River Liffey, Dublin

A few thoughts on prayer and the will of God

        Recently I’ve had several conversations about knowing the will of God. The individuals involved—true Christians—were looking for signs and not really looking for God’s guidelines for choosing “the best”. Later I was amused to read a quotation about Andrew Bonar, about a man looking for signs: “When a man told Bonar he had felt an angel touch him during an illness, Bonar said, “Have you a cat in the house? Don’t you think it may have been the cat?”

        As far as what we should pray for, there are things God has told us—pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for kings and rulers, pray for the salvation of friends and neighbours (and even enemies). We can pray about specifics like a job or a home or a spouse or health. Paul prayed to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed.

        But we can’t make unconditional claims on God or it becomes what I call the eleventh commandment—“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test!” (Deut.6:16) There is a “Christian” book on the market right now that I feel breaks this commandment: The Circle Maker. The blurb says, “When his land was in the grip of a drought in ancient times, Honi Ha’Magel drew a circle in the sand, stepped inside it, and declared that he wouldn’t budge until God sent rain.” It’s less daring than “throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the temple” but it is equally “putting God to the test.” (Mat.4:5-7)

        I’m sure God did send rain eventually but the Scripture quotation that may apply is, God “gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” (Psa.106:15) Something I greatly fear. Even Jesus said, “Not my will but Thine.” We can’t demand things of God or boss Him around. Would we do that to a friend? Would we do that to Jesus? The thought is absurd!     

        Scripture says that the Israelites prayed, but then “didn’t wait for God’s plan to unfold.” (Psa.106:13)  We have to be patient. Here is a suggestion: The next time a difficulty comes up in your life, start journaling it. Record the date and the problem; as events take place, record their dates and details. Follow through until you can say without a doubt, “This is how God’s plan unfolded for me.” Watching God in action, so-to-speak, I’m sure you will be blessed, however it unfolds!   Ì

Michelangelo's Pieta

   Think of the tools necessary to get the body off the cross—a ladder, and a heavy crowbar and spacers, at least, to pull the nails. And loving hands to help hold the body as each nail came out. If you know Michelangelo’s Pieta in the Vatican, it is one of the most heart wrenching scenes imaginable.

Where were the women?

        And where were they not? In the spirit of the name of this publication, this article is a “view”, and we certainly won’t hang any doctrine on it, but it may be interesting to consider the subject. For instance, as the Lord travelled to Jerusalem for that last Passover, Matthew (20:20) tells us that, “the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus.” From there until 26:6, there is no mention of women talking with Jesus unless they were included in the term “disciples”. At this point we read of Mary of Bethany who came with her perfume. Now comes the preparation and eating of the Passover, the last supper, and the institution of the Lord’s Supper—we read in John 13:2 that “the evening meal was being served” (was it by the women?) No women are specifically mentioned and, from Jesus’ actions, it seems very unlikely that any were present. (Maybe the women were in the lower rooms preparing the meal and cleaning up?)

        The time in Gethsemane and the arrest had no women present, and only unbelieving servant girls show up in the courtyard when Jesus is tried by the chief priests. (26:69,71)

        Pilate’s wife is now mentioned (27:19) but Pilate ignores her and gives Jesus over to crucifixion. In the procession to Golgotha we read about “women who mourned and wailed for him.” (Lk.23:27) At the cross Jesus gives his mother into John’s care (John 19:25-27) Finally, at the death of the Lord, we are told that “many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from

Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” (27:55-56) Somehow they had found out where he was (did they have contact with the disciples who ran?) and were at the cross to help and comfort if they could.

        The women must have stayed at the cross long after Jesus gave up his spirit, because when Joseph of Arimathea finally got permission from Pilate and showed up as evening approached, to take down the body, they were there to follow him to the tomb. When Joseph put the body in his new tomb (27:57) we are told, “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.” (27:61)

      “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb...He has risen! He is not here. Mark 16:2-6.

        We might wonder where Mary, the mother of the Lord, was all this time. It seems she may have been overcome with grief and had to leave everything to the younger women. Was Peter’s wife among these women too? In 1 Cor.9:5, Paul implies that (at least in later years) she travelled about with him.

        After all this discussion, we realize that a whole book could be written on this subject. Suffice if for now to say that although men such as Peter or Paul or Timothy might be the face of the gospel, it was women such as Lois and Eunice and Dorcas and Lydia who kept the faith alive in their families through dark decades and centuries.       Ì

Memorial to Thomas Kelly, hymnwriter.

