Pedigree or Legacy?

And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.

 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which [are] in the land of Gilead. And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.

Judges 10:1-5

The book of Judges is a gut wrenching book. It chronicles the spiritual struggles of national Israel. They are seemingly trapped in a cycle of mediocre success and dismal failure. When they turn from serving God, God withdraws his blessing from them. Their enemies overtake them. Then they are oppressed. They cry out to God. He delivers them. They live in peace and prosperity, and then they backslide into idolatry again.

Now, certainly many of the judges that we read about in this book are themselves severely flawed characters, and we know most of them by their failures as much as their successes.

These two judges, however, are different. We actually know very little about them, which probably means they are the two most successful of all of the judges.  Good times are good to live in, but they don’t make for very interesting history.

I. The first judge is Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo.

We know he defended Israel.
We know who his daddy was.
We know who his grandfather was.
We know he was from the tribe of Issachar.
We know he lived in Shamir of Mt. Ephraim.
We know he judged Israel for 23 years.

II. The second man is Jair.
We know he was from Gilead.
We know he judged Israel 22 years.
We know he had 30 sons who rode 30 donkeys and ruled 30 cities.

III. The Similarity. These men each governed successfully for a little more than 20 years.

IV. The Difference. Tola was known by his pedigree, Jair by his legacy.

There is nothing wrong with a good pedigree. In fact, the Bible says:

Pro 22:1-2   A [good] name [is] rather to be chosen than great riches, [and] loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD [is] the maker of them all.

Pro 27:10   Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not…

But a good legacy is better:

Psa 127:3   Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.

While your good legacy may very well involve rearing a family that will be about the Kingdom of God, that legacy may also reach well beyond the walls of your own home.

For instance:

• Elijah acted as a father figure to Elisha who then in turn became a mentor to a group of young men known as “the sons of the prophets”.
• Jesus spent over 3 years teaching his disciples the things of the kingdom.
• Titus 2 tells us that the “aged women” are to “teach the younger”.
• Barnabas mentored Paul and Mark (and probably others) who did great things for God.

There is absolutely nothing you can do about your pedigree. It is what it is. (The truth is, even those who brag about their family tree have probably pruned a few branches first.)  

You can however do something about your legacy.  It is unlikely that any of us will ever have thirty flesh and blood son's like Jair, but we can certainly have a positive life altering impact on the lives of thirty people. Make a legacy, my friend, and impact your world for Christ.

Jesus Strikes Back...

I have simplified this as best I can. It may still be a bit tedious, but I think it will be worth it.

    The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record the baptism and temptation of Jesus. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that he immediately left the Jordan River after his baptism to spend forty days fasting in the Judean Wilderness. At the end of those forty days Satan came to him to  tempt him.

    The first temptation overcome by Jesus was a challenge by Satan for Jesus to use his divine power to satisfy the desires of his own flesh; that is, to transform stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. In the second, Satan took him to the pinnacle of the temple and (using a misquotation of scripture) challenged Jesus to throw himself from the top of the Temple and land safely at the base. In the third temptation, Satan shows Jesus all of the Kingdoms of the World and offers to surrender them all to him in exchange for one thing that Satan wants above all else; that is, worship.

    The Gospel of John is the most unique of the four gospel accounts. We sometimes use chapter one as an account of Jesus baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit. Technically it is not. It is a record of John the Baptist's dialogue with priests and Levites about his role in the kingdom of God. In this dialogue John the Baptist is recounting  the baptism of Jesus which had occurred a few weeks prior. The next day, after this dialogue, Jesus returns and John the Baptist makes a public proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah.

Here is what I find so interesting.

    In the wilderness Jesus repelled the temptations Satan brought to him, and upon his return Jesus begins a counter attack against Satan in the very same venues in which Satan had declared war.

 Counter attack #1: Transformation

   Three days after Jesus has returned from his wilderness experience he is at a marriage in Cana of Galilee. It is here that he performs his first miracle: he transforms water into wine...not privately for himself but publicly for the benefit of others. This act manifests his glory and causes his growing band of disciples to believe on him. There is no mention that he prayed over the water. There is no mention of the Father or the Spirit in this passage. This was an autonomous divine action by the Son of God.

Counter attack #2: The Temple

    A few days later he attends the Passover in Jerusalem. He enters the Temple and promptly throws the merchants and their livestock out. This marked his entrance into Jerusalem (and particularly the Temple).   His zeal for holiness is unmistakeable. His entrance is not self aggrandizing, rather, he openly chastises the merchants for polluting the house of the Father.

Counter attack #3: Nature of the Kingdom

    The third item of interest come from the next chapter, John chapter 3. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, a young ruler named Nicodemus comes to him by night to consult with him. Jesus immediately reads his heart and begins to discuss with him the nature of the Kingdom of God, and emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1. Bread and wine are both symbols/types of the suffering of Christ. Satan tried to corrupt these symbols, Jesus reinforced them.

2. Satan tried to turn the Temple into a circus and Christ into a clown. Jesus cleansed the temple, and left the resurrection as his calling card.

3. Satan bargained with the kingdoms of the earth in an attempt to elevate himself. Jesus reveals the depth of the sacrifice of the Godhead so that he might give men the key to the Kingdom of God.

The wilderness temptations were not solely and attack on the Son of God, they were an attack by Satan on the Godhead as a whole. Notice the emphasis on each person of the Godhead in the progression of events. The Son, the Father and the Spirit are all emphasized in turn.

Additional thoughts...

...on throw yourself from the pinnacle

The challenge here was to make a spectacle of himself in the temple by doing something supernatural, and in essence trade his mission of salvation for a carnival act.

...on worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms.

Essentially Satan was offering Jesus a way around the cross. In exchange however Satan would be allowed to exalt his throne to the level of Godhood. by the very act of worship, Jesus would have been acknowledging Satan as a superior . [cf. Isaiah 14:12-14].

...on John 3.

 It is in this dialogue that the much quoted John 3:16 occurs (for God so loved the world...etc.), but we also see that in this passage the wilderness experience is still very fresh on his mind, for he says,

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." [John 3:14-16]

I, for one, have enjoyed this study. Hopefully it will inspire you as well. Blessings.

No "rights" are granted under the Constitution!

Here's the thing...

I frequently hear people say something to this effect: "The Constitution gives us the right to free speech."
-Or the right to assemble.
-Or own a gun.
-Or any of the other rights we enjoy and try so hard to defend.

There is a problem with these statements.

The Constitution doesn't give you the right to do anything, nor does it claim to.

The Constitution (and more specifically, the Bill of Rights) is not a document by government that grants goodies to the subjects.  It is a document formed by representatives of the people to define the role and method of a common (or federal) government.

The Constitution does not grant rights. Instead it is an enumeration of naturally existing rights on which government is not allowed to infringe.

Go back a few years before the Constitution and you will find another document we call "The Declaration of Independence".  In their complaint against the King of England, the representatives of the colonies are accusing the king of being a bully and violating the terms of their charters. He has failed to perform the basic functions of government and has used government as a tool of oppression rather that for the "common good."

The basis for their complaint is found in the following line. It is a line I hope you have committed to memory...

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

There did you see it? Rights are not granted by government. They are granted by a Creator.

Now, back to the Bill of Rights. While the Bill of Rights itself does to specify the origin of rights, it does specify to whom they belong. We are quick to quote the first and second amendments. We all know about freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom to lawfully assembly, and the right to keep and bear arms.

Perhaps we should look a little beyond those and commit to memory amendments nine and ten as well. They are not quite as poetic, but they are very important.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Have a great Independence Day!

--Tony