Basic Temptation 101 - C S Lewis

You may remember I said that the first step towards humility was to realize that one is proud. I want to add now that the next step is to make some serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues.

A week is not enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, having, as far as one can see, fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself.

No man knows how bad he is til he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie.

Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army be fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not be lying down.

A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because of He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means -- the only complete realist.

From Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis

What's wrong with the world?

I was checking out a verse I remember reading earlier about God's instructions for the kings that would be ruling Israel.

It shall be that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself two copies of this Torah in a book, from before the Kohanim, the Levites. It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear Hashem, his God, to observe all the words of this Torah and these decrees, to perform them, so that his heart does not become haughty over his brethren and not turn from the commandment right or left, so that he will prolong years over his kingdom, he and his sons amid Israel.

                    (Deuteronomy 17:18-20, Hebrew Bible)
Does this mean the king is to actually write out, copy carefully, his own copy of the Torah (first 5 books of the Old Testament)? Looks like that to me.
Actually, 2 copies, according to the Hebrew Bible -- other translations say 1 copy.
Here's the way the NIV translates it:

When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees, and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign for a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

I decided to check my old, interesting Chumash (collection of rabbinical commentaries on the Torah) to read their thoughts:
Their records say the king is to write out two copies. He is to keep one copy in his treasury, and to keep the other one with him at all times. These scrolls are to remind him at all times, august as his position may be, that he is a servant of the Torah. This is especially important in the royal treasury, where the presence of his wealth could easily blind him to his responsibilities.

If the king inherited Torah Scrolls from his father, he must nevertheless write one new one for himself; but if his father did not leave him any, he must write two.

The king is to copy his Scroll from the authoritative one that Moses placed in the safekeeping of the Kohanim.

He shall read and observe...In its plain sense the verse is quite clear. But, the Chumash says, there are deeper meanings as well. The king should have the physical Scroll with him at all times, but also the king should consult the Torah for guidance on how to deal with whatever happens to him, for all the events of all the days of his life. And how to react to all circumstances.

It continues...If a king, who must maintain his dignity and for whom a certain level of pomp is proper, is forbidden to be haughty, then certainly each individual must purge himself of this distasteful and abominable trait from his heart. Grandeur is God's alone and human beings should take pride only for their degree of service to him.

I enjoy reading the Chumash....but look at that last sentence -- human beings should take pride only for their degree of service to him (God).

Isn't that the opposite of what Jesus taught? And remember Paul.."not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:9)...and remember the Pharisees?

Ignoring God's Word - Isn't this, in reality, exactly what is wrong with the whole world?

But taking pride in our service to God -- isn't that, in part, what's wrong with the church?

P.S. Notice the Hebrew translation says to make (by hand) copies of the Torah - that would be the first 5 books--Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Most Gentile commentaries take it to mean the book of Deuteronomy only, but still a big task...requiring patience and skill....

Who Found the Lost Tribes?

At various times in history the topic of the 'lost tribes of Israel' comes up -- referring to the northern 10 tribes who made up the nation of Israel -- the tribes who were conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC (730 BC or so) and transported away from their homeland.


The two southern tribes -- Judah and Benjamin -- kept their national integrity (as the nation of Judah) until 586 BC, when they were conquered and deported by the Babylonians. Later, after the Persians conquered Babylon, the Persian leader Cyrus decreed that they could return to their homeland and rebuild their capital city of Jerusalem and their beloved temple.



But what about the 10 tribes that were exiled throughout Assyria 150 years earlier? The 'lost tribes'?

I heard someone mention them just this week --
were they the people who migrated across the Bering Strait into North America? Did they migrate to Greece and become the ancestors of the Spartans? Did Jeremiah really die in Ireland? Did they sail from Europe to North America and intermarry with the natives here?

Speculation is so much fun!  But it is even more fun to ferret out facts that can be documented and verified.

And the answers we are looking for are all right here in our Bibles....

Many scholars throughout history have claimed that the "northern 10 tribes" never returned to their homeland in Israel. It is true that many of those in the Assyrian captivity were assimilated in various places in the Assyrian empire, but many did, in fact, return to the Holy Land. Some came back in small groups, drifting back whenever it was possible.

But more returned in the 5th century BC when the Persians granted permission for the southern tribes to return.

That makes sense, because the Babylonians, after they conquered the Assyrians, inherited their captive peoples, and then the Persians, when they prevailed, absorbed the Babylonian captives.

So when Cyrus allowed, and by God's design, even encouraged the Jews to return, his proclamation included the survivors of all 12 tribes!

Ezra, chapter 1, tells us:

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia,so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put in writing, saying, 'Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: all the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem...Who is among you of all His people? May God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'

And then in Ezra chapter 6, we read:

Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adair...the children of Israel, the priests and Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy...and they offered sacrifices...as a sin offering for all Israel twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

When Cyrus authorized the return of the captives to Israel to rebuild the temple his decree included all Israelites, regardless of their tribes.

In doing this, Cyrus was fulfilling the remarkable prophecy of Jeremiah, issued 200 years before, but he was also setting the stage for the fulfillment of another prophecy in Jeremiah, which would be fulfilled by the Messiah (500 years later) and would include the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

That other prophecy concerned the "New Covenant" that the Messiah would introduce:

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31).

The New Covenant was made with both the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and the New Testament states plainly that the New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus Christ. This required converts of both groups.

Christ sent His disciples ahead of Him to preach to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel". In Paul's defence before Agrippa (Acts 26), he stated that all 12 tribes were currently serving God in Jerusalem.

So converts of all 12 tribes were in Israel at the time of Christ, and we know from John's Revelation that they will all be present in the future.

So the 'lost tribes' were never 'lost.' That's a small story in the history of mankind. But there's another bigger story that travels through history.

It's in Isaiah 45:1-4

Thus says the LORD to His anointed, 'to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings...I will go before you and make the crooked paths straight..I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name I have named you, though you have not known Me.'

But Cyrus did get to know the God of Israel. "All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me," he was able to say.

We call the Persian king Cyrus the Great, and according to the words of Cyrus himself, he knew he was great, because the God of Abraham made him great!


Nothing flows thourgh the current of human history that is not flowing through the channel God already prepared for it.

Want to learn how to forgive? - Ed Bulkley

Forgiveness becomes easier and more natural each time we make the choice to overlook a wrong.

Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is his glory to overlook an offense."

That sounds fine in theory, but how many times do  we have to forgive?

Jesus answered that when He said, "If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him" (Luke 17:4).

That is to say, we must forgive continually.

The habit of forgiveness doesn't happen automatically. Paul says that we must practice the spiritual disciples, which includes forgiveness. And that begins when we learn to focus our minds on things that please the Lord: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

Forgiveness matures as we practice it.

As a result, we will know God's peace: "whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9).

  --From Only God Can Heal the Wounded Heart,
               by Ed Bulkley

What Comes First - Love or Obedience?

"I will tell you if you really want to know," said the Director.

"Please," said Jane reluctantly.

"You do not fail in obedience through lack of love, but have lost love because you never attempted obedience," he answered.

Ransom's reply to Jane.....from That Hideous Strength, by C. S. Lewis.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's command and remain in his love....My command is this: love each other as I have loved you." (John 15)

If you love me you will obey what I command.....if anyone loves me he will obey my teaching...
(John 14)

It's a glorious unbroken circle, spiraling ever upward -- we love Him and so we obey Him...as we obey Him we love Him...and as we love Him we love each other.... If we love Him we will obey His teachings...and His teachings are that we love Him and each other....

It seems love and obedience are connected like Siamese twins... they are inseparable.
Is that the way it is in my life? Do I try to do one without the other?