The Desert Places

 Mark 1:40-45

40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean.

42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.

43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away;

44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.

In Mark 1:40-45, Jesus shows His compassion by miraculously healing a man of leprosy. Jesus then instructs him to show himself to the priest. This is in obedience to the Jewish law (see Leviticus chapter 13). The man, however, is so overjoyed that he skips Jesus’ instruction. He rushes off and tells everyone about his healing.

As a result, Jesus can’t openly enter the city. He stays in the desert places. Even so, the people come to him from every quarter.

The word for “desert” is eremos. It suggests a lonely area. It can mean a desert, a desolate place or wilderness. 

“Every quarter” comes from pantachothen. They came to Him from everywhere.

Have you ever been so exuberant that you mess things up? I certainly have. This man was so thrilled that he disobeyed what Jesus said. I like to imagine that once he settled down, he did show himself to the priest.

It’s wonderfully encouraging to know that even when I mess up, that Jesus is there, waiting for me. I can come to him from pantachothen. It doesn’t matter to Him where I come from. I can come to Him from anywhere. He is there for me to find Him.

In fact, I can invite Jesus into my wilderness, into my eremos. Into the lonely places. Into the desolate places. Into the dry places.

Song of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?”

We can take heart that in those dry and desolate wilderness areas, we can lean upon Jesus. We can lean upon Him - and come out of the wilderness leaning upon Him. Amen!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I welcome You into those desert places of my life. I’m so glad that I can depend upon You in the hard and lonely times. I look forward to coming through them by leaning on You! Amen

When a Toddler Names You

Yesterday, New Year's Day, a toddler named me.

We were at a dear friend's house. Her daughter and family came over. Their little 2-year old took a shining to me. We played the silly things that toddlers play, from numerous "Old MacDonald" renditions to racing around a slightly crowded room. 

After a bit, he named me. He said, "Ready, Gumma?"

I don't know about you, but when a toddler names me, I fall eagerly and hopelessly in love. I remember a Thanksgiving when my husband's niece went around the table naming each of us. Papa. Bammy [Grammy]. Uncle Bommy [Tommy]. And Mimmi [yours truly]. From that moment onward, this little girl had me wrapped around her finger. She doesn't know it, but twenty plus years later, I still am wrapped around her finger!

This morning, it occurs to me that our Heavenly Father might be touched with a similar eager, deep affection when His children say His name.

Psalm 91:14 says: "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

"Known" is yada in Hebrew. It points to a depth of knowledge, familiarity, relationship and intimacy. Our LORD has many beautiful names in scripture. He is Savior, Kinsman Reedemer, our Banner, our Master, our Healer. Our Father.

Let's take this moment right now and ask God if there is a name He would like you to call Him? Is it Abba? Daddy? Father? Is there a special way you relate to Him, like Artist? Creator? Master Builder? Lover of your soul?

Holy Spirit, please draw us into that depth of intimacy and knowledge of You that we can name You with a name that shows all the delight, affection and trust we have in You. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

The Levite and his Concubine - something I never saw before

  Yesterday, I cut my Bible reading short. I was coming up on Judges 19. I knew what lay in there. 

The time of the Judges was an unstable and scary world. When God’s people forgot Him, they did whatever was right in their own eyes. To me, Judges 19 is the epitome of all that is despicable, senseless, perverse and wrenching.

To me, it is even worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.

In short, a Levite’s concubine cheats on him. She returns to her father’s house. After 4 months, the Levite goes to her to take her home. On the way, violent men want to have sex with the Levite. Instead, he gives them his concubine. They gang rape her and she dies. In the end, civil war and the near annihilation of one of Israel’s tribes ensues.

Because the Bible tells about real people, real human beings, I try very hard not to be judge and jury and executioner. I avoided the chapter yesterday. Today I read it.

I must stop for a moment and thank Holy Spirit. He breathed life into this passage and showed me something I never saw. Thank You, Holy Spirit, for teaching Father’s love even here.

19 And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.

2 And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.

3 And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.

4 And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.

For whatever reason, the woman zanah, “played the whore against him.” She had lived with him on the side of Mt. Ephraim but then fled to her father’s home in Bethlehem.

The Levite saw the woman as his concubine. He later referred to her as a maidservant. But get this! When she was in her father’s home, he saw her as a damsel!

Before I delve into the word study, let me tell you that this Levite did love her. He went all the way back to Bethlehem to find her. The trip wouldn’t take 4 months, but let’s allow him time to heal and forgive her. Or maybe it took that long to find her. 

He went to her to dabar leb to her. He went to speak his heart. Do you know who else dabar leb-ed? Boaz dabar leb-ed Ruth.

Ok, back to the concubine, `ishshah piylegesh. In Bible times, a concubine was a second wife who was often viewed as a servant. To her, the Levite was a combination of husband-master.

Ah, but to her father, she was na`arah. This term refers to a girl, from infancy to adolescence: a damsel, maiden, young woman.* 

She was still his little girl. 

My friends, please grab hold of this. No matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve been, you can return to your heavenly Father’s house. You may return to Bethlehem, literally “the House of Bread.” Come back to Father. He doesn’t see you the way the world does. You are His little girl, His little boy and He loves you. Come back to the House of Bread, to your Father’s house.

* as opposed to `almah, a virgin