Several years ago I began to delve into some of the Holy Bible’s passages that are strange to the Western mind, or to anyone not familiar with the lifestyles of people who lived in the Middle East in Bible times. I have decided to resume that practice for the reader’s enjoyment. I did not do the research necessary to uncover the meanings of these statements. Other people did the hard work and made their findings available for the public to enjoy. Now let us travel back through history and enter the world in which our spiritual and biological ancestors lived. To learn about the biological connection between Israel and God’s true church read Who and Where is Israel Today? Key word–Today.

In Isaiah 52:10 we find these words: “THE LORD HAS MADE HIS ARM BARE.” Anciently men wore robes as their outer covering to protect them from the heat during the hot summer months and the cold during the frigid winters. In those times most males labored outside, making protective coverings necessary. The robes totally covered their owners and extended almost to the ground. Wearing such garbs was normally not a problem. However, when there was hard work to be done or battles to be fought the men would pull up the parts of the robe that covered their arms and drape them over their shoulders, thereby freeing their arms. This allowed them to do freely what was somewhat restrictive when the robes were in their normal location. In making the adjustment they “made their arms bare.” When applied to the Almighty, it means that He does not allow anything to hinder him when coming against those who afflict His people–those who obey Him. Read Who Are God’s People and “My People called by My Name.” Key words People and Name respectively.

Deuteronomy 33:14– “HE SHALL DWELL BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS.” “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; the Lord shall cover him all the day long and he shall dwell between His shoulders.” The typical Middle Eastern woman carried her baby in a cradle made of animal skin that was suspended by a strap that lay across her forehead. The cradle rested between the women’s shoulder blades which kept it in place as she went about her business. A shawl was placed over the baby’s face for protection from the sun and to ward off flying insects. God’s promise to those who obey Him is that they will dwell securely in the knowledge that their God is watching over them and protecting them from the world’s elements.

Second Samuel 6:14–“AND DAVID DANCED BEFORE THE LORD.” “And David danced before the Lord with all his might while girded with a linen ephod.” When honoring an important person it was customary to have a half-naked slave lead a procession along a thoroughfare while dancing and acting foolishly. Israelite King David lowered himself as an act of humility by taking on the role of a slave–God’s slave. His reason for going to this extreme measure was to show his appreciation to God for allowing the Israelites to capture the Ark of the Testimony (the Ten Commandment Law) from the heathen Philistines who had taken it in a previous battle. The ark bearing the stone tablets accompanied the soldiers to the field of battle. Because of Israel’s sins, the Lord had allowed it to be taken from them. His wife, Michael (King Saul’s daughter), was embarrassed by her husband’s act of lowering himself before his people. As punishment God prevented her from bearing children. Being able to bear many children was a blessing among Middle-eastern people. A childless woman was looked down upon in that culture at that time. Humility is greatly prized by the Lord. A study of the Book of Job reveals that God had to chastise Him verbally for having pride in his holiness. Like David, we must always view ourselves relative to Jesus of Nazareth Who humbled Himself by being nailed to a cross. We must always view ourselves honestly and see ourselves as God sees us.

Matthew 8:21–“SUFFER ME FIRST TO GO AND BURY MY FATHER.” This was the response when Jesus told one of His disciples to follow Him, meaning to leave everything and everyone in his life and come with Him at that moment. Recall that when He told Peter, Andrew, James and John to follow Him they immediately left their modes of making a living (fishing) and followed Him (Mat. 4:18-22). The disciple in question was looking for a way out of doing what the other men had done–drop everything and follow Jesus. In the Middle-East the expression involving burying a relative was a common method of avoiding something one did not want to do. In reply to the disciple’s words, Jesus told him to “Let the dead bury the dead,” meaning to let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. Nothing in this life should keep us from obeying the Lord and doing so in a timely manner. In Matthew 10 Jesus tells us that we must not allow our love for our relatives prevent us from doing what He tells us to do. Following His commands reveals that we love Him more than we love them. Failing to obey Him proves the opposite. Those who obey His Law are often rejected spiritually, and sometimes physically by their relatives and friends. This is the cross we are required to bear for serving the Lord (Mk. 8:34). In Matthew 19:27-29 we find the Apostle Peter reminding Jesus that he and the other disciples had forsaken everything (families, occupations, friends) to follow Him. Jesus promised that, in the future, He would give them one hundred times more of what they left behind to serve Him in ministry. I have read that in Palestine today if someone does not want to do something, he will say, “My father is dead.”

As the above reveals, what the Lord taught His chosen people anciently in both words and deeds is applicable to His modern true church–“the Israel of God” (Eph. 6:16/ Eph. 2:12). For this reason Paul proclaimed that the New Testament Church was founded on the teachings of both the prophets and the apostles (Eph. 2:20). As the Apostle Peter said, the Holy Scriptures were preached by “holy men of God” during all ages (2 Pet. 1:21). These men, or their scribes, recorded what they had preached. The Lord arranged for their messages to be preserved in clay jars in a secret cave for thousands of years so as to be studied and obeyed by God’s true saints who are living now at the end of the age (1 Cor. 10:11). God’s tiny remnant church is not to be confused with the Laodicean church written about in Revelation 3:14-18 commonly known as Christianity. L.J.