Tracking Ibex Part 3

We Want Pollard Home

The Hebrew banner says, "We want [Jonathan] Pollard at home." And I think the elements of the photo perfectly capture his story: He's currently serving a life sentence in a US prison after pleading guilty to one charge of spying for Israel as a US Citizen. Israel has since given him citizenship.

His is a controversial story, and one that produces a certain level of tension between the two governments. Israel continues to ask for his release and the US continues to say no.

Many believe that he has gotten a raw deal since the judge went against the guidelines of the plea bargain, and no one else has ever received more than about 14 years for spying for an ally. Furthermore, he contends that the information he passed to Israel was information Israel was legally entitled to, but were for some reason being denied access.

Pollard has been in prison since 1987, and some wonder if he won't be the wrench in the wheel of the peace process because on a number of occasions his case has been linked to Israel's willingness to negotiate. We'll have to wait and see how that develops.

Traditional Arab Shopkeeper

Once I spoke to this shopkeeper in Arabic, he was all too happy to pose for a few photos. I've found that a little Arabic goes a long way.

You Don't See This All the Time

Here are two ultra-orthodox boys returning home from the market: One, using a more traditional method; the other, a more modern method. I must admit that I was surprised because I've seen ultra-orthodox boys riding bicycles, but never riding Waves or Ripsticks.

Shabbat Shalom

We've Got Coconuts

We've got coconuts, BUT they're from Thailand.

Don't Let the Sun Go Down . . .

Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV-

"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while
you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Dr. Doug Bookman suggests that Judas is an example of this verse in that in his anger at being rebuked by Jesus, he gave the devil a foothold.

When Mary annointed Jesus' feet (John 12), Judas (and the other disciples) scolded her for wasting the perfume. Jesus then scolded Judas (and the others) for scolding Mary. And the sting of that rebuke is apparently what Satan seized upon: "The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus (John 13:2 NIV)."

Let this be a warning to us all: be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

A Variety of Apples

The Mystery Revealed

Paul reveals an age old mystery: How are Jews and Gentiles related to each other through the gospel?

Ephesians 3:6 NIV -
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are:
1. Heirs together with Israel (see 1:3-14),
2. Members together of one body (see 2:14-16), and
3. Sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (see 2:12-13).

I think this mystery is difficult for some on both sides of the Jew/Gentile divide to accept. Difficult to understand, perhaps. But it shouldn't be difficult to accept.

Why Don't They . . . ?

Why don't they hire native English speakers to translate this stuff? If they can't find a native English speaker to translate, surely they can find one to edit the stuff.

If you look close, you should get a grin when you see:
1. Safety but again comfortable toilet
2. EVERY STYLES FULLY WONDERFUL
3. abreast of the times
4. SPECIFICATIONS COULOURS AND CONTENTS MAY VARY FROM ILLUSTRATIONS - i.e. don't expect the contents to be anything like the pictures.
5. TRY ME! - Really? Just open the box and give it a try?

Tracking Ibex Part 2

"What does that taste like?" asked one of my students. I'm not sure how to answer that except to say, "I'll never know because I'll only shoot one with my Nikon."

Colors: Purple

Shabbat Shalom

Colors: Pink

Radishes like these are now available in the market.

Our Good Works are to His Credit

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Good works are:
1. What Christians are to do as the result of Him working in us.
2. Designated for us in advance.

God has prepared certain good works for us to do and His work in us gives us the ability to do them, which means there is no room for boasting on our part.

That we have nothing to boast about isn't a new idea introduced in this verse. In fact, it is a followup: In the two verses prior to this (2:8-9), we see that our salvation is a merciful gift from God so that we can't boast. Interestingly, the good works we do, like our salvation, are to His credit. It's a package deal. God alone gets the credit for our salvation and our good works.

Kids Graffiti

Apparently small kids are on the loose with spray paint and stencils. This piece of art can be found near the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.

Predestined for the Praise of His Glory

Ephesians 1:11-12 NIV

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.

From this passage I see that Christians are predestined:
1. According to a plan, and
2. For the praise of God's glory.

Predestination is not a reaction; it has a plan and a purpose. That gives me encouragement and comfort.

Land For Peace?

This banner is hanging from a balcony in downtown Jerusalem. It has a poignant message for those who are familiar with American history, and is directed toward those who campaign for trading land for peace with the Arabs.

Colors: Orange

I've never eaten a persimmon, so I can't definitively say whether I like them or not.

I'm convinced that being a picky eater has kept me away from many tasty foods. And that's a shame! But I just have this thing about looking at a food and deciding that I don't like it. No sampling necessary.

