Foxfier (formerly Sailorette) writes at Head Noises. She wrote this guest post for CMR. Here she is:
Broadly speaking, if folks read the prophecies in the Bible and expected them to be literal, they were figurative. If they thought they were metaphors or figure of speech, they were literal. Some are so complicated because of promise synthesis that I’m not sure what to call them.
Example: He will be called Emmanuel, right? Emmanuel, God is with us/God walks with us/God among us. Not his name-name, He’s called that because He’s God, and he’s HERE. Exactly like they said….
Example: Jesus would be a King of the line of David. They expect crown-throne-ruling the geographic kingdom type king… and get the King of kings. Not literal.
Speaking of the bloodline of Jesus, there’s the thing where he has to be of the line of David, but he can’t be born to a father of that line because (#9) Jechoniah’s couldn’t inherit.
So He wasn’t Joseph’s biological son, He was Mary’s blood-child, and it would be normal for them to be the same House. (That doesn’t mean their house was inbred; even today, someone that’s a third cousin—shares one set of great-great grandparents—is unlikely to even be known as a cousin, and the genetics angle is more complicated. /end digression)
Oh, and there’s even another theory that gets even more complicated.
If you’ve listened to the various miracles, you’ll notice that Jesus did a lot of ones that others did before—I’ve been told that a lot of prophecies did the same thing; I believe Father called it “echoing” and “resonating”… but that would make a post that’s far too long, and gives me even more room to mess up.
Anyways.
Looking back, God has a goal, keeps His promises, and probably has an incredible sense of humor. He also gives less than a fig about what you expect will happen, you’ll just have to trust Him. (Thank goodness He’s not in possession of a nasty sense of humor.) Add in that God’s chosen people wrote poetry we can understand, because it (lay simplification here, not an expert) it ‘rhymes’ ideas (parallelism) the way English rhymes sounds—and you’ve got God the Master Riddler. Getting something we didn’t expect is probably good for us, too….
This isn’t an original line of thought, there are probably a dozen songs on the notion that God gives you what you need, not what you want… it’s just something to keep in mind when you’re feeling down.
Have a deep aching need for your day to look up, set in your car…and the battery is dead? Maybe you’re being set up to get out, open your hood, and have a half-dozen different people offer help with a smile, totally making your day; maybe you won’t see something nice and you’ll go home, feeling like crud…but you also won’t be three blocks down the road when someone runs a red light because they were messing with their map instead of watching the light, nobody will be there. I sure don’t know what He’s up to. A few years back, I got cut off in traffic and it made me miss a light; I nearly cried, it was nasty sprinkles on a horrible day. Then I saw the huge accident that I would’ve been RIGHT in the middle of…I don’t even remember what made the day so horrible up to that point, but I remember that my tiny little car would’ve been crushed like a can, while all the big solid vehicles were OK.
Check out Foxfier at Head Noises.
April 11, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Hm, I think I over-used the paragraph breaks. Ah well!
April 11, 2011 at 4:18 pm
"Example: Jesus would be a King of the line of David. They expect crown-throne-ruling the geographic kingdom type king… and get the King of kings. Not literal." Be it done on earth as it is in heaven, Jesus Christ king of heaven and earth. The earth will have to welcome its King to be ruled by Jesus Christ.
April 11, 2011 at 5:46 pm
And they expected some dude in a silly metal crown!
April 11, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Speaking on God's sense of humor. My children wanted a dog. I didn't want another "mess." I looked up dogs that are good for children & are small. (I love Labs but they are just too big for where I live) Havense kept popping up. They are small, good natured, don't shed, etc. Oh but wait, they are $1500 a piece. Nevermind, we won't get a dog God unless you drop a dog in my lap. Dear Lord, if we are supposed to have a dog you have to make it so clear & so easy that I can't say no. Okay then, we go to a party. We see two adorable dogs. One just like the one I had growing up, one just like the one my husband had growing up. I comment to the owners, "what adorable dogs, what kind are they?" Owner answers, "Havense, do you want them?" Say what? Well, we are moving to a golf course and we can't take them, do you want them? I ask, "how much?", she answers, "free, I'll give you their papers, food, they have been spay & nuetered and have had all their shots, they are out of the puppy phase because they are 3, and you can have them. We paid $2500 for them, but you can have them." God, does have a sense of humor because now I have 2 dogs, not one, and I have 3 VERY HAPPY children.
April 12, 2011 at 11:57 pm
This is true – I can't count the number of times I was running late for work, and later realized that I would have likely been in an accident if I had been on time. So, now I thank God for my lateness.
I've been in many circumstances where I was having trouble, but later found that my earlier situation had led to something even better.
Two of my children were totally "unplanned" – the last one, I was, to be honest, really pissed about – I became pregnant while nursing the previous one, just eight months after his birth. I have received so many blessings from both of them; I couldn't have anticipated that. But, I have learned to trust in God.