#Adolph Saphir

[benjaminasimpson]

Place God Between Us and Our Circumstances

Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash It is narrated of Diogenes, that when Alexander the Great asked him to request a favour, the only thing that poor man wished of the conqueror of the world was, not to stand between him and the sun, whose genial light and warmth he was enjoying. If Diogenes stands for the Christian, Alexander for the world, and the sun for Him who is the light and joy of His…

[wisdomfish]

"RESTING by faith in Jesus, and laboring to enter into that perfect rest which remains to the people of God, the Christian, during his pilgrimage through the wilderness, is guided by the word of God, which is in his hand, and upheld and encouraged by the intercession and sympathy of the great High Priest above (Heb 7:25)."

~ Adolph Saphir

[yhwhrulz]

This Day's Thought 13th February 2024

Reverential reading includes attention, exertion of mind, and earnestness. Not memory but conscience; not intellect but the heart…can enable us to use Scripture aright.

Adolph Saphir

[thisdaysthought]

This Day's Thought-Tuesday

Reverential reading includes attention, exertion of mind, and earnestness.  Not memory but conscience; not intellect but the heart…can enable us to use Scripture aright. Adolph Saphir John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the miracles the Messiah was doing, so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you really the one we are waiting for, or shall we keep on looking?”  Jesus…

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jerusalem's Sin and Punishment

by Adolph Saphir

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate. Assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of Yahweh." - Luke 13:34-35

The Lord Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, came down from heaven. He was born of the virgin Mary, of the seed of David, and of the seed of Abraham, and He was a minister of the circumcision to confirm the promises made to the fathers. How wonderful was God's kindness, and how great were the privileges that the seed of Abraham enjoyed!

Separated from the rest of the world, set apart like a garden, God had chosen Israel to be His own possession, witnesses for His greatness and for His glory. He had given them His word and His law; He had sent them His servants the prophets, who declared to them His will. God had chosen Israel to be His bride. He claimed their love and their exclusive allegiance.

How marvelous were the manifestations of His power and grace to this people! He brought them out of Egypt by showing great and manifold miracles. He led them through the wilderness for forty years. Notwithstanding their ingratitude and sin, He removed nations before them in order to plant them into their inheritance. Contemplate also what a treasure God gave to His people in His Holy Word--the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets--in which God revealed to Israel His will, His character, His purposes! And how beautiful was that law which He gave them, revealing His character and what God requires of man.

Not only had Yahweh given them His Word and Law, but he sent prophets who pointed out that Yahweh himself would come down from heaven and have mercy upon His people, making them the light to shine forth to all the ends of the earth.

But Israel transgressed, and God was obligated to punish and rebuke them. Yet see how tenderly He watched over them during the captivity in Babylon, even sending Ezekiel to testify that God was not limited by space. He sent Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to sustain their courage, and to point them to the great and glorious day of Yahweh, which would come upon them with numerous, magnificent blessings.

And after a long period of silence, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." He preached to the people that they had sinned, and that they had violated the holy will of God, thereby summing up the message of the law. With loving tenderness he exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world!" and thereby summing up the testimony of all the prophets

To crown all these benefits God sent His own Son, Jesus, the Messiah, who was the heir. He spoke of Moses and the prophets. And for those who were searching the Scriptures and diligently reading them, how the words of Jesus should have attracted and riveted their attention. His words ought to have filled them with the conviction that here spoke One who was taught by the same Spirit, who was manifesting to them the same truths, and who was greater than any prophet who had preceded Him. Jesus also performed miracles in which He showed that He was the Lord of nature, that He was the great power of God to heal all disease, and that He was that perfect Physician of whom Isaiah says, "He Himself took our infirmities."

Jesus also gathered Israel to Himself by a character and life perfectly free from every spot and blemish. Gentleness, meekness unselfishness, patience, love, and prayerfulness never for a single moment failed. It was manifest in everything that Jesus said and did. There was not merely the absence of sin or dishonesty, but in Him was every perfection. All that God ever required of man, all that God ever expected in man, was realized and fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.

In all these, He was different from all other prophets sent by God. They taught the truth but directed the hearts and attention of the people to wait for One who was yet to come. But Jesus says not merely, "I teach the truth," but "I AM the truth!" He is that center around whom Israel was to be gathered, to the glory of the Father. When Jesus says, "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink," He declares Himself to be Yahweh, the fountain of living waters. When Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," He declares Himself Yahweh God omnipotent. When Israel rejected Jesus, they rejected the only center around which Israel can be gathered into eternal life. The very countenance of God was beaming upon them, and yet they hated both Him and the Father.

After they had rejected Him, Jesus sent down the Promise of the Father. For years after that great Pentecost at Jerusalem, Jesus was preached to them in the power of the Spirit. Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts and resisted the Holy Spirit. This was the sin of Israel--the rejection of Yahweh

What was their punishment? "Behold your house is left to you desolate." Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple, the beautiful house of God, was demolished. Sufferings and agonies unspeakable came upon the inhabitants of that chosen city. The nation was dispersed and scattered among all the nations of the world. They have been without king and without priest, and for many years they have suffered reproach, disgrace, persecution, and even death. Their house was left desolate in another sense, namely, that they read the Scriptures but do not see the Master of the house. They read Moses, but they do not know him of whom Moses testifies. They read the prophets, but the Messiah and His great work is hidden from their eyes! If only they saw the Messiah, if they understood the meaning of the Paschal Lamb and the Day of Atonement, if only they understood all the various offerings which prefigured the Messiah in His manifold character. But now Israel has its Passover feast, and Israel has its Day of Atonement, and Israel tries as far as possible to observe the law of Moses, but their "house is left to them desolate." They do not see the substance of which these things are the mere shadows. What a sad picture of the spiritual condition of Israel! But the truth must be said that, notwithstanding all the punishments, all the sufferings, all the reproach Israel has had to bear, their heart is unbroken and their conscience is untouched. They have not acknowledged that it is on account of sin that these sufferings have come upon them.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jerusalem's Sin

by Adolph Saphir

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!" - Luke 13:34

The Lord Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, came down from heaven. He was born of the virgin Mary, of the seed of David, and of the seed of Abraham, and He was a minister of the circumcision to confirm the promises made to the fathers. How wonderful was God's kindness, and how great were the privileges that the seed of Abraham enjoyed!

Separated from the rest of the world, set apart like a garden, God had chosen Israel to be His own possession, witnesses for His greatness and