Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our “green room.”  It was so good having her back.

B.B. said, “Stinker, should we judge other people or she we let them keep going down the wrong path?”

I huffed, “B.B., have you read the Bible verses for today?  They are from the book of Judges.  They have nothing to do with being judgmental.  But for helping someone, not being judgmental at all, the key is to have enough witnesses.  Without the witnesses, it’s just gossip, so don’t touch it. ‘One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ (Deuteronomy 19:15).  But saying something without enough witnesses is slander.”

B.B. replied, “So, where are your two or three witnesses?  I am prepared.  I was talking about the early service last Sunday, not our upcoming Sunday school lesson.  And yes, I read all the Scriptures.  Joseph and I studied them.  But the old ladies at the early service were vicious last Sunday.  My dress was too long.  This wasn’t the occasion for formal wear.  My dress was too short.  A preacher’s wife should not show that much leg, and it was the same dress by the way.  I had on the wrong lipstick.  My purse was both too big and not big enough.  I could stand to lose a few pounds and gain a few pounds.  And it was just the first Sunday when Joseph preached!”

I asked, “Why are these old ladies at the first service?  Do they have somewhere to go?”

B.B. said, “Just to the ‘home’ across the street.  Joseph says that they probably wake up at three in the morning to milk the cows, and the cows have been gone forty years or more.  But what about your two or three witnesses idea?”

I shrugged, “When one of the ladies says your dress is too long as an example, smile and nod and say something like, ‘God bless you, dear.’  Then when the other lady says your dress is too short, tell her about the need for two or three witnesses.  Don’t say anything else, but nudge her toward the other lady.  Then they will be too busy gossiping about your dress length to bother you.”

B.B. smiled and nodded, “And we are taking the pink bus.  These old ladies are all in agreement that there is something fishy about a bus filled with ladies in their 30s and 40s.  I can’t tell them that they were former prostitutes.  They are all friends of ours.”

I suggested, “Start a bit of gossip.  Tell them that you heard that those ladies come from an apartment building set aside for widows of fallen military heroes from Afghanistan, Iraq, and maybe even Kosovo.  These women should not be looked down upon.  They should be treated as heroes.  But please don’t say anything to them directly, the wounds run deep.”

B.B. replied, “But I would be lying.”

I said, “No you wouldn’t be.  You are telling them that you heard it from someone, and you just heard it from me.  And remember, to incriminate me, you need two or three witnesses.”

A familiar voice from the center stall, “I can be a witness.  I heard the whole thing.”

B.B. laughed, “Arabella, I wouldn’t rat out my best friend.  Besides, you are only one witness, so put a sock in it.”

The stall door opened and Arabella washed her hands, “Where are these socks?  I am always in the market for another sock.”

I snickered, “B.B., Fireball said sock.  Now we know part of her problem.  Socks usually come in pairs.”

B.B. groaned, “But look at her feet!”

Arabella had one sock that was yellow with a bumblebee print.  The other sock was blue with a unicorn print.

Arabella tapped her foot. “It’s my style.  I am artistic.”

B.B. said, “Stinker, did she just say that she was artistic or autistic?”

Arabella groaned, “Does it matter?  You need at least two or three witnesses, and Stinker is all you’ve got!”  With that, Belle was gone.

I said, “But before we get off the subject of needing witnesses, Jesus has a great procedure.  ‘“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.’ (Matthew 18:15-17).”

B.B. snickered, “Stinker, you have all the answers today.  But what about Matthew 7:1? ‘“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.’?”

I said, “That is talking about the log in your own eye and gossip more than not judging.  We are to correct and rebuke if we have those witnesses.  But nitpicking the other person over their dress length or their purse size is between gossip and nasty behavior.  It is not said in the form of correction or rebuke, and no one talks about their dress length.  Obtain a thick skin while you can, B.B.  But another interpretation of Matthew 7:1 is that we can give correction and rebuke, but only God can pass judgment, so telling them to go to the Lake of Fire is going too far.”

B.B. replied, “And where did you come up with all these deviant ideas about widows of war heroes and such?”

I leaned in close and whispered, “I’m a P.K., preacher’s kid.  You learn early on or you do not survive.”

She opened the door, and we went to the den, laughing.

Rev. Joseph led us in prayer.

Emmett had the strings and tubulum (just for the beat).  Samuel started with a solo, and then the other singers joined.  They sang and played Song of Gideon.