Sadly, that approach to food kept me from the joy of pumpkin pie until I was in the 10th or 11th grade. The memory of that discovery is still very vivid for me more than 25 years later.

Anyway, these are persimmons and, for now, I don't like them.

If You Like Tomatoes . . .

If you like tomatoes, we have some really nice ones in the market now. We usually buy cherry tomatoes because they work better in Grace's school snack, but sometimes the regular tomatoes look so good, we can't pass them up.

Shabbat Shalom

Tracking Ibex Part 1

I recently had a rare opportunity to track an Ibex in the wild. I'm thankful that my students from Boston Baptist College were patient while I stalked this big fellow.

I was surprised at how close I was able to get to him given how nimble these things are in the rocks and how much they dislike human company.

I got a few more good shots of him, and I'll probably post them as a series.

Chosen and Predestined

My wife and I have been reading (out loud) through Ephesians together, and my next series of posts will be things that stood out to me during our reading. This is not an attempt to exhaust Ephesians, rather it is intended to highlight one or two things from each chapter.

Ephesians 1:4-6 NIV

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

Here are the same verses in an emphasized outline form:
We were chosen before the creation of the world to:
a. be holy
b. be blameless
in His sight.

In love he predestined us to
a. be adopted as his sons
according to
a. his pleasure
b. his will
to the praise of his glorious grace.

Here are the verses in a summarized fashion:
His adopted sons are to be holy and blameless in His sight, and they were chosen before the creation of the world according to HIS pleasure and will. And all that for the praise of His glorious grace.

Unfortunately, many in the body of Christ will not praise God's glorious grace when they see chosen and predestined. Instead, they will criticize and protest. Many will try to make these verses unsay what they say.

Why can't we be more like Spurgeon who said the following in a comment on 1 Timothy 2:3-4?

“My love of consistency with my own doctrinal views is not great enough to allow me knowingly to alter a single text of Scripture. I have great respect for orthodoxy, but my reverence for inspiration is far greater. I would sooner a hundred times over appear to be inconsistent with myself than be inconsistent with the word of God. I never thought it to be any very great crime to seem to be inconsistent with myself; for who am I that I should everlastingly be consistent? But I do think it a great crime to be so inconsistent with the word of God that I should want to lop away a bough or even a twig from so much as a single tree of the forest of Scripture. God forbid that I should cut or shape, even in the least degree, any divine expression. So runs the text, and so we must read it, “God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

(Source: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit vol. 26, 1880, pp. 49, 50)

Space Alien Vegetables

Other than it's name and price, I know nothing about this vegetable. It surely looks like an alien to me. It's name is colorabee and it costs 4 shekels per kilo (about $1.00 for 2.2 lbs).

Eggs

This is how we buy eggs at the market: crates of 30. This crate costs 22 shekels, which at today's exchange rate equals 17 1/2 cents per egg, or $2.10 per dozen. However, these are not government inspected eggs, which cost $2.50 per dozen.

Hezekiah's Life and Death

A study of King Hezekiah's life is one that can be greatly beneficial for us.

In his life we can see a man of great accomplishment: He restored the Passover observance immediately upon ascending to the throne. He undid all the idol worship that his father Ahaz had promoted throughout the land. He withstood the pressure to submit to Assyria. He rerouted the Gihon spring into what we now call Hezekiah's Tunnel. He accomplished so much. In fact, "He succeeded in everything he undertook (2 Chron 32:30)."

The foundation for these many accomplishments was a faith in the LORD. One of the reasons I think it is beneficial to study the life of Hezekiah is to see Hezekiah's sin, the time his pride directed his trust away from the LORD and toward himself.

Yes, it's possible for a godly person to fall in that way and to be restored. So often people think that being godly means never sinning or wavering in faith. However, we see from the life of Hezekiah that even godly men at times lose their way. That's not to excuse anyone's sin, but it is to say that we need to be careful in the way we define godly. And the definition isn't "being perfect."

Godliness deals with the heart. Certainly, the more God matures us toward godliness, the less we should sin. However, the focus of godliness is on the heart's desire to obey and trust the LORD. Notice that God mercifully restored Hezekiah when he repented. And, in spite of his sin, he is described as a good king.

Graffiti: Will This Help?

I'm wondering if spray painting "We Need Peace" on someone's wall will help bring peace. I can say that if someone spray painted my wall like that, it would be more likely to bring conflict.

Shapes: Stars

Shapes: Half Circles

Shabbat Shalom

Graffiti: Repent Now

This is the Jewish version of what might be called "REPENT NOW!!!" graffiti.

Unlike Christians who believe their message of repentance is for the whole world, religious Jews call only for non-religious Jews to repent, or return.