This memorial is at St. Brigid's Church, Ballintubbert, Ireland.

Book Review: True Spirituality

True Spirituality

Schaeffer, Francis A.,

Tyndale House Publishers,

c1971, 2001, 2011

171 pp

 

 

         Back in April, 1971, Francis Schaeffer dedicated this book to his wife, Edith, and his children and grandchildren—eighteen in total. I’ve read most of his books and I consider this one of his very best works—it is a true classic. The subtitle (not in the early editions) is “How to live for Jesus moment by moment.”

Farel House at L'Abri, Huémoz, Switzerland

         I became a bit of a Schaeffer fan in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and even visited L’Abri in Switzerland one clear, bright September Sunday in 1976. Schaeffer himself was away in Italy so his son-in-law, Udo Middelmann preached.

        A great deal of Schaeffer’s work is philosophical and perhaps difficult to follow. This book is right down to earth and practical for Christian living.

  

        In Section I, Freedom Now from the Bonds of Sin (Chapters 1-7), he lays down the very basis of any true spirituality— “It is impossible... to know anything of true spirituality before one is a Christian. And the only way to become a Christian is... by accepting Christ as Savior.” He points out that the very center of the Christian message “is not Christ’s life, nor his miracles, but his death.”



After-service discussions, Farel House



        Schaeffer talks about the order of things—through death to resurrection. Here he starts to use some of his self-coined words, but we can see what he means in context:— for instance “spaceness”, “space-timeness”, “until-ness”, “unfaith”. One detail he strongly points out about Jesus is, “What we see him to be after his resurrection... we shall be.”

 

         Section II, Freedom Now from the Results of the Bonds of Sin (Chapters 8-13), is more difficult to grasp. Schaeffer speaks of “freedom from conscience”, avoiding the equal extremes of “perfectionism”, and “looking lightly at sin in our lives.” He looks at “freedom in the thought-life” because “in relation to morals, the thought is the thing.” Chapters well worth reading look at “substantial healing in personal relationships” and “substantial healing in the Church.”

        At one point, Schaeffer writes in amazement, “How beautiful Christianity is!” We have to agree! And on the next page he says, “God means Christianity to be fun.” True again!

 

 

 

 

                         Snow-capped Alps across the Rhone valley

        Francis Schaeffer was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, January 30, 1912, and passed away May 15, 1984, in Rochester, Minnesota.

        Spin-offs from the whole L’Abri establishment/culture include branches in Canada (Bowen Island, BC), England, the USA, and five other countries. Books include the story of L’Abri by Edith Schaeffer; The Unhurried chase that Ended at L’Abri and A Song from L’Abri, both by Betty Carlson; and currently, Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young (see her comments in the Introduction). Other authors associated with L’Abri over the years have been Udo Middelman and Os Guiness.

Reviewed by Glenn Wilson Ì

How Jesus Treated Little Children

        “People brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” (Mat.19:13-15)

         Jesus said, “You... know how to give good gifts to your children.” Mat.7:11

        Jesus said, “You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” Mat.11:25

        Jesus said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Mat.18:3

        ‘The children [shouted] in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”’ “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise.” Mat.21:15-16

    These Scriptures are very clear in themselves in showing how we should deal with, talk to and generally appreciate children.  In our first passage, the disciples got in the way— the children couldn’t see Jesus. The disciples completely blocked Him off.

        So how do we relate these few thoughts to today’s world and today’s church?  First off, we would have to say that anything we do that blocks a child’s vision of Jesus, is a sin. Do they see us angry? spiteful? rude? unfair? unjust? Do they hear us lie? gossip? be hurtful?

        What should children see in us? The first thing they should see in us is Jesus. We should be easily approachable by them. We should be able to give them “good gifts”, and communicate with them on their level (“become like little children”). After all, they are children, not small adults.

        On the other hand what should we see in them? In some way “the kingdom of heaven belongs” to them. Something has been revealed to them that has been hidden “from the wise and learned.” We want to learn what that is. Finally (in this little study), we see the children praising the Son of David when adults missed Him. It almost seems like the heartfelt singing from a little Cubbie can surpass our best attempts at praise! Ì

Toronto Skyline, August 2, 2013

“People need the Lord”

        I watched a film the other day—a Toronto Film Festival “choice”. Under compulsion, I endured the gloom and loneliness, and the abyss of despair, right to the end. Horrible as the story was, I believe it was true to life in many ways.

