Ask Mr Bible

Note the record involved:

● The event in Genesis 35

“And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which [is] Bethlehem” (Gen. 35:16-19).

● The event in Luke 2

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:4-7).

Note the relationships involved:

● Both describe two mothers giving birth.

  It would be Rachel’s final birth.
  It would be Mary’s first birth.

● Both babies were boys.

● Both were born in Bethlehem.

● Both would bring sorrow to their mothers.

Rachel would die giving birth to her son.

Mary would later be grieved watching her son die.

“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34, 35).

“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:25-27).

● The names given to the first son would later apply to the second son.

Rachel called her infant son, Ben-oni, meaning, “son of my sorrow.”

Jacob however, called him Benjamin, meaning, “son of my right hand.”

Spiritually speaking, Jesus was later known as Ben-oni.

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not” (Isa. 53:3).

Spiritually speaking, Jesus is now known as Benjamin.

“But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool” (Heb. 10:12, 13).

God may respond to our particular prayer in one of five ways:

• No!  “Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD remaineth under curtains.  Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee.  And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in” (1 Chron. 17:1-4).

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4)

• Yes!  “Therefore David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go and smite these Philistines?  And the LORD said until David, Go, and smite the Philistines, and save Keilah.  And David’s men said unto him, Behold, we be afraid here in Judah: how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?  Then David enquired of the LORD yet again.  And the LORD answered him and said, Arise go down to Keilah; for I will deliver the Philistines into thine hand” (1 Sam. 23:2-4)

• Wait!  “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36).

• IF!  “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

• Silence!  “And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines?  wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?  But he answered him not that day”  (2 Sam. 14:37).

“And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6).

The Old Testament records the PREPARATION for the life of Jesus Christ.

“And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

The Gospel accounts record the MANIFESTATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

The Book of Acts records the PROPAGATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).

The Epistles record the INTERPRETATION of the life of Jesus Christ.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I an chief” (1 Tim. 1:15).

The Book of Revelation records the CORONATION OF KING JESUS CHRIST.

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).

● Negative consideration.  It did not occur in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus.  In fact to the contrary, for had there been a medical doctor present to assist in the birth of Jesus (but not knowing the background of the event) he would have encountered nothing unusual in the delivery process itself.

● Positive consideration.  It did occur in Nazareth upon the announcement of Gabriel:

 “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

 Stated another way, the miracle of the incarnation was the supernatural conception of the body of Jesus within the womb of Mary without the aid of a human father!

Dr. Walter Wilson, well known physician and Bible teacher in the Kansas City, Kansas area told the following story on himself.  He had just given a young university student a routine physical examination and felt constrained to share Christ with her before she left his office.  To his surprise however, she refused the gospel invitation stating that, in her opinion, no educated person could ever accept the Bible message.

When asked why this was so, she responded: “Tell me, Dr. Wilson, do you believe in the virgin birth?”  “Indeed I do,” he replied.  “Very well,” she continued, “now let me ask you two questions.  Let us suppose you tell me your physical examination has revealed that I am pregnant, but I respond by saying this cannot be, for I am a virgin.  However, your findings are correct and I give birth to a baby boy.  Now, Dr. Wilson, here are my two questions: First, would you believe I was truthful concerning my virginity, and, second, would you look upon my baby as the Son of God?”

Breathing a silent prayer for divine wisdom, Dr. Wilson answered: “Well, young lady, it would all depend on certain things.  Let us imagine that I was present at his birth and watched in amazement as farmers in the area came to your bedside and worshipped him, followed later by the arrival of foreign astronomers bringing him costly gifts.  Now, when he is twelve, I see him holding his own with America’s greatest theologians and philosophers.  Years later I follow him as he empties hospitals by healing the sick, disrupts cemeteries by raising the dead, reduces prison populations by changing lives, and reconciling enemies by his messages.  Finally, if I could look in horror as this incredible man was murdered by his foes, and, in great sorrow, officially pronounce him dead, but then, miracle of miracles, actually see him walking around several days later, then, young lady, yes.  I would say, you are a virgin, and yes, your baby would be the son of God!” 