Turning Back Time

As I have surveyed the life of Hezekiah, I have drawn details from 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Isaiah. To have the most complete understanding of Hezekiah's life, using all three sources is necessary. Though at times, trying to get a handle on how the details are presented in the three sources can be confusing.

For example, when we look at Isaiah 38-39, it might be natural to assume that chronologically, chapters 38 and 39 occur after chapters 36 and 37. After all, that's how it's written, right? Well, there are a few indicators in those chapters, 38 and 39, that suggest that the correct chronology of Isaiah is 38, 39, 36, 37.

Here is the best one: 38:6 - "I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria." This promise of protection and deliverance clearly occurred before the angel of the LORD defeated the Assyrian army and before Sennacherib broke camp and returned to Nineveh, both of which were already detailed in Isaiah chapter 37.

So, let's "turn back time" and review Isaiah 38-39, which actually took place before the things we have already discussed. As you will see, these chapters actually give some explanation of why chapters 36 and 37 occurred.

All three records - 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 38 - say that Hezekiah was ill and at the point of death. And they all record Hezekiah's prayer, which resulted in the LORD mercifully restoring Hezekiah's health. In response to Hezekiah's prayer the LORD said three things would occur:
1. Hezekiah would go up to the Temple three days later,
2. The LORD would add 15 years to Hezekiah's life, and
3. The LORD would deliver Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem from Assyria.

In contrast to his father's rejection of a sign from the LORD (Isa. 7:11-12), upon hearing of his restoration and 15-year life extension, Hezekiah asked for a sign. Isaiah inquired as to which Hezekiah would prefer as a sign from the LORD, that the sun would move forward or backward.

Hezekiah realized that the shadow of the sun moving forward may not be a clear sign. After all, the sun naturally moves forward. So, he asked for the shadow of the sun to move backward. In other words, he asked for time to be turned back.

Here is the LORD's response: "I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz." It isn't clear how this was done, but God, who put all things in motion, is able to reverse things and still keep all things in order. Don't forget, during the days of Joshua the sun had already stood still over Gibeon (Joshua 10:13). It's not something that happens every day, or even often, but God, as it pleases Him, does what appears to be impossible to us. "So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down (Isa. 38:8)."

Interestingly, the account of Hezekiah's punitive illness in 2 Chronicles is abbreviated, apparently for the purpose of highlighting the reason for both his condition and the perilous situation of Jerusalem - his pride.

Once again, the chronology can be confusing. By the order of presentation in 2 Chronicles 32:24-25, one may get the impression that the LORD healed Hezekiah and still his heart was proud. However, like we did in sorting out chapters 36-38 of Isaiah, we need to examine the complete presentation. In doing this we will see that as a result of Hezekiah's pride, the LORD's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 32:26), which clearly occurred before the LORD restored Hezekiah. As was pointed out above, one of the elements of Hezekiah's restoration was that the LORD would deliver Hezekiah and Jerusalem from Assyria.

It shouldn't surprise the reader that Hezekiah struggled with pride. The elements were clearly in place for pride to be a potential problem: In addition to being the king, he had very great riches, built many buildings and villages, and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds. "He succeeded in everything he undertook (2 Chron 32:30)." Hezekiah started out well, restoring Passover and removing the high places, but his wealth and success created a proud heart in him.

Thankfully, the LORD knows how to bring about humility. And in Hezekiah's case, a punitive illness and potential destruction of Jerusalem were the LORD's instruments of merciful correction in Hezekiah's life.

That is the back story to the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem.

The order of events as I understand it is:
1. Hezekiah was proud
2. God sent Assyria and a punitive illness as a form of discipline
3. Hezekiah repented
4. God restored Hezekiah
5. God delivered Hezekiah and Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat.

Shapes: Hearts

I was looking for a four-leaf clover when I found this field of heart-leaf clover.

Isaiah Brings A Welcome Word

According to both biblical and Assyrian accounts, Sennacherib was intent on punishing Hezekiah for not adequately submitting to the Assyrian's demands. And, according to both sides' accounts, the prospects for Jerusalem's survival weren't very good.

However, one must take a step back, and look at the greater picture. Where is God, the master planner, in this scenario? How is God working here? Those questions serve to introduce the prophet Isaiah.

In my last entry, Hezekiah's Motivation, I discussed the nature of Hezekiah's prayer; namely, that it was spoken for God's glory. God's response to that prayer was to send a word through Isaiah to Hezekiah against Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:20-34).

A careful reading of the word against Sennacherib reveals some interesting things: First, we see that Sennacherib's insults weren't primarily against Hezekiah. Rather, from God's perspective, they were against, "the Holy One of Israel (vs 19)."

