Martha and her sister, Mary, appear several times in the gospels, and have been the subject of many sermons, but their brother Lazarus is less mentioned, apart from this chapter where we read that the sisters sent word to Jesus to ask Him to come pray for their sick brother.
We can imagine that the completion of the rebuilding was cause for a huge celebration with the older people remembering their childhood and life before the exile, while the younger ones wanted to know more about life before. It was obviously a serious and very emotional moment for many.
This is a verse in an interesting story told by Jesus, who was trying to explain the Kingdom of Heaven in simple language. His listeners were not impressed with the story, it did not fit with earthly principles at that time, nor does it fit today! It is not logic!
Since the days of David, many thrones have been fought over by those who think they should inherit the position of king. There seems to be something in human nature that makes many of us want to make our own decisions and be in charge of the world around us.
One of the things we must learn from that story is that nothing is too hard for us when we have God on our side. Some of us have daily battles against spiritual giants, some against physical giants. Behind every bad person is a spiritual force which can seem huge.
Those who do things that God abhors do not realise that what they are doing is evil. The main problem is that too many people do not know Jesus and His Father God who love all people and long for each one to seek truth and live it.
Centuries before Jude, (see yesterday), Isaiah spoke of the last days, meaning the end of the world as we know it. This prophecy from the Old Testament is much more positive than Jude. Isaiah was telling us of the good things that will happen before the end of our world.
Jude only had one short letter included in the scriptures, and that was not long enough to have chapters! But he included a lot of information in those 25 verses, making us believe that he had visions of what things would be like in the 21st century!
The pillars of fire and cloud must have been amazing to experience, and a real confirmation for the Israelites that God was leading them. They did not know how far they would go, or even their destination, but were pleased that their ever present God seemed more present that usual.
This month I will celebrate my 79th birthday. As I move into my 80th year, I believe that Jesus is telling me that it is time to stop writing these studies. I want to be obedient, but must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed doing them these past twenty years.
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