King of the Trees

One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, 'Be our king.'
"But the olive tree answered, 'Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Next, the trees said to the fig tree, 'Come and be our king.'
"But the fig tree replied, 'Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come and be our king.'
"But the vine answered, 'Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and men, to hold sway over the trees?'
"Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, 'Come and be our king.'
"The thornbush said to the trees, 'If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!' Judges 9:8-15

Can anyone explain this story to me? Are there some deeper layers of meaning that we need to unearth here? I sense that there is a lot to learn from this parable and I have left a little clue to give you a hint about what I am thinking right now... Feel free to share your thoughts with me and my valued blog readers!

Photograph taken this morning in Driebergen - in the garden of the Youth for Christ head quarters in the Netherlands. Maybe you think that this is 'just a tree' - but I was very impressed by it... The giant tree was just too beautiful to ignore! The same could be said about this intriguing parable from the book of Judges. Just wanted to share this with you. Please let me know what you think.

Who is Zechariah talking about?

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Zechariah 12:10

Why don't Christians observe Yom Kippur?

Carol has left a comment on my last blog entry and mentioned the fact that today our Jewish brothers and sisters are celebrating Yom Kippur. Her comment was slightly off-topic, but -as always when Carol has something to say- very thought provoking. I decided to write a special blog post about this subject and I invite you all to join the discussion if you have something to add.

This is what Carol wrote:

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement set out in Leviticus and elsewhere. Traditionally this marks the day Moses received the second set of the Ten Commandments and marks the point at which the Israelites were exonerated for making the Golden Calf (hence the “Atonement”). I’ve always been curious as to why Christians don’t note this observance. I’m sure it has something to do with the idea that we are “free of the Law” (which is in itself somewhat suspect). I’m not set up to observe it; I have to work today, as does Doug. However, I am going to give some thought today to what I have to atone for.

This is what Jews for Jesus have to say about Yom Kippur:

Yom Kippur can be somewhat of a conundrum to Jewish believers in Y'shua. Do we fast and confess our sins like the rest of the Jewish community or do we rejoice in the knowledge that we're forgiven in Messiah? Many Jewish believers view Yom Kippur as a time for identification with our Jewish people, introspection for ourselves and intercession for loved ones, knowing all the while that Jesus is the One that makes us at one with God.

And this is my personal reflection on Carol's comment:

For me, as a publisher, the second set of the Ten Commandments sounds like the first REPRINT ever. But in this case the reprint was not by popular demand but by human disobedience and divine interference. We have a merciful God, a God of second chances!

I've been reading Paul's letter to the Galatians this week - in different translations. I like to read Eugene Peterson's the Message and Rob Lacey's Street Bible - because the old words have a strong impact if you read them in contemporary language. I am not suggesting that we all should replace 'official' bible translations by modern paraphrases, but sometimes there seems to be too much distance between the ancient sacred texts and us, modern readers in 2007. We must also read a letter in one go - not in fragments - if we want to get the whole message...

Paul stressed that we should NOT go back to the old testament rules and regulations, because Jesus has liberated us from the law. He didn't abandon the law, but he fulfilled it by his perfect life, perfect sacrifice and glorious resurrection. Yes indeed, we are FREE of the law. Mind you, God's standard was not replaced, but raised by Jesus! Read Matthew 5 if you want to know the rules and regulations of the new contract. This is not an updated version of the Law, this is the new edition - revealed to us by Jesus who shows us how merciful and loving his Father is!

I think that we can still learn a lot from our Jewish heritage as believers (descendants of Abraham), but there is always this risk of falling back into old patterns, sticking to old rules and trying to add something to what Jesus has completed for us. This is why many Christians stay away from old testament rules and celebrations, I suppose. But in the new testament we can also read that the history of the people of Israel is an example for us (often an example of how NOT to act in disobedience - like with the golden calf).
Read 1 Corinthians 10 if you want to know more about this.

Our day of atonement was the day that Jesus died for all sins of all people of all times. With such a celebration on Good Friday there is no need for a Christian version of Yom Kippur, just like Easter has come to succeed Pesach.

Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Hebrews 7:26-28

This is what Paul teaches us in Romans 3:21-31

"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law."

By the way, don't forget to have a look at Dry Bone's Yom Kippur confession. Yes, may you all be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life! Blessings to all children of faith, all sons and daughters of Abraham.

And if you have some time left, check out this blog entry by Jews for Jesus blogger Chad Elliott.

Follow the Rabbi

There was an old Jewish saying that said to follow a rabbi was to "be covered with the dust of his feet."

I came across an interesting website for people who want to follow Jesus so closely that they are covered with the dust of his feet. Check it out - and don't forget to look at the animated Follow the Rabbi logo! The pic right is not from this site, but it is a bumper sticker that I really like.

"I who speak to you am he"

If you are not afraid of some Bible study... check out or join the discussion that is going on here!

Shaped by the Potter's hand

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel." Jeremiah 18:1-6

The theme for the annual Christian women's conference in Urk was 'Shape Me' - (based on the biblical image of the Potter and the clay). Together with Albert Brouwer, a Christian potter from a place called Tollebeek (near Urk), I was invited to talk about this theme. Recently I wrote a little book about this rich metaphor, focusing on the fact that we are "only" human, but that God can change us from the inside out. Our Creator took the clay of the earth and molded it into the shape He had in mind for us, people. And He still knows that we are made of dust: As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:13,14
We are all work in progress, because God is still molding and shaping us into the image He has in mind for us. That is, if we allow Him to do that, because first we need to surrender to our Maker and we have to be willing to become like clay. If we entrust our lives into God's mighty hands, He will use all of life's circumstances to accomplish his work. The molding of our lives and characters is not a physical, but a spiritual activity and it takes time and patience to finish it. It is also a painful process, because of the fallen state of this world and our disobedience to God. But, if we are willing to be in the centre of God's will (i.e. in the centre of the potter's wheel) He is able to shape us with his loving, powerful hands into the image that He has in mind for us: the beautiful image of His Son, Jesus Christ!

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:44-49

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17.

If you want to know more about my book VORM MIJ (Shape Me), please read this post on my old blog. Links for the book and CD: Ark Boeken and GMI.