        The protagonist is an English literature supply teacher at an inner city high school. He tries to make a difference with a bit of friendship and a listening ear. He tries to give his students some understanding of life through literature, but he specifically picks Poe’s grotesque The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe is also the man who wrote The Raven and The Cask of Amontillado (a story that has haunted me since the day I first read it.)

        If the emptiness is true of humanity at large, then these writers, producers, directors, and actors are accurate; if they are wrong about mankind in general, then they are at least right about an emptiness within themselves; and, ultimately, the film is prophetic of the direction mankind is taking.

        Why would I mention such a subject in a Christian newsletter? There can be only one reason—I came away from the film thinking, “These people need the Lord and they know nothing about Him—He isn’t even mentioned!” But Jesus is their ONLY hope! Scripture says it best: “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1.  

Crossword: Solutions to "A tough little crossword puzzle" in Vol.1, p.182 [or Sep.,2013]

Here are the answers, with references.

Across:

1. MOUNTHERMON (See Google Earth) 

 4. LEFTHANDED—Judges 20:16 

 6. ELISHA—2 Kings 13:21 

 8. ITTAI—2 Sam.15:21 

 10. DANTOBEERSHEBA 

 14. SAUL—1 Sam.10:26 

 16. FIFTY—Num.8:25 

 17. ANAKITES—Gen.6:4; Num.13:33.

Down:

2. NEPHEWS—David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. Amasa was the son of Abigail. 1 Chr.2:15-17 

 3. CHILDREN—Psalm 69:8 

 5. ZERUIAH— 1 Chr.2:15-17 

 7. JEDIDIAH—2 Sam.12:25 

 9. LORD—Jer.20:7 

 11. EPENETUS—Rom.16:5 

 12. EGYPT—1 Kings 8:51 

 13. ABIB or AVIV—Exodus 13:4 

 15. RAHAB—Mat.1:5

A tough little crossword puzzle

Across

1. A ski resort in Israel is located here.

4. In the days of the Judges, there was an army with 700 _____men who could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.

6. The bones of this man raised the dead.

8. The most faithful man from Gath.

10. A “merism” for the entire land of Israel.

14. After his coronation, he went home “accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.”

16. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was under _____ years old.

17. The spies returning from Canaan thought these people were antediluvians.

 

Down

2. Abishai, Joab, Asahel and Amasa were all David’s _____.

3. Psalm 69:8 is prophetic proof that Mary had other _____.

5. David’s (much) older sister.

7. God’s name for Solomon.

9. One of the strangest complaints in the Bible is, “You deceived me, _____.”

11. The first Christian in Asia.

12. The “iron-smelting furnace” that Israel feared.

13. Passover occurred in this month.

15. Ruth’s second mother-in-law.

 

Book Review: The Coming Prince

The Coming Prince

Anderson, Sir Robert

KREGEL CLASSICS

Grand Rapids c1998

Softcover

lviii + 320 pp

 

         Back in May we featured a selection of ten prophecies already fulfilled in Christ. One of the prophecies centred on the exact time of His first coming, and referred to this book so we want to give a summary of Anderson’s conclusions. Much of The Coming Prince deals with various prophecies in the Book of Daniel but the main focus is Daniel’s Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24-26. Note that Anderson’s subtitle for the original edition of this book was The Last Great Monarch of Christendom, referring not to Christ but to Antichrist. Anderson very meticulously goes through the prophecy showing his interpretation of the first 69 weeks, then spells out 69 weeks of years, which come to 173,880 days (based on a 360-day prophetic year). The clock started ticking at “the decree of Artaxerxes, made in his twentieth year, recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8.” Anderson had the Astronomer Royal calculate the date, based on new moons and Passovers, to be March 17, 445 BC and the 173,880 days brought him to April 6, AD 32, the very day Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna!”

        This book corroborates the accuracy of Daniel’s prophecy, whether you date it to Daniel’s time of   about 555 BC or accept the modernist date of only about 167 BC. Over the last 140 years, The Coming Prince has become a classic in Bible prophecy. It was validated by such preachers as Herbert Lockyer, F.A.Tatford, John Walvoord, and Alva McClain. It was quoted in great detail as an authoritative reference by J.Dwight Pentecost in 1958 in his own classic—we might almost say definitive— work, Things To Come. Again, in 1988, Anderson’s work was quoted multiple times in Unger’s Bible Dictionary from Moody Press.

        Robert Anderson was born in Mountjoy Square, Dublin in 1841, and later described himself as “an anglicized Irishman of Scottish extraction”. After primary school, a brief apprenticeship, and some study in Paris, he entered Trinity College, Dublin, got his B.A. in 1862, and was called to the Irish Bar in 1863.