Was it the only one in the Bible?

No, but it was indeed the only truly unique one.  To explain:

● The supernatural conception and birth of other sons of man.  God touched the barren wombs of the following women:

1. Sarah, who gave birth to Isaac (Gen. 21:1-3)
2. Rebekah, who gave birth to Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25:21)
3. Leah, who gave birth to Issachar (Gen. 30:9, 18)
4. Rachel, who gave birth to Joseph (Gen. 30:22)
5. Manoah’s wife, who gave birth to Samson (Judg. 13:3, 24)
6. Hannah, who gave birth to Samuel (1 Sam. 1:2, 11, 19, 20)
7. Elisabeth, who gave birth to John (Luke 1:7, 13, 24, 25)

● The unique conception and birth of the Son of God
 
1. This was the only birth where the baby had previously existed (John 8:58)
2. This was the only birth where no earthly father was involved (Luke 1:35)
3. This was the only birth where God took upon Himself human flesh (John 1:14)

Fine, But Don’t Ask Him To

This advice sound strange to you?  I know it sure did to me as I stood at the altar of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, Illinois along with several hundred other young people over a half century ago.  We had just answered the call to dedicate our lives to God following a sermon by Dr. Vance Havner.  Looking down at us, he said:

“In a few minutes I’m going to ask the dear Lord to honor your commitment.  However, before I do, I want you to pray for yourself.  But, don’t pray, ‘LORD USE ME!’ ”

I still remember how shocked I was to hear those words.  What did he mean by them?  After all, that’s why we were standing there.  But, as if he had read my mind, he continued:

“Don’t worry, He’ll use you all right.  In fact, He’ll wear you out.  There’s not enough of you to go around as it is!  No, don’t pray, ‘LORD USE ME,’ but rather, ‘LORD MAKE ME USABLE!’

What a simple but profound truth.  In other words, he was saying that in order to be used, one must make himself or herself usable!

The bottom line?  God does not require golden vessels or demand sinless ones, but He absolutely insists upon clean ones!

At Bethlehem, God the Father was preparing a body for His Son to work through.

“Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me” (Heb. 10:5).

At Pentecost, God the Father was preparing a body for His Spirit to work through.

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:19).

“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Cor. 6:16).

Because of this, Pentecost can never be repeated in the same sense that Bethlehem can never again happen.  It is, therefore, as unscriptural to have a “tarrying meeting” to pray down another Pentecost as it would be to have a meeting and plead for the shepherds and wise men to reappear.  The events occurring in Luke 2 and Acts 2 are forever in the past.

“Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost” (Matt. 27:50).

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30).

These two English expressions, “yielded up” and “gave up” are from the same Greek phrase which could also be translated “to dismiss,” “to command to leave,” “to order a departure.”

What then, was the miracle of His death?  Simply this: By an act of sheer will, Jesus ordered His heart to stop beating, His blood to cease circulating, and His lungs to abstain from breathing.  We cannot accomplish this apart from the help of a gun, knife, poison, etc.  But the Savior commanded His physical life to end as easily as we might order our body to rise from a chair!

Thus, we see the supernatural involved concerning the three most important events in Jesus’ earthly life:

● He was born without the aid of a human father (Luke 1:30-35).
● He died by an act of the will.
● He was raised from the dead with a glorified body (Luke 24:33-40).

A recent U. S. census revealed that a majority of Americans used a shoe to drive a nail into a wall.  But why would they do that?  Surely no shoe designer or manufacturer whoever lived had this usage in mind.  Shoes are for walking, not pounding nails.  Actually the mystery deepens, as the same census also discovered 95% of those households polled had at least one or two hammers.  So why the first object and not the second?

The answer of course is simple indeed—a shoe was always available, the hammer was not!  So it is with the divine “nail driver.”  Whom does God use?  That one who is available.  Thus, the two greatest abilities are availability and dependability.

Most Bible students would agree that the greatest Old Testament prophet was Isaiah and the secret of his success?

“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here [am] I; send me” (Isa. 6:8).

God grant us more “shoe saints” in these last days!