THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

February 14, 2024

Happy Valentine's Day

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I have a beautiful wedding ring! Jon designed it, himself, and had is made especially for me. He put much thought into the design and there is a lot of significance and meaning in all of the details. But as much as I cherish my wedding ring and all that it means, I cherish the vows that Jon and I made to one another even more. The ring is a symbol of our vows that we made to one another.

When I've traveled out of the United States, I have never worn my wedding ring. I hide it in a box in a safe place, before leaving for the trip. The reason behind this is to keep the ring safe; for my protection, so someone doesn't see it and try to steal it; and so someone can't see it, think we have a lot of money and try to take advantage of us or rob us.

I do want people to know that I'm married, so bought a "fake" wedding ring. It's just a plain gold band from Walmart that I picked out myself. It was inexpensive and if I lost it or it got stolen, it wouldn't be a big deal. It has no significance or meaning to me; and the only reason I wear it is so others can see that I'm married. Compared to my real wedding ring, it looks cheap and insignificant and has no value.

Before Joshua died, he called the elders and leaders from the twelve tribes of Israel to come see him. He reminded them of all that God had done for them. Towards the end of his speech he says this: "If you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family (my house), we will serve the Lord."

The people assured Joshua that they would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods, and why they would never do so. Then they end by saying, "So we, too, will serve the Lord, for He alone is our God."

Joshua warned the people about what would happen to them should they abandon God and rebel against Him. He told them that even though God was so good to them, should they abandon Him and serve other gods, He would turn against them and they would be destroyed.

Once again, the people answered Joshua that they would serve the Lord.

The people of Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him -- those who had personally experienced all that the Lord had done for Israel, (Joshua 24:31) But then that generation all died.

Judges 2:10 says, "After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or the mighty things He had done for Israel." So they did evil in the sight of the Lord and began to worship idols. They abandoned God and worshipped the gods of the Canaanites who lived around them. They had been supposed to drive out all their enemies from the land, but chose to not do so. This is why God had instructed them to conquer the land and get rid of all the people living there; so that they wouldn't began to live as the heathen and serve their gods and become like them.

God raised up judges. Judges 2:17 says, "Yet Israel did not listen to the judges, but prostituted themselves by worshipping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord's commands."

Over and over again, you see the Israelites going the same cycle of doing evil and serving other gods; then when things grew really bad and they were being oppressed by other nations, they would repent and cry out to God for help; God would help them and they would do good for a while; then they would forget what He had done and turn back to serving other gods and idol worship.

That phrase to describe Israel "prostituting themselves and worshipping other gods" shows up again several times throughout the Old Testament.

In Judges chapter 8, we see this as describing the people once again. God had called Gideon to be judge of the Israel people and had miraculously helped the people overcome their enemies. Back in those days, the judges weren't judges in the sense that they heard court cases and made decisions as we think of today, but they were military leaders.

Gideon did well for a time, but then he failed. He had the people to bring him a gold earring that they had got from the plunder that they had collected from their enemy. He used that to make a sacred ephod and put it in his hometown. But soon all the Israelites "prostituted themselves by worshiping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family."

Verse 33 in that chapter says that as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites prostituted themselves by worshiping the images of Baal and making him their god.

The book of Hosea is all about the Israelites prostituting themselves by worshiping other gods.

What does this mean? It means that the Israelites were committing spiritual prostitution. They had made a vow and commitment to God to serve Him and be His people and He would be their God. Then over and over again, they chose to "leave God and home and put Him in a box", so to speak, and worship all the false gods like the people who lived around them were doing. They chose something fake and insignificant, who couldn't hear them or protect them or do anything for them, instead of keeping their vow to serve God.

When we think of a prostitute we think of a person who engages in sexual activity for money.

But a prostitute is also a person who sacrifices their self-respect for the sake of personal or financial gain. It also means to betray, sacrifice, sell out, debase, cheapen, pervert, squander, waste.

God designed sex to be between a husband and wife, who have made a vow and commitment to one another. When someone has sex outside of marriage, they cheapen what God's purpose was. When someone engages in sex, either as a prostitute for profit or as the one who pays for a few moments of physical pleasure with someone other than their spouse, they pervert and make evil what God created and made as good.

God had made a covenant with the Israelite people and called them His own special treasure... His people... His chosen... His beloved. He loved them, protected them, cared for them, did miraculous things for them, fought for them, cherished them, and talked to them.