        Through his father’s work for the Crown, he became involved in operations against the Fenians and, in 1868, he became an advisor on political crime to the Home Office.  In 1888, Anderson became Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard and it was during this period that “Jack the Ripper” committed his grisly murders. Anderson felt the case was correctly resolved but the press continued to sensationalize it.

        Robert Anderson was raised in a Christian home but it wasn’t until he had a personal conversation with evangelist John Hall in about 1860, that he exclaimed, “In God’s name, I will accept Christ.”

        A tribute after his death of Spanish Influenza in 1918 praised him as “one of the men to whom the country, without knowing it, owes a great debt.”

The Marriage at Cana

        This record, in John 2, is most often talked about because of the miracle it contains. Jesus’ first recorded miracle certainly should tell us a great deal about Him. But I want to look at the total event, again using a little bit of that “sanctified imagination”. 

        This was a wedding—what greater cause could there be for a gathering of family and friends: religious and irreligious, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile. And why, particularly, was Jesus there? Somebody there was his friend. He wanted the best for not just the bride and groom but for everyone there. Maybe He got to say a few words in the after-dinner speeches.

        Here is where we can learn a few lessons about spreading the Good News, about fulfilling the Great Commission. I find the whole incident “culturally apt”— I can picture the exact same event taking place in exactly the same way, in a thousand towns or villages in, for example, Italy or France. Maybe just to solidify the picture in our minds, the following sonnet will help:

 

The happy bride and groom have made their vows;

    They’ve traded rings and greeted every guest.
The food and wine are good. The lights burn low.
    The sun has long since sunken in the west.

A waiter whispers that “The wine’s run out!”

 

“No way! We bought enough for everyone!”

“Don’t worry,” a soft voice nearby calls out.
“My Son is here and He can fix what’s wrong.”

“Just fill those pots with water, fresh and cold,

Then take it to the master of the feast...”

The master is amazed and speaks up, bold:—

“This is the wine of heaven, at the least!”

And so, you see, when life and joy decrease,

We know to Whom to go to get real peace.
        

There’s an interesting concept...

        Have you ever thought about the names of the days of the week? Tiw’s Day? Wodin’s Day? Thor’s Day? Freia’s Day? Our English heritage has memorialized pagan gods and we don’t even notice it. Some Christian traditions have tried to change the days within their own groups, to, for example, Day One, Day Two, etc., but this obviously never took hold on a worldwide basis. In fact, Day One in Canada may be Sunday, but Day One in most of Europe is Monday.
       Here’s a proposal: How about Christian names for the days? Sunday could become Sonday. Monday (Moonday) could become Mosesday (since he reflected Christ). Tuesday could become         Timothyday (or even Paulday if we don’t mind changing the initial letters). Does it bother you to come to church for prayer on Wodin’s Day? Peterday might be better, since there doesn’t seem to be any Bible proper name starting with ‘W’. Thursday could be Thomasday or even stretched to Theophilusday! We wouldn’t want to call Friday, Felixday or Festusday,  so we might have to try Philipday. And finally we come to Saturday—lots of choice here: Samuelday, Silasday, Stephenday, or perhaps Sarahday.     

How much evidence would it take?

        On Monday, March 11^th, I was using the internet to do a search on Google. When I went to their website, what should pop up but a memorial to Douglas Adams, the writer of A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and of several Doctor Who sci-fi episodes. I clicked on the link and was taken to Adams’ biography, where I learned that he had died in Santa Barbara in 2001 at the age of 49. I also learned that he called himself a “radical atheist”.

        One of his more notable attacks on Christianity and particularly on the fine-tuning of the universe, was in the sardonic depiction of a “sentient puddle”! As I read I could start to feel Satan’s niggling finger of doubt scratching at my mind. I also remembered Bertrand Russell’s comment that if God asked, “Why didn’t you believe in Me?” Russell would reply, “Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”

        At our Wednesday evening Bible study, an atheist was mentioned who had started a “church” because he liked all the feeling of community. (From March 9, 2013 National Post article about Korey Peters and his Secular Church in Calgary: “I loved the ceremony...but I just couldn’t stomach the faith.”)

        I started to wonder what, if anything, I could say to any of these three. Then it came to me—fulfilled prophecy! There are hundreds of prophecies from the Old Testament, all undoubtedly written before Christ. And the vast majority have already been fulfilled in Him. This is far removed from “faith”—this is reason and logic, something my three disbelievers could easily have investigated. This was the very approach that Jesus took on the road to Emmaus: “He explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:27.