I asked, “Emmett, that was lovely!”

Emmett smiled, “No snarky comments?”

I sighed, “Do I ever make snarky comments?”

Emmett said, “Once or twice.”

Arabella said, “And Em has at least two or three witnesses.”  And the entire choir laughed at that.

I smiled, “Okay! Let’s move on.”

Mags said, “No, we are disappointed in you, Aunt Jemima.  The lyrics of the song has ‘revolt’ in it several times.  You could have said the song was revolting.”

Menzie, Emmett, and Arabella chimed in, “Yeah!”

Wilma said, “Leave Fred and me out of this.  Jemima and Easter are getting their bachelor degrees in May and they will be graduate assistants this summer and next year.  Fred and I do not wish to jeopardize our potential graduation.”

I just shook my head.

Michael Rowe Casey asked, “Since Samuel is resting his voice, where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I nodded, “Wow, Samuel has a backup.  We are looking at the book of Judges.  We may see Christophanies in Judges.  My source shows no cross references to New Testament writings, but there is one that I can use.  Probably more foreshadows than Messianic prophecies.  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella nodded eagerly, “Yeah, after what you and B.B. were talking about in the restroom, I am totally confused.  If we are not to judge others, then why were the Israelites led by judges?”

Easy smiled, “We are to correct and rebuke each other with two or three witnesses, as you just mentioned earlier, Fireball.  Yes, I was awake.  We are not to tell someone they are going to Hell, and we are not to spread vicious gossip because we have enough problems of our own without causing others to have even more problems.  And less than two witnesses and you are just gossiping.  But these judges could settle disputes, but they were not rulers, thus a judge instead of a king.  And the judges sprang up due to the cycle of sin, punishment, calling out to God and repenting, and then after the naughty neighbors have been chased away, back to apathy and then sin again.  Otherwise, Israel was not one nation, but a collection of tribes, and none of the tribes west of the Jordan did what God said to do, and that was to drive out the Canaanites in the land they were allotted.  Thus, the temptation to sin was still there, and the lack of success in driving them out was due to their lack of faith.  All those failures comes in Judges 1.”

Arabella reddened, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.  I guess we can go now!”

I simply growled.

Mitzi (Judges 2:1-5) “The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? And I have also said, ‘I will not drive them out before you; they will become traps for you, and their gods will become snares to you.’” When the angel of the Lord had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the Lord.”

Mitzi asked, ”Is this an angel or Jesus?  They offered sacrifices to God after the angel had finished talking to them.”

I said, “You may be right, but the verdict is not clear cut.  The angel says ‘I brought you out.’  He could have said, ‘And the Lord says I brought you out.’  So, if this was Jesus, who appeared to Joshua as the commander of the Lord’s Army, then He is rightfully claimed that He did it.  But then again, this particular angel, possibly Michael led all those exploits as God’s strong arm, but I would seriously doubt that Michael would take the credit.  That leaves us with a Christophany.  The people repented, but as Easy said, it’s like washing your hair: wash, rinse, repeat.  As soon as they repent, they find new things to tempt them, or the same old things that they never removed.  In the Song of Deborah in Judges 5:23, it mentions the angel of the Lord cursing anyone who failed to be part of the Army.  ‘‘Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the Lord. ‘Curse its people bitterly, because they did not come to help the Lord, to help the Lord against the mighty.’’ God is going to do the fighting, but the people must show their faith that God would be successful.”

Wilma (Judges 6:12-22) “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”
And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”
Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.”

Wilma said, “This sounds like a Christophany, but why didn’t the Angel of the Lord eat the offering?  If He was God in human form, wouldn’t He simply eat the meat and bread?”

I smiled, “Not necessarily.  When the Lord appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18:8, Abraham stood under a tree while the Lord and two men ate.  But it seems that the Angel of the Lord had a bit of the dramatic here.  Gideon was thinking someone was tricking him, while in Genesis 18, Abraham acknowledges the Lord from the beginning.  It kind of gives you the idea that in some of the Lord’s discussions with Abraham, He had shown glimpses of Himself.  So, the dramatic exit convinced Gideon.”

Wilma asked, “But what about the fleece?  If Gideon was convinced, why have these tests in Judges 6:36-40?”

