As I was studying Genesis in 2010 the Lord asked me to really take my time over the scriptures. I sensed He was determined to lead me through this book in a new way and I wasn't disappointed as I read through Chapter One.
Day after day for several weeks He broke down the words and phrases for me. Again and again I was challenged by Him to see things not only through scripture but according to popular secular teaching in a effort to gain a more rounded understanding of Creation and the origins of both the universe which includes earth, and also man who was given dominion over the earth. (see my blog - Understanding Creation for a simplified account.)
I never cease to be amazed by the way the Spirit of God, who Jesus referred to as the 'Spirit of Truth', brings insight through the most ordinary of circumstances. Nor do I cease to be amazed at the way these insights are profound in their simplicity.
As I read through this vast book I began to realise there was a recurrent principle embedded in the narratives. I called it the - as it began so shall it end principle
It's not accurate to suggest I wasn't aware of it before. The Holy Spirit had asked me a few years earlier what was the one thing common throughout Jesus life, I couldn't see it so the answer was provided for me - wood. I recognised the similarities between beginnings and endings when I studied Genesis and saw how often it appeared. I wasn't looking for it the first time, nor was I looking for it the second or succeeding times. In truth I was too busy trying to write a Christmas play which was being dictated to me by the Holy Spirit and in my conscious mind I was aware only of catching every thought so as not to mess up the thing or have bits missing in the end so that it would make sense.
In the middle of this writing task I realised what I was being given was new, innovative and inspirational in terms of bringing fresh insight to me. The play, called - The Cradle and the Cross incorporates the Easter Crucifixion as an explanation of the Christmas story and reconciles itself to the birth of Jesus not through the prophecy or any other traditional means but by the details of his birth and death. Let me explain - but don't expect me to tackle the narratives which you should know in some form whether you are a believer or non believer.
There is one thing that recurs throughout the birth, life and crucifixion of Jesus --------WOOD. As it began - so shall it end.
The smart ones among us will get the point right away but sometimes it needs explaining so here it comes.
Before Jesus was even conceived WOOD features in his life story. Mary was engaged to Joseph who was a carpenter. Carpenters work with wood or timber. In the plans of God Mary will marry a man who earns a living by shaping wood into lots of different things. He worked with his hands because there's no other way to work with wood in his day.
As I thought about that I wondered if Joseph had made a cradle for Jesus before news of the Census arrived. He and Mary would be living together and together they would prepare for the birth of the baby but then news comes that they have to go to Bethlehem to register. If Joseph made a cradle they couldn't take it with them on the long journey especially as Mary was near her time and the less they carried the better since she might not be able to walk the whole way.
Approaching Bethlehem Mary goes into labour and as the stable is all that's available they take lodgings there among the animals. It must have stunk to high heaven, there's no way of telling how clean it was. Since both are first time parents away from home and their network of support they must have been worried - after all how do you find a midwife in a strange town within a short time of your arrival. So there is no time for preparation and making the stable look lovely. The most important thing is to get the midwife and hope she comes before the baby does.
Jesus is born and they need somewhere for him to sleep. They could have placed him in the straw beside his mother or between his mother and Joseph but they didn't.
I remember asking the Lord why they didn't do that. Why did they put him in a manger or feeding trough? After a while the Holy Spirit asked me to picture the scene - a mother, father and child lying in the straw. When I had done that he showed me something I wasn't really prepared for. One of the adults rolled over onto the baby as they slept. Again the scene was played and this time an ox trod on the baby, then a donkey trod on the baby and I got the message. Laying the baby on the floor was too dangerous.
Another reason Jesus was laid in the manger was so that that Angel's proclamation would be proved accurate - 'you will find the babe lying in a manger'. What is a manger? It's used for hay or feed. The animals would feed from it and the hay would be clean so even if the ground is dirty there is one clean, safe area in the stable.
So the manger is safe and clean but it is also made of WOOD.
At the start of Jesus life he is placed in a wooden object which is there to protect him and keep him safe and warm. The child in the manager is the sign the shepherds were to look for.
As a child Jesus saw how Joseph turned a lump of wood into something useful. When he is old enough Jesus will learn to do the same and will work with Joseph who teaches him the family trade. Before He is in his teens he will know what it feels like to miss the nail and hit His own hand with the hammer or mallet. He will know pain from splinters and wooden blocks falling on his toes - they didn't have steel toe capped boots and the kinds of safety equipment we have today.
Another thing Jesus learns is where to find the right tree for the job. He will learn from Joseph all there is to know about wood.
