Just as Jesus and his earlier followers did, we as teachers of God's word, adapt the presentation of our message to the audience before us. Not only do we adapt the complexity of the message, but we also adapt the tone just as Jesus did. The (often stern and direct) tone he used for the leaders and teachers of the law in his time, was different from the compassion and gentleness with which he spoke to the ordinary people who crowded around to hear him.
''When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.'' Mark 6:34
People's sensibilities are generally diverse. Some are more genteel than others and differences are obvious in varying parts of the world. Our message delivery often (and rightly so) reflects an acknowledgment of the facts of our location and audience. The danger though, is that our message could become incomplete in that process of adaptation. However, we are called to teach all of the Bible.
Some years ago as I was praying in my bedroom, an angel appeared outside my window. He was taller than the house I was in - I was on the first floor of a two-floor building. This angel was different. He had an aura of authority like no other and even I knew he was there not just for me. The spirit of God told me then that he was here for my new level. I asked no further questions. Since then, that angel never left. Sometime later as I prayed, I got very curious about the nature of this angel, it was obvious he was not here to take any orders from me as he was not a guardian angel - his whole demeanor was different from the other angels I had encountered. I asked and the Lord said that was the Lord. Yes, I know, strange right?
Well, he referred me to this biblical account in Joshua 5:13-14:
''Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”''
The 'Man' was the incarnation of the Spirit of God as a Warrior.
The King James Version of Exodus 15:3 states that ''The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.''. In the New International Version, it is rendered: ''The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.''
The LORD is YHWH. He heads his own people in government and in war. He is the Chief of Defence Staff - the Commander of the Lord's Army.
Then I knew he had come because of those whom Paul calls the 'Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16).
YHWH is loving, compassionate, and kind but he is also a Warrior. He watches over his own. He is also known as the Lord of Hosts i.e. lord of Heavens Armies (in the VOICE translation, see 1 Samuel 17:45 in the bible).
While YHWH does discipline his own children (sometimes sternly), he does not allow others to ill-treat them or take advantage of them. He is that parent who gives the riot act to anyone who messes with his children. He is not joking.
It is this recognition and confidence that David as a young man exhibited when he faced Goliath the giant:
''David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.''
David knew God had their back. That is where his boldness stemmed from. Today, YHWH still has the back of ALL of his children, native Isreal and not native Israel - because all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. As God's own, you can be confident that YHWH has your back. He has the back of his children who continually put their confidence in him. He is Love but he is also our warrior God.
Psalm 91
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
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