings through his unpopular visions [Chapter 9]:

    I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:

    “Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,
    and shatter them on the heads of all the people;
    and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
    not one of them shall flee away;
    not one of them shall escape…

    8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
    and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
    except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
    declares the Lord.
    9 “For behold, I will command,
    and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
    as one shakes with a sieve,
    but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
    10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
    who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

    In the two years preceding the earthquake (around 750 B.C.) Amos warns kings of Israel and Judah of the consequences of their sin. He speaks against their surrounding kingdoms as well. The coming disasters are the judgment of the Lord. It will surely come.

    Did it happen?

    Look to the timeline of Prophets and you will see that it did. A century before Amos, Elijah and Elisha had challenged evil kings and queens like Ahab and Jezebel of the northern kingdom. By the close of the 7th century B.C. Israel would exist no more. Only Judah would survive; and that, only for a brief time.

    Is there no hope?

    “The Lord roars from Zion,” we hear not only from Amos, but also the prophet Joel in Judah. The destruction would seem to be both certain and complete.

    And yet, the Lord always speaks hope to those who will listen to His true Prophets.

    Amos 9:

    11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old…

    A booth is a temporary shelter, rather than the golden palatial place of worship built by Solomon. Here the Lord promises repair after punishment. Yet from the house of David generations will pass, hundreds of years until the promised king is born into a manger in a captive Judea.

    Amos 9:

    14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
    and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
    they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
    and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

    15 I will plant them on their land,
    and they shall never again be uprooted
    out of the land that I have given them,”
    says the Lord your God.

    Amos: His name means “Burden,” and he is called the prophet of righteousness. His home was at Tokea, a small town of Judea about twelve miles south of Jerusalem…

    Generations, the voices of many prophets, centuries and even a time of silence would all pass before the coming of the Messiah and hope of Israel.

    To be continued..

     

    Until He comes