Cooler (high 80’s instead of
triple digits) and windier – while the temperature, itself, isn’t so hard on the
plants, the wind can be, it dries out the plants and the ground at these
temperatures.
I would never make it as a
farmer. It is hard and difficult work
and so much depends on the weather as well as the skill and intelligence of the
farmer. I have none of these
abilities.
Carla loves working in the
garden, though. She loves ‘playing in
the dirt.’ When the store calls for her,
I no longer say she is in the garden – or in the north or west 40 – I just say she is playing
in the dirt and they know what I mean.
Her garden is looking good,
tomatoes plants (to me the critical plants) are doing well as are her other
veggies. I am looking forward when we
can start canning once again – and of course that greatest sandwich of all –
Bacon, TOMATO FRESH FROM THE GARDEN and Swiss cheese on sourdough bread. My mouth is watering already!
Ezra
2:1 Now these are the children of the
province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried
away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and
came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his
city;
Probably the most ‘boring’
chapters in the Bible are those that list genealogy. Except for an occasional name we are familiar
with, most of these people bring neither significance nor application to us as
Christians.
The one that does concern us,
only because it reaffirms who Christ is, is His genealogy; and even that is seldom
read, just referred to as one of the basis of His confirmation as the
Christ.
It is good history for the Jews,
so they can link their heritage with themselves, but the rest of us have little
interest.
I must confess, I pretty much
skim over these parts of scriptures.
Most of these people are only mentioned in these verses, most have no
real impact on me as a Christian.
While it is nice to know my
ancestors and obviously their genes swim in my body, who they were is really not
important to me. I am a product of them,
but I am me. I didn’t get positions or
jobs by the family name, it was by my own endeavors (and of course God’s
assistance.) No one really cares about
my lineage.
Teresa will be taking a trip to
France this summer. She has made contact
with my grandmother’s relatives and will be staying with them for a day or
two. She promises to take photos for me
of the farm Grandma grew up on – that interests me, but not a compelling thing I
feel I must have.
My children have and are doing
what they do, only in a small part because they are great grandchildren of
someone. Their grandparents, aunts and
uncles, and Carla and I had impact on their lives, only in as much as how they
were raised.
Their employers and their
friends don’t really care who their ancestors were – it is who they are that is
important.
With those feelings in mind,
genealogy really means very little to me.
However, as I read these this
morning, I realized several things:
First, God cares enough about
the Jewish people that He numbered them, and often their charges, using these
genealogies throughout His Word:
Ezra 2:64-67 The whole
congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and
threescore,
65 Beside their servants
and their maids, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and
seven: and there were among them two hundred singing men and singing
women.
66 Their horses were seven
hundred thirty and six; their mules, two hundred forty and
five;
67 Their camels, four
hundred thirty and five; their asses, six thousand seven hundred and
twenty.
And Jesus reaffirmed that God
cares enough for us to know who we are because He loves us:
Luke 12:6-7 Are not
five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before
God?
7 But even the very hairs
of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than
many sparrows.
Second, this is significant
because it shows we have a God who cares, not some entity that doesn’t care.
We look at large corporations
today. They may have several thousand
stores in their company. They have tens
of thousands of people working for them.
The president and other top executive have no idea of who the people are,
they are just numbers.
Oh, there are names listed, but
to the top people that isn’t important.
What is important is that the corporation makes money and the people do
their jobs.
That is not to say that the
people are not recognized for doing a good job, it is just that in this vastness
of people the president can identify very few.
The same can be said of the
federal and state governments the elected officials cannot begin to know very
many government employees – not to mention taxpayers.
We are faceless numbers, counted
only in as much as that we are here.
Not so with God, He names the
people, He knows who we are and loves us despite our imperfections.
Ezra 2:52
These sought their register among those that were reckoned
by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put
from the priesthood.
Third, those that are His chosen
people can be separated. It is extremely
important that the priesthood be pure and from the lineage of Aaron.
It affirms that importance of
the priests in being advocates for the people.
It affirms the value God has placed on His Word; He didn’t modify it so
others could gain this position even though the population may grow, or such as
in this case have been reduced in numbers – His standards for the priesthood
remain.
His priests must be obedient to
His Word, in their heritage and hearts; they were the means for the people to
gain forgiveness from Him. They prepared
and sacrificed the gifts from His people to God. Purity of lineage was not only important, it
was commanded; it was the only means by which priests were able to have the
position.
Luke
12:8 Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall
confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels
of God:
Most Christians trace our
beginnings to Jesus. We were not
privileged to be one of God’s chosen people.
To be sure, as in days that Christ and His Apostles walked the earth,
there are Jewish Christians. But most of
us are not of that lineage.
EXCEPT, our beginnings in Jesus
is because and a direct result of His direct ancestor David – His ancestors, now
become our ancestors as we are adopted children of God, through Him.
As God demanded that the priests
purify themselves before coming to Him, He demanded that the sacrificial lamb
that would become our Savior, advocate and priest, also was perfect – more so
because He is the only sacrifice God will now accept to forgive man’s sin.
People matter to our God. He didn’t just create the world and say you
are on your own. He gives Himself to all
that will accept Him.
He guides those that have
accepted His Son, through the Holy Spirit, as we go about our daily lives.
He knows who we are, He knows
our capabilities, He knows our weaknesses, He knows our heart, He knows what we
are, He knows US.
So, now, as I read the lists of
people in the Bible, I view it as proof that God knows us and He cares for us –
just as He did for each of those people thousands of years ago.
Later, Art :-)
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