How often did Jesus spend time on the mountain top among the trees seeking peace and solitude as He communed with the Father and Spirit? We'll never know the answer to that question but we can know that during his final days he spent every evening praying
At the last supper we see Jesus seated at the table, passing the cup, having washed his disciples feet. Shortly he will leave this room and go into the garden of Gethsemane, an oasis where he will be surrounded by trees. Like so many occasions previously he will take time alone to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit but he will smell the scent of the leaves on the evening air as he prepares himself for the horror that lies ahead.
Wooden clubs and instruments of torture made out of wood and iron are used to rip his flesh from his body and beat his head so that he will be so disfigured he is unrecognisable. He will carry the wood on his shoulder one last time all the way to Calvary.
For Jesus the end is not unlike the beginning. Human hands will place his body on the cross whereas at his birth the hands of his parents laid him in the manger. As He could not climb into the manger so He cannot climb onto the cross by himself. Now that he's full grown he must be 'held' in place ON the cross of wood. Just as he learnt to nail sections together and sometimes missed the nail hitting himself hard he will feel the same searing pain as the nails are driven home to secure him to the cross.
At birth Jesus cried out from the manger and the loving arms of his parents told him he had not been abandoned. But in His death he cries out to his Father in Heaven who turns away from the sacrificial lamb who became the sin offering for man.
I wasn't looking for anything like this when I wrote down the play. It took my breath away as I saw how at every stage of His life Jesus has personal contact with wood and is always in touch with it. That He willingly accepted the cross and the agony he endured given his background is the greatest sacrifice of love ever shown to any person. In Jesus own words
So it ends as it began. The Son of God came into the world, gave His first cry and was placed in a rough hewn wooden trough as His first resting place. From a rough hewn cross He uttered his final cry and breathed his last.
This is only one example of the 'as it began so shall it end' principle, there are many more in the pages of scripture, I won't reveal the others I've found but I encourage you to read carefully and as you do you will see pattern and principle again and again. It's there for a reason:
God wants to be found in the pages of scripture and he wants us to really get to know Him in all His ways.
Leave a note in my comments box to let me know what you find. Be guided by the Holy Spirit and He will reveal these things to you as you seek the Lord and get to know Him more deeply. I pray you will discover that God is not shrouded in mystery as the Spirit of the Living God brings you revelation and understanding to deepen your faith.
Day after day for several weeks He broke down the words and phrases for me. Again and again I was challenged by Him to see things not only through scripture but according to popular secular teaching in a effort to gain a more rounded understanding of Creation and the origins of both the universe which includes earth, and also man who was given dominion over the earth. (see my blog - Understanding Creation for a simplified account.)
I never cease to be amazed by the way the Spirit of God, who Jesus referred to as the 'Spirit of Truth', brings insight through the most ordinary of circumstances. Nor do I cease to be amazed at the way these insights are profound in their simplicity.
As I read through this vast book I began to realise there was a recurrent principle embedded in the narratives. I called it the - as it began so shall it end principle
It's not accurate to suggest I wasn't aware of it before. The Holy Spirit had asked me a few years earlier what was the one thing common throughout Jesus life, I couldn't see it so the answer was provided for me - wood. I recognised the similarities between beginnings and endings when I studied Genesis and saw how often it appeared. I wasn't looking for it the first time, nor was I looking for it the second or succeeding times. In truth I was too busy trying to write a Christmas play which was being dictated to me by the Holy Spirit and in my conscious mind I was aware only of catching every thought so as not to mess up the thing or have bits missing in the end so that it would make sense.
In the middle of this writing task I realised what I was being given was new, innovative and inspirational in terms of bringing fresh insight to me. The play, called - The Cradle and the Cross incorporates the Easter Crucifixion as an explanation of the Christmas story and reconciles itself to the birth of Jesus not through the prophecy or any other traditional means but by the details of his birth and death. Let me explain - but don't expect me to tackle the narratives which you should know in some form whether you are a believer or non believer.
There is one thing that recurs throughout the birth, life and crucifixion of Jesus --------WOOD. As it began - so shall it end.
The smart ones among us will get the point right away but sometimes it needs explaining so here it comes.
Before Jesus was even conceived WOOD features in his life story. Mary was engaged to Joseph who was a carpenter. Carpenters work with wood or timber. In the plans of God Mary will marry a man who earns a living by shaping wood into lots of different things. He worked with his hands because there's no other way to work with wood in his day.
As I thought about that I wondered if Joseph had made a cradle for Jesus before news of the Census arrived. He and Mary would be living together and together they would prepare for the birth of the baby but then news comes that they have to go to Bethlehem to register. If Joseph made a cradle they couldn't take it with them on the long journey especially as Mary was near her time and the less they carried the better since she might not be able to walk the whole way.
