God punishes those without faith. And He is ironic about it too.
Sarah laughed when she was told that in her old age, she would have a son, and so, laughingly, God said, okay, but all the younger children will rule the oldest. Isaac ruled Ishmael, Jacob ruled Esau, Judah the fourth son of the lesser loved wife (Leah) is chosen to bring forth the Messiah.
It gets better.
Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, when told (by an angel... sooo its not like the impossible hadn't already happened) that he in HIS old age would have a son and the son would be named John, he basically replied "prove it to me" and was struck dumb (couldn't talk) until "the day that these things should be performed".... When the child is born, Zacharias was still dumb. When they ask Elisabeth what she is going to name the child, she says John, which goes against the customs of the times (they generally name the child after his father, or some other family member, and everyone THEN went to Zacharias and asked him to write down the name. It is not until he wrote out "John" and confirmed for himself the words of the angel that he got his speech back. The child had already been named AND YET until he agrees that "yes this is happening and this is his name" Zacharias doesn't get his speech back.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
Both Elizabeth and Zacharias were "children of Aaron" which make them (by birthright) of the sect of priest in Israel. That makes John the baptist 100% priest who had the ability according to the old covenant to forgive people their sins (and did by baptism). Aaron had two sons who got drunk one night and disrespected God in his own house (they died) and God ordained from that point that if you were going to be a priest, you weren't allowed to have strong drink (alcohol). One of the things Zacharias was told about his son was that he "shall never drink wine, nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb". God ordained this man a priest FROM CONCEPTION! If God ain't good, WHO IS?
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
Both Elizabeth and Zacharias were "children of Aaron" which make them (by birthright) of the sect of priest in Israel. That makes John the baptist 100% priest who had the ability according to the old covenant to forgive people their sins (and did by baptism). Aaron had two sons who got drunk one night and disrespected God in his own house (they died) and God ordained from that point that if you were going to be a priest, you weren't allowed to have strong drink (alcohol). One of the things Zacharias was told about his son was that he "shall never drink wine, nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb". God ordained this man a priest FROM CONCEPTION! If God ain't good, WHO IS?
The point is HAVE FAITH
No comments:
Post a Comment