Bible
Anatomy (3) invites us to examine
Teeth , Noses (!) , Toes and Sleep ….
( And
there is a Bible Anatomy No. 4 too !)
BIBLE TEETH !
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INTRODUCTION... The latest ‘gimmick’ in
some charismatic circles is getting one’s teeth filled...with a gold filling,
of course. Miraculously !! Not by going
to a dentist but by having a ‘healing
evangelist’ pray over you. Why
God doesn’t give a new tooth instead of fixing up the old one hasn’t been
explained.....
The Bible speaks of ‘teeth’
nearly fifty times. I especially like
the shepherd’s words to his girl-friend...
Song of Solomon 4:1-2.
But is telling her that she
hasn’t got any teeth missing
romantic...?
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(1) A
LESSON IN RESPONSIBILITY.
The Jews in captivity sought to
blame their misfortune on their ancestors. They used an ancient proverb to back
up their claim.( Ezekiel 18:2)
No! says the Lord... every person
is punished for his own sin...not somebody elses.
It is true that parental example
can have a bad influence upon future generations. But although a child may be punished by his father’s sins, he
is not punished by God for his father’s
sins. ( Ezekiel 18: 5-15
illustrates this principle.) The soul that sins is the soul that suffers
eternal death. ( Ez. 18:4)
.........................................
(2) A
LESSON IN UNCERTAINTY.
Job laments that he clings to life “by the skin of his teeth.” (
Job 19:20) He was suffering all types
of affliction. But the healthiest among us can say the same thing. None can
boast of tomorrow. ( Proverbs 27:1)
Today is mine,
tomorrow may not come,
I may not see the
setting of the sun;
When shadows fall
.. my work may all be done –
Today is mine, tomorrow may not come.
.......................................
(3)
A LESSON IN ADVERSITY.
In Psalm 35:11-16 a young David speaks of the persecution that
has befallen him. And such has been the lot of God’s saints down through the
ages. “In this world ye shall have tribulation...” said the Lord Jesus.
( John 16:33) It has been said “The Lord has not promised us a smooth passage... but He has
promised us a safe landing.” As the
mob before the Cross hurled scorn and
ridicule at the Lord Jesus, the thieves
likewise “cast the same in His teeth.”
( Matthew 27:44) This is the way
the Master went... should not the servant tread it still...
........................................
(4) A LESSON IN
LETHARGY. (
Proverbs 10:26. )
An earthly employer is distressed
by the lazy worker. How much more so our Heavenly Master who sees His servants
lethargic in their service for Him? Am I doing my very best for Jesus ? Are you
?
........................................................
CONCLUSION. The next time you are brushing your
teeth...think on these things !
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BIBLE NOSES !! …………………………………………………
INTRODUCTION. The Bible speaks of noses and nostrils about thirty
times.
And a study of some of these
references will teach us a lesson…or two!
…………………………………………………….
(1) FAMOUS NOSES
History records a number of
famous noses…like Cyrano de Bergerac who fought 1000 duels because of rude
things others said about his nose!
And the famous Italian artist/ painter/ sculptor Michelangelo,
had a squashed nose. And Thomas Wedder
in the 1700’s got himself a job in a side-show with a nose over 7 inches long.
…………………………………………………….
(2) FABRICATED
NOSES
… made of wood, like Pinnochio’s, which grew when he told a lie …
or caricatured by the enemies of religious opponents … as was Martin Luther …
…………………………………….
(3) FIGURATIVE NOSES
Noses
feature in well-known sayings…”Follow your nose” … “Cut off your nose to
spite your face ”… “Put your nose to
the grindstone”… “plain as the nose on
your face”…and if the sermon is no good it might be described as “on the nose !”…
Because Archbishop of Canterbury,
Matthew Parker, (1504 – 1575) was so inquisitive…”always putting his nose into
other peoples business” … he acquired
the nick-name “Nosey Parker.”
And that’s where the saying originated.
The Shepherd in the Song of Solomon
describes his loved one as having a nose “as the Tower of Lebanon”… hopefully a figurative expression!!! It was
really a reference to its graceful beauty, not its size. (Song of Sol. 7:4)
And one writer has
suggested that had Cleopatra’s
nose been half an inch longer the whole history of the world may have
been different ! Sometimes huge events depend upon small issues!! So let’s look at some texts that speak of
noses …
……………………………
(4)
FOOLISH NOSES
* The Psalmists describes the false
gods of the heathen as “having noses, but they smell not.” (Psalm
115:4-6) Dead, dumb idols…yet there are
millions in our world who pray to such. In contrast the Living God is described
as One who destroys His enemies with “ the blast of the breath of His
nostrils.”(Ps. 18:15)
………………………………………
* The
Living Bible, in Ezekiel 8:17 speaks of those who “thumb their noses” at
God! They ‘hurl defiance at the vault
of Heaven’ as Milton puts it in Paradise Lost. How sad that the creature should
turn against his Creator. We live in a society that commits the same sins
mentioned by the prophet…and who are destined for the same judgment if there is
no repentance.
…………………………………….
* Isaiah
65 contains a rebuke to those Jews “a
rebellious people who sacrifice in gardens and burn incense upon altars of
brick.”(vs.2-3) The Lord says “They
are a smoke in my nose.”(vs.5) … an irritating stench. Sacrificing in
gardens was forbidden in the Mosaic Law. (Deuteronomy 12:5) As was making
altars out of brick! (Exodus 20:24-25)
Yet these “religious” people
actually thought they were pleasing God.
But His reply is that such disobedient ‘worship’ is a stench in
His nostrils.
……………………………………………..
(5) FLAT NOSES !!
|
Leviticus 21:16 And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 21 No
man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to
offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not
come nigh to offer the bread of his God. |
God
gave specific instructions concerning priests and their qualifications.
And one of the laws was that they must not
have “a flat nose !!!” ( vs. 18 KJV)
Why ???
(a) The
Priestly Pattern
What is
said of the priesthood in the Old Testament has a spiritual counterpart in the
New. For Christ is our High Priest and
every Christian is described as a priest. But our sacrifices are
spiritual. ( 1 Peter 2:5) We are to
offer the sacrifice of ‘praise’ and ‘stewardship’ (Hebrews 13:15-16) … and
ourselves !(Romans 12:1)
(b) The
Priestly Prohibitions.
Physical infirmities disqualified the O.T.
priest from serving God. Not that God has anything against handicapped people.
But just as the sacrifices had to be “ without blemish” (Lev. 1:10 etc. etc.)
because they spoke of the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus, so the physical
perfection of the priest speaks of the holy life required by God’s priests
today !
(c) The
Priestly Prerogatives
Although
disbarred from serving their God, handicapped priests could still partake
of the rewards of their office. (21:17)
(d) The
Priestly Parallel ….
* A
blind eye in the O.T. priest finds
its counterpart in the Christian who lacks spiritual vision. His eye of faith
is dim. His service for God is ineffective.
* A
lame foot speaks to us of the N.T.
priest who hobbles between the world and the Lord. His walk is “as other
Gentiles walk.”(Ephesians 4:17) They
may belong to the Lord but they cannot serve Him .
* A
big wart ! ( or “anything superfluous”
vs. 18)… reminds us that pride will ruin our service for the Lord.
* A
dwarf … some Christians never grow in the Faith but remain ‘spiritual
babes.’
(Hebrews 5:12-14)
* A
flat nose !! It is a reminder that
we are to be discerning between that which is fragrant and that which emits a
foul smell!
Philippians 1:9And this is my
prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of
insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may
be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,
………………………………………………….
These
are but some of the deformities, spiritually speaking, that ruin our service as
God’s priests today.
…………………………………………
CONCLUSION
Eskimos rub noses as a sign of affection for
each other. Maybe this unusual study will cause us to ‘rub noses’ with the Lord
and determine to be the kind of Christian priests we really ought to be. Mmmm?
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BIBLE TOES - ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
INTRODUCTION. The Bible
speaks of toes 13 times. And we speak
of them in our everyday speech more than is realised. We speak of “toeing the
mark” and “getting a toehold” and “keeping
on one’s toes” and “being on tip-toe
with excitement”.
………………………..
ANCIENT HISTORY records how King Pyrrhus would heal folk with the ‘laying on of his
toe !’ (
Plutarch’s Lives p. 274)
…………………..
HINDU MYTHOLOGY claims that the
River Ganges flows from the toe of their god, Vishnu. ( Man, Myth & Magic. P. 908)
…………………………..
ENGLISH LITERATURE records the gem by A.A. Milne…
And nobody knows (Tiddely pom)
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom)
How cold my toes (Tiddely pom )
Are growing. ( House at Pooh Corner.)
……………………………..
SUPERSTITION displays the worn away toe of Peter’s statue due to the thousands who kiss it ( in the hope
of spending less time in
Purgatory) during their pilgrimage to
St. Peter’s, Rome. ( What I saw in Rome by J.
Kensit. p. 8)
…………………………………
But let’s examine
four Bible incidents which speak of toes … and teach us a lesson.
……………………………………………………………………………
(1) ANTAGONISTIC
TOES ! Daniel 2. 40-43
The toes of
Daniel’s image depict the divisions that were to occur in the Roman
Empire. (a) There is antagonism between
them as they refuse to mingle. The Roman Empire
finally collapsed in 576 A.D. and split into ten ( !!) lesser kingdoms. ( See Dr. A. Barnes; Daniel Vol
2. p. 83 ) Neither the intermarriage of royal families nor the warring efforts
of rulers like Charlemagne, and Hitler, could
re-unite the once great Empire. “They shall not cleave one to another.”( vs.
43)
( b) And there is
antagonism on the part of some prophetic preachers who would tell us that such a division has never
happened yet (!) but that we are living
in the “gap” between
the legs of the image and the feet ! Those
who differ with their curious interpretation are usually branded as not believing
the Bible !!
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(2) ABNORMAL
TOES ! ( 2 Samuel 21:18-22)
Here
is the saga of David and some of his men doing battle
with four giants…the sons of Goliath. (vs. 22) (a) It may explain why David took “five smooth stones” when he
faced Goliath…were the four sons there too ?
(b) The abnormality of a person having six toes ( vs. 20)
is not unknown in the medical world. Anne Boleyn had six fingers. ( Curiosities of Medicine p. 24 )
© David’s inability to win the battle this time without the help of his
men ( vs. 15) is a reminder that things
we were able to do in our youth are not
that easy to do in old age ! Or was it sin in David’s life that had
his ability to achieve a victory ?
……………………………………………………………………………
(3) AMPUTATED
TOES. ( Judges 1:4-7)
The famous Presbyterian,
William Tennent Jnr. …woke up one night and discovered some of his toes missing
(!) ( Schaff Herzog Encyl. P. 2317 ) ( The
Flaming Tennents by I. Paisley.p. 32) Someone else who lost his toes
was Adoni-bezek, a cruel Canaanite
king. He had committed this same atrocity against other conquered towns and now was
subjected to the same treatment.
Notice that Adoni-bezek acknowledges the rightness of Judah’s action. (vs. 6) It was a common practice in
those days…an eye for an eye! Such mutilation would render the victim
unfit for any future rebellion.
But God did not
tell the Israelites to thus treat the
Canaanites…He commanded that they be exterminated !! They were like a cancerous
growth on the face of the earth …and
that needed drastic surgery !
……………………………………………………………………………
(4) ANOINTED
TOES . ( Leviticus 14: 14, 17)
The leper comes to
the priest to be pronounced clean.(vs.
1-2) During the ritual that followed
blood of an animal sacrifice and oil are
applied to the leper’s “ear, thumb and big toe” !
And those cleansed
from the leprosy of sin know the cleansing power of the blood upon
their hearing (the
ear) and service (the thumb) and walk
(the big toe). They should also know the anointing of the Holy
Spirit ( the oil) upon their life. An ear that is tuned to His voice…a hand
that is ready to do His bidding… and a foot ready to go where He directs.
Alas…some Christians are crippled in their service and walk…as was Adoni-bezek.
Mmmmmm?
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CONCLUSION.
A Prophecy
fulfilled …the Antagonistic toes ! Fighting; not cleaving together.
A Problem solved. Why 5 stones? Why defeated? Abnormal toes !
A Principle
illustrated…what Adoni-bezek sowed…he reaped! Amputated toes !
A Pattern
revealed…the Anointed toe of the
cleansed leper !And ours !
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“How,” said the preacher to his wife,
“can you given an opinion of my sermon if you slept through it?”
“In that instance,” she replied,
“sleep was an opinion”!!
******************
Let’s look at some Biblical ‘sleeps’.
1. A
DISTURBED SLEEP
Inability to doze off may be
due to some physical problem … as in the case of Job (7:4-5).
Or eating too much cream pie before
bed-time (Ecclesiastes 5:12).
Or worry … mental anxiety … can drive
Mr Sandman away.
Ahaseurus (Esther 6:1) and Darius
(Daniel 6:18) were two kings whose conscience would not let them slumber.
But it is possible to deaden one’s
conscience and sleep peacefully despite the fact that sin is unconfessed … the
Saviour is rejected … and Hell is ever imminent.
2. A
DANGEROUS SLEEP
Gulliver found it so in Lilliput … and
it is whilst believers ‘sleep’ the Enemy sows his tares among the wheat
(Matthew 13:25).
Eutychus slept
… and fell to his death (Acts 20:9).
Samson slept …
and was shorn of his power (Judges 16:19)
Jonah slept …
and brought fear to the storm-tossed crew (Jonah 1:4-5)
But the Lord warns us that some
believers will be ‘sleeping’ when He returns … instead of serving Him (Mark
13:32-36 … “If He comes suddenly, do not let Him find you sleeping” - v. 36).
Bunyan, in Pilgrim’s Progress, warns
of the danger of Enchanted Ground, where many a Christian on his way to the
Celestial City is tempted to lose his spiritual vigilance.
And he speaks of the remedy …
fellowship with like-minded believers … who encourage one another along the
way. [Pilgrim and Hopeful pass through
the Enchanted Ground by having a massive (18 page) theological discussion! Which nearly put me to sleep!!]
3. A
DELIGHTFUL SLEEP
Mark 4:37-38 tells of the Saviour
sleeping in a storm on Galilee. “He
slept because He knew His Father was awake” it has been said.
Peter needed an angel to thump him to
rouse him from his sleep … when death was imminent the next morn! (Acts 12:6-7).
And the psalmist knew how to sleep …
“I lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely, for the Lord was watching
over me” (Psalm 3:5, TLB)
Sleeplessness in the face of mounting
problems is a sure sign your focus is in the wrong place! Remember your Problem Solver never
sleeps! …”Behold, He … shall neither
slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4).
For the Child of God death itself is
described as a ‘sleep’, for the Day is surely coming when we shall awaken in
Glory.
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