Approaching Bethlehem Mary goes into labour and as the stable is all that's available they take lodgings there among the animals. It must have stunk to high heaven, there's no way of telling how clean it was. Since both are first time parents away from home and their network of support they must have been worried - after all how do you find a midwife in a strange town within a short time of your arrival. So there is no time for preparation and making the stable look lovely. The most important thing is to get the midwife and hope she comes before the baby does.
Jesus is born and they need somewhere for him to sleep. They could have placed him in the straw beside his mother or between his mother and Joseph but they didn't.
I remember asking the Lord why they didn't do that. Why did they put him in a manger or feeding trough? After a while the Holy Spirit asked me to picture the scene - a mother, father and child lying in the straw. When I had done that he showed me something I wasn't really prepared for. One of the adults rolled over onto the baby as they slept. Again the scene was played and this time an ox trod on the baby, then a donkey trod on the baby and I got the message. Laying the baby on the floor was too dangerous.
Another reason Jesus was laid in the manger was so that that Angel's proclamation would be proved accurate - 'you will find the babe lying in a manger'. What is a manger? It's used for hay or feed. The animals would feed from it and the hay would be clean so even if the ground is dirty there is one clean, safe area in the stable.
So the manger is safe and clean but it is also made of WOOD. At the start of Jesus life he is placed in a wooden object which is there to protect him and keep him safe and warm. The child in the manager is the sign the shepherds were to look for.
As a child Jesus saw how Joseph turned a lump of wood into something useful. When he is old enough Jesus will learn to do the same and will work with Joseph who teaches him the family trade. Before He is in his teens he will know what it feels like to miss the nail and hit His own hand with the hammer or mallet. He will know pain from splinters and wooden blocks falling on his toes - they didn't have steel toe capped boots and the kinds of safety equipment we have today.
Another thing Jesus learns is where to find the right tree for the job. He will learn from Joseph all there is to know about wood.
- It's properties,
- how to dry it out,
- how to shape it,
- how to cut it down,
- which trees make the best external doors, cabinets and utensils etc
How often did Jesus spend time on the mountain top among the trees seeking peace and solitude as He communed with the Father and Spirit? We'll never know the answer to that question but we can know that during his final days he spent every evening praying
37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening
he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives,
(Luke 21)
At the last supper we see Jesus seated at the table, passing the cup, having washed his disciples feet. Shortly he will leave this room and go into the garden of Gethsemane, an oasis where he will be surrounded by trees. Like so many occasions previously he will take time alone to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit but he will smell the scent of the leaves on the evening air as he prepares himself for the horror that lies ahead.
Wooden clubs and instruments of torture made out of wood and iron are used to rip his flesh from his body and beat his head so that he will be so disfigured he is unrecognisable. He will carry the wood on his shoulder one last time all the way to Calvary.
For Jesus the end is not unlike the beginning. Human hands will place his body on the cross whereas at his birth the hands of his parents laid him in the manger. As He could not climb into the manger so He cannot climb onto the cross by himself. Now that he's full grown he must be 'held' in place ON the cross of wood. Just as he learnt to nail sections together and sometimes missed the nail hitting himself hard he will feel the same searing pain as the nails are driven home to secure him to the cross.
At birth Jesus cried out from the manger and the loving arms of his parents told him he had not been abandoned. But in His death he cries out to his Father in Heaven who turns away from the sacrificial lamb who became the sin offering for man.
I wasn't looking for anything like this when I wrote down the play. It took my breath away as I saw how at every stage of His life Jesus has personal contact with wood and is always in touch with it. That He willingly accepted the cross and the agony he endured given his background is the greatest sacrifice of love ever shown to any person. In Jesus own words
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
So it ends as it began. The Son of God came into the world, gave His first cry and was placed in a rough hewn wooden trough as His first resting place. From a rough hewn cross He uttered his final cry and breathed his last.
This is only one example of the 'as it began so shall it end' principle, there are many more in the pages of scripture, I won't reveal the others I've found but I encourage you to read carefully and as you do you will see pattern and principle again and again. It's there for a reason:
God wants to be found in the pages of scripture and he wants us to really get to know Him in all His ways.
Leave a note in my comments box to let me know what you find. Be guided by the Holy Spirit and He will reveal these things to you as you seek the Lord and get to know Him more deeply. I pray you will discover that God is not shrouded in mystery as the Spirit of the Living God brings you revelation and understanding to deepen your faith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Comments
Post a Comment