Second, we also see that pride was the cause of this insult and blasphemy (vs 19).

Here is Sennacherib's list of accomplishments (2 Kings 19:23-24 NIV):

"And you have said,
1) 'With many Chariots I have ascended the heights of the mountains,
the utmost heights of Lebanon.
2) I have cut down its tallest cedars, the choicest of it pines.
3) I have reached its remotest parts, the finest of its forests.
4) I have dug wells in foreign lands and drunk the water there.
5) With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt."

After examining his list of accomplishments, many might say, "After all he's done, he deserved to brag a little." But such an assessment discounts the third thing we see in the word delivered by Isaiah: God's sovereignty.

"Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it. In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass, that you have turned fortified cities into piles of stone (2 Kings 19:25 NIV)."

God clearly says here that Sennacherib conquered the fortified cities in Judah because God ordained, planned and brought it to pass. Sennacherib was a tool designed by God. Why should that provide encouragement for Hezekiah? Because, the sovereign God who raised up this wrecking machine, knows exactly how to disable it.

And, that's what Isaiah goes on to say: "But I know where you stay and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came (2 Kings 19:27-28 NIV)."

The next day, the Assyrian army awakened to a great surprise: During the night, the angel of the LORD put to death 185,000 of their troops, which resulted in Sennacherib breaking camp and returning to Assyria (2 Kings 19:35-36).

Let's not forget Isaiah's previous word regarding Sennacherib's personal future: "This is what the LORD says, . . . he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword (2 Kings 19:7 NIV)."

Sennacherib's end was just as Isaiah had said it would be: "One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, . . . (2 Kings 19:37 NIV)." By the way, this occurred after Hezekiah's death, which means that Hezekiah had to rest securely in the fact that God brings about His will in His own timing.

The LORD knows how to raise up and take down. And He does so to demonstrate His sovereignty and supremecy.

The Downside of Technology

Technology is great. I use it everyday. In fact, I'm using technology now to critique the use of technology. That irony isn't lost on me, so save the wise cracks. Having said all that, I also think we are terribly short-sighted to not acknowledge there is some downside - trade off, if you will - to our speeding merrily down the technological freeway.

Here's a case in point: Recently I had the need to duplicate a book that has been out of print for quite some time. I needed this particular book for an assignment I was giving some students, so I had a choice: I could use the old fashioned, labor intensive, data entry method and simply re-type the book in my word processor; or I could do an OCR scan and touch up the formatting.

Which did I choose? Well, . . . I chose both. I started the project the old fashioned way: I was sitting in a semi-comfortable chair with the book propped up on a stand, keyboard at the ready, and pretending they were bifocals, I had my reading glasses perched on my nose in such a way that I could read both both my monitor and the book I was reproducing.

All the physical preparation out of the way, the project was now underway. I read. I mentally processed what I had read. I typed. That was the process. Read. Process. Type. Read. Process. Type. After an hour, I was quite proud of what I had been able to transfer from a dusty old, long out of print book, to a modern technological masterpiece called a MacBook Pro. The long out of print and unavailable book was becoming available for my students. More important, though, was that the process gave me the chance to process the information as I transferred the text from one medium to another. I read and typed; the information was flowing into AND out of my mind.

Admittedly, the process was time consuming. But, my typing was improving on the fly: my speed increased and my mistakes decreased. However, after an hour, I started to think, "This could take a long time. I wonder if I should just scan it and reformat?"

In the end, I decided to scan and reformat the remaining pages. No doubt about it, scanning was MUCH faster than trying to type the text!

However, there was something I didn't consider: by only scanning the documents, I was missing something vital. I wasn't reading or processing the information as I had done previously. And that meant, that after scanning and reformatting, I would need to go back and read the document. Furthermore, simply going back to read the document wouldn't provide the opportunity of output, which typing had. An important (for me) step in the process of mentally "owning" this information was lost in the more technology savvy method.

Here's my conclusion on this unintended experiment: It's true, I saved some time. But, the amount of time I saved was reduced by having to go back and read the material after it had been scanned and reformatted. It's also true, that by leaving out, or greatly reducing, the labor step of the process, I paid a price in my ability to better understand and process the information.

In this process, there definitely was a downside. Now, I don't intend this blog to suggest that I'll never use OCR again. Neither is it intended to suggest that you should not use OCR or other technologies. What it is intended to do is to encourage you and me to fairly consider the wisest use of technology in our daily lives. Fastest isn't always best. And old fashioned isn't always best. Let's use honest discernment when deciding when to use technology.

Colors: Yellow (and blue)

This common wildflower is called White Mustard.