Joseph said, “Gideon knew God had come to him, but Gideon was the weakest in his family, his family the weakest in the tribe.  Gideon felt inadequate, and God wanted that.  He wanted Gideon to know that it is not Gideon doing this, but God Himself.  So, God goes along with the pantomime and the cutting down of the Army. ‘Now announce to the army, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’” So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.’ (Judges 7:3).  Fear is the first divider. ‘Three hundred of them drank from cupped hands, lapping like dogs. All the rest got down on their knees to drink.’ (Judges 7:6).  Now he had his 300 that Emmett’s song spoke of.  All of this was to show Gideon that God would win the battle.  But what did Gideon do?  He obeyed.  Just like Joshua last week.  Mary and I were not here, but Mary and Aunt Jemima talk to each other … a lot.  ‘Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”’ (Judges 4:8).  That did not work out for Barak.  Yes, his army won the battle, but it was Jael, a woman, who killed Sisera by driving a tent peg through his temple while he slept.  Barak was humbled by his hesitation when being told God’s plan.  Once Gideon knew that he was talking to God, it was obedience and no hesitation.”

I added, “It was like you flipped the coin.”

Baldy (Judges 8:22-23) “The Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us—you, your son and your grandson—because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.’ But Gideon told them, ‘I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.’”

Baldy said, “I’m still learning, but Mitzi is a good teacher.  She thinks this is included as a Messianic prophecy.  It doesn’t say Jesus, but it says that God will be the ruler.”

I smiled, “That was great, Baldy.”

I will read the next one (Judges 9:7-15) “When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’
“But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’
“Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’
“But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’
“Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’
“But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’
“Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’
“The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’”

I said, “This is possibly the oldest parable that is recorded, or allegory.  Jotham escapes being killed by Abimelek.  Abimelek would become the judge to lead them, but he was bloodthirsty.  But who was the only non-tree, if you say that a bush is a small tree?”

Sarah squeaked in her own voice, “The vine.”

“And what does the vine remind you of?” I asked.

Margie said, “Jesus.  Jesus said “I am the vine; you are the branches.(John 15:5a).  And this says that the vine was helping humans while he would have to give up that to be king of the trees.”

I smiled, “Very good, Margie.  That was my next question.  So, in the long-range prophetic view of this parable, who is the thornbush, or bramble?  Abimelek is the short term person.  God used him and he was discarded.  But who will be the long-term king of the trees?”

Everyone was looking at each other in confusion, then Jethro suggested, “The Antichrist?”

I smiled, “Yes, Jethro, the Antichrist of the End Times.  He may think that he is the king of everything when he takes control, but God is still in control and Jesus will come back.  The Antichrist will have the trees, but Jesus will have His angel army and all the followers to fight by His side.”

I said, “We have a few more things in Judges.  Samson was a Nazirite.  Jesus was from Nazareth, not the same thing, but suggestive.  The Angel of the Lord returns to talk to Manoah and his wife to give them instructions on how Samson was to be born and raised.  Jethro?”

Jethro (Judges 13:3-5) ”The angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines.””

Jethro smiled, “What Tammie and I talked about is how a Nazirite was set apart.  And Jesus was sure enough set apart.  And John the Baptist was set apart, probably a Nazirite too.  And Samson was kind of like Gideon.  He didn’t even have an army.  Once he only had a jawbone of an ass.  Umm. Or a donkey.  Don’t want to offend, but I was raised KJV only Baptist.”

I snickered, “You are right on all counts, and we don’t know if the jawbone was from a domesticated animal or a wild ass.  Very good.  Samson, in small ways becomes a foreshadowing of John the Baptist and Jesus.”

Grannie Fannie (Galatians 6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

Brooke picked up Stormie as usual.  She talked to Stormie all the way.  Stormie laughed.

Credits

I start with a study guide by Marilyn Hickey called Seeing Jesus.  But she does not discuss Christophanies.  And I also did a search for prophecies and got a slightly different list.

My granddaughter wore unmatching socks throughout elementary school, probably due to not taking care of her laundered clothing, but it became her fashion statement.  And the two socks that I mentioned come as pairs in a set.

I mean no offense with the line about autistic and artistic.  Mildly autistic can require added efforts in teaching the child, but the severely autistic have very real problems.  I have known both and some mildly autistic people are quite brilliant.

Here is the Logically Juan Band singing Song of Gideon.  It was recorded at the Hope Channel South Philippines Studio

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.