Hebrews 1:8,9 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
As we continue our study of Mashiach ben Yosef, we observe that both Joseph and Yeshua (Jesus) were chosen or “anointed” for a special task. When Jacob gifted his son Joseph with a coat of many colors, lifting him up above his brothers, he reflected Joseph’s calling by the Lord for a life work as a leader.
The preparation for this role was grueling. Joseph endured the fires of testing, sold into slavery, thrown into prison, and seemingly abandoned by God he must have wondered to himself, “Why is this happening?” It seems clear from hindsight that Joseph was learning the deep humility required for God’s kind of leadership. We also see the humility of the Son of God in His Incarnation and crucifixion. (“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”) So as Joseph saved the whole world from physical death by starvation, Yeshua saved the whole world from spiritual death, the judgment of sin.
If you have seen signs of your own anointing for a specific task, and find yourself in the midst of painful “unexplainable” trials and tribulations, you’re in good company. God gives responsibility to people of character. Both Joseph and Yeshua are beautiful examples of the kind of leader God loves–a humble one.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]We often develop strategies, game-plans, life-plans – and then, at some obstacle or critical point, we say – “Just stick to the plan!” It’s usually good advice.
Life is always sending unexpected surprises, but praise God, nothing takes Him by surprise. He’s the master planner. Our family might turn against us, our friends let us down, illness, afflictions, problems and “situations” on every side…God still has a plan, for you, and for me.
The legendary preacher, Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather it is the difference between right and almost right.”
Every day roughly 150,000 around the world die. Death has a way of raising our spiritual temperature and quickening us to re-evaluate life…especially to ask, “Am I doing all that I can do?”
The first king of Israel, King Saul,was told by God to utterly slay Amalek and his descendants. In blatant disobedience Saul allowed Agag, the king of the Amalekites and the best of the cattle to remain alive. The following day, Saul tried to remedy his disobedience by attempting to sacrifice the best of the cattle to the Lord.
If you’ve ever been to Israel, you know that Shabbat—what we call the Sabbath—is a big deal. It starts Friday at sundown and goes until Saturday at sundown, and let me tell you, the whole country gets ready for it like clockwork. Friday mornings are busy—really busy. The outdoor markets are packed, folks are rushing around grabbing last-minute groceries, cleaning house, cooking meals, and getting everything wrapped up before things shut down. By the time the sun sets, the streets get quiet, the stores close, and life slows down. For the next 24 hours, it’s all about rest.
Watching Yeshua (Jesus) lay down His life to die on the cross was not what His disciples were expecting, but rather a shocking, perplexing, and apparently hopeless ending to what had seemed like a promising fulfillment of Messianic hope. The shattering ordeal of Yeshua’s trials, torture, and horrific death must have left them all feeling bereft, miserable, and uncertain of the future. What would they do now? What would their future hold?
According to ancient Jewish legend, one day Abraham was shown his father, Terah’s room of many idols. Young Abraham, thinking that perhaps he could discover intimacy with them, made some desirable delicacies and placed them before the idols. When nothing happened, he realized that these idols were nothing more than clay — they could do nothing for him or anyone else for that matter. So he proceeded to destroy all the idols, except for one.