        I was very thankful to the Lord for showing me this, and even more grateful when I opened the March 2013 Christian Missions in Many Lands magazine and looked at the editorial. Gordon Franz re-stated some of what I’ve just told you, and added the other great fact that the apostles preached—Jesus is risen! Again, this is not so much faith as simply believing the reports of those who saw him dead and the hundreds who saw him resurrected.

        Of course, the element of faith is very great—in fact, it is the final, deciding factor in our salvation. Once we understand who Jesus is we must repent and commit ourselves to Him unreservedly—“By grace you are saved through faith.”                                                                                                                                     Ì 

The Holiness of God...

...compared with the sinfulness of humanity: —         There is something in God’s being that can have nothing to do with sin. Paul tells us that “God does not lie.” Titus 1:2.  Dare we say that if God sinned, the Godhead would be destroyed? This means that He must separate Himself from and punish sin wherever He finds it. The question then arises, “How much punishment is enough?”

        Suppose God were to say, “I’ll give them the worst there is for a year.” Would that be enough? Would ten years be enough? Would a thousand years be enough? If any of these were enough, then we suggest that Christ would never have died because each person could pay their own penalty. But He did die! This means that our debt of sin was infinite and only an infinite Saviour could pay that debt. It also means that if we don’t accept the Saviour, our debt remains infinite, and our punishment must be eternal.

        We can write two “equations” that might help. If sin is applied against us and we have no help, the result can only be infinite punishment:

(1) Us × Sin(infinite) = Us (infinite punishment)

 

If we let Christ bear our sin, He cancels it out and we can be free and forgiven:

(2) Us  ×  Sin (infinite)   =  Us (now forgiven)

                Christ (infinite)

        So there are two sides to the death of Christ. One shows the greatness of our debt—infinite; and the other shows the greatness of His love—also infinite.  Ì

Bowing to Jesus

        We in North America don’t see much bowing. Maybe at the end of a play when the actors bow or curtsey to the audience. Maybe in snippets of documentaries of Japan as businessmen or politicians bow to each other.  Maybe some of us have been involved with worship that expects members to bow to an altar or a cross.

        In ancient times it was often a case of bow or die, as witness the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:6. In fact, in Jeremiah 39:6, it was more like bow and die!

        Sometimes, bowing is only gesturing—it means very little. On the other hand, we want to look at a few people in the New Testament who bowed or kneeled to Jesus the Lord—with eternal repercussions.

        Some bowed in mockery—it seems that the soldiers really “did not know what they were doing.” [Mat 27:28] Some bowed because they couldn’t resist His inherent power—the demon-possessed man and the evil spirits themselves. [Lk.8:27; Mk.3:11] Many bowed for physical help—lepers, a sick woman, a man with a dying daughter, parents with demon-possessed children, even the sister of a dead man—and went away content.

        One young man came for spiritual advice but then couldn’t accept it and went away sad. Others were thrown to their knees by the glory and purity of the Saviour: Peter said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man!” Peter, James, and John fell facedown in terror at the voice from heaven, “This is my Son.” Paul fell to the ground on the Damascus road.  In fact, one day “every knee will bow.”

        But at last we come to examples of willing worship—we see the wise men at Bethlehem bowing to the Child and presenting their gifts; we see Stephen bowing before the Lord in heaven; and finally, we see John [Rev.19:4], with the angels, the living creatures, and the elders, falling down in worship, and crying, “Amen, Hallelujah!”                                                                    Ì 

Apologetics: The Logistics of the Exodus

        “Six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children.” [Exod.12:37]  Maybe two and a half million total. That’s a lot of people! We often picture them with their robes wrapped around them, possibly hitched up into their belts so they can walk unencumbered, as the great crowd streams off into the distance. What we usually forget is their food, their pots and pans, their bedrolls, their babies in arms, their sheep and cattle; their oxen; the jewellery, gold and silver, and clothing they asked for and got from their Egyptian neighbours [Exod.3:22]; the caskets and bones of Joseph and his brothers [Exod.13:19, Acts 7:16]; their tents; their shovels, ploughs, woodworking equipment, and other tools and weapons; not forgetting changes of clothing, possible litters for aged and handicapped members, possibly some wood for fuel; possibly pots or skins—even small tanks—of water, olive oil and wine; possibly donkeys, and even horses and camels laden down with these goods.

        This is more than individuals or even caravans could carry. It seems like carts and wagons are the only explanation. In Gen.46:5, Jacob and his family came by carts into Egypt. Joseph and his brothers took Jacob’s body back to Canaan with chariots and maybe with carts as well, and buried him “in the cave...which Abraham had bought” [Gen.50:7-14]. Later on, in the wilderness, some of the princes of Israel gave carts as their offerings to the tabernacle. [Num.7:3,6]  

        This is starting to sound like an Old West wagon train so I looked up some details. Between about 1843-1868 the total number of travellers by wagon trains to Oregon, California and Utah, was only about 400,000, and they pretty much had to carry all their food with them. As far as speed goes, covered wagons averaged only two miles per hour and about 10 miles per day. There is no reason to think the Israelites moved any faster.

        If carts were a large part of the procession—and it seems certain they were—this would greatly limit the routes they could have taken from Egypt to Canaan. Some  proposed routes through Sinai would be too steep or too rocky—or even too sandy. How do you get a wagon over a sand dune?

        It would be exciting for the crowds, and especially the children, as they left Pithom and Rameses [Exod.1:11], but it would be as bad as any Indian attack, when the Egyptian army pulled into view. In fact, deaths by “Indian attack” in the Old West numbered 3,000-4,500!

        This leaves us with no final conclusion about the exodus route, but we do hope it spurs some fresh thinking and helps us picture those momentous times. Ì

Book Review: Joseph Makes Me Think of Jesus

Joseph Makes Me Think of Jesus
MacDonald, William
GOSPEL FOLIO PRESS/ Grand Rapids 2000
Paperback
143 pp

             As I write this, the New Year has just begun, my yearly Bible reading has cycled again to Genesis, I’ve just read the story of Joseph, and, as the book title says, Joseph Makes Me Think of Jesus. The detail we have about him from 3800 years ago is incomparable with any other character of that era. We know a little about his childhood and family life, and we know the tragedy that took him to Egypt. In fact, the blurb on the cover claims more than one hundred details that we know well enough to compare with our Lord’s own life.

        Bill MacDonald has basically made a chart comparing the life of Joseph with the life of Jesus, then converted it to prose. His work is gently and simply done—it’s just as unsophisticated as the title itself.
        The book is divided into an Introduction and fourteen chapters, covering Joseph’s life and some retrospections from the Psalms, Acts and Hebrews.
        Some of the parallels MacDonald points out are: Joseph was a shepherd, Jesus is the Good Shepherd (p.10); Joseph was highly exalted as also Christ has been (p.38); Joseph was numbered with the transgressors, one was saved, one was executed ((p.44); Joseph said to the butler, “Remember me”, referring especially to bread and wine (p.46); Joseph was the only way of salvation from the famine (p.71); Joseph asked his brothers to tell of all his glory (p.88).
        In the closing scenes of the story, MacDonald shows how Joseph forgave his brothers and had no thought of vengeance for their treatment of him (p.109-111). Joseph promised his brothers that he would care for them—we also have One who saves, keeps and satisfies and who will never leave or forsake us (p.112).
        Chapter 13 is a list of 36 lessons learned from Joseph’s life. We already know the lessons, and even if they sound like platitudes, they are still true: “Bad things happen to good people”; “The way of the transgressor is hard”; “Be sure your sin will find you out”; “We reap what we sow.” But, “if our lives were all sunshine, they would be a desert.”
        MacDonald’s finish is good: “We will see Joseph again. When the trumpet sounds and we are taken to our Promised Land, he will be there.”
        William MacDonald was born in Leominster, MA, in 1917. The family left for Stornoway, Scotland in 1922 but later returned to Massachusetts. After studying at Harvard Business School, he worked briefly as an investment analyst, then served four years in the US Navy. After the war he entered the Lord’s service full time, with terms at Emmaus Bible School and many years at the Discipleship Intern Training Program in San Leandro, CA, then another decade in Bible teaching and writing. He passed away on December 25, 2007.
        MacDonald never married and for the last thirty-four years of his life he maintained only a small one-bedroom apartment next to a fire hall. I’m a new-comer to MacDonald’s writings, but when he lists seven principles of Christian living in another book, True Discipleship, I gladly admit that he is a prime example of the first two: (1) A supreme love for Jesus Christ and (2) A denial of self.
        Finally, a word about the cover:  It’s more than just a pretty picture— J.B.Nicholson, Jr., has ingeniously captured the essence of the book—an empty cistern, a pyramid in Egypt, then Calvary and an empty tomb.

 Reviewed by Glenn Wilson Ì