There were those who honored and loved Him in return. There were those who chose to serve Him with their whole heart. There were those who truly made Him, and Him alone, their God.

But then there were those who chose to reject Him. Regardless of the covenant and promises that He made to them, they chose a fake idol to worship. They chose a piece of metal or clay or wood that was shaped into an image of some sort who couldn't hear them, talk to them, help them, protect them... or do anything for them over the one, true, living God. They "cheated" on Him with another god.... with something that wasn't even real. They chose to be unfaithful to the One who loved them most. They prostituted themselves spiritually, choosing a relationship with another god over God.

My wedding ring was given to me as a result of a vow made between my husband and I. I used that as an example to show how people can hide what is very real and valuable and a symbol of a commitment, for something that is cheap and fake and has no significance or meaning. When I travel, I still have my real ring; but chose the substitute over it.

How do you think it would make Jon feel if I were to keep my real wedding ring hidden away and only wore the cheap imitation? I could bring it out and look at it from time to time, maybe even put it on my hand and look at it, but never wear it. What if I told Jon that I preferred the cheap band that I bought for myself over the special ring that he designed for me and chose specifically for me? It would break his heart and he would question if I truly loved him. He would feel dishonored and disrespected. If he asked me to wear His ring and I stubbornly refused, preferring my own cheap substitute over his, would he feel as if I was honoring my commitment to him?

We do that same thing with God at times. We often tend to criticize the Israelite people for their cycle of being committed to being evil to being repentant to being committed to falling back into sin..... We may not bow down to false idols or serve other gods, but do we prostitute ourselves spiritually in other ways? Do we sometimes tend to ignore Him and put Him in a box, only bringing Him out when we are desperate and need Him? Is our relationship with God our priority or does everything else in our life take first place? Do we only give Him our leftover time and attention? Do we disregard the vow that we made to God, by trying to do things our own way and doing only those things that bring us pleasure and happiness, without thought to whether or not it pleases Him? Are we selfish, wanting only enough of a relationship with God to make it to Heaven, without there being a deep commitment while on earth? Are we unfaithful to Him?

Think about it!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

The phrase 'prostituting themselves' or similar variations typically come from the Hebrew word 'zanah' (that's the closest I can get using English spelling). It can be translated several ways, and often is. It shows up in 82 verses, according to Strong's Concordance. And even in the Hebrew, it can mean a variety of things. As a primitive root, it means "highly fed and therefore wanton", but is used for committing adultery, either men or women, or prostitution (again, either men or women, if I understand the dictionary well). It is figurative for betraying God by pursuing other gods.

It is easy to see how committing adultery fits. If we are the bride of Christ, then to have the same kind of relationship with any other god is the same as adultery.

It can also be the same as a man who gives up his treasures (money) for some fleeting and meaningless tryst. Or a woman who gives up something that should be precious to her for mere cash.

What do we give up for a little cash? Too often, it is what we should treasure most. Or what do we throw away our treasure for? Many times something short-lived and meaningless.

ON THE MENEWE:

StrawberryVanilla Cake

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans.

Prepare cake according to package directions; pour into prepared cake pans. Bake, then cool.

To assemble: place one cooled cake on a serving plate.

Place 1/4 cup of frosting in a small, resealable plastic bag. Snip off one corner. Pipe a bead of frosting on top of cake around outer edge.

Fill remaining area of the top of the cake with strawberry jam; spread evenly across top of cake.

Top with second cake layer.

Spread remaining frosting on sides and top of cake, to cover.

Slice strawberries and decorate sides and/or top of cake, if desired.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

This story is from 7 years ago! Owen is now 11 years old!! I enjoyed reading this again:

My sister and I take turns three days a week picking her 4-year old grandson, Owen, up at Head Start in the afternoons. Due to my nephew starting a new work schedule, and his wife beginning nursing school this semester, we have only been doing this for the past month. My nephew took me with him prior to me beginning this, so that he could put my name on the authorization list to be able to pick Owen up, and so that I could see what I needed to do and meet Owen's teacher. The first day that I showed up to get Owen, he told his teacher, "I don't know who she is!" Thankfully, the teacher recognized me! Last week, my sister went to pick Owen up. She went inside to get him and he just sat there. His teacher asked, "Aren't you going home with Grandma?" Owen said, "No! She's boring!!" He's a little tease and a tad ornery; and definitely keeps us on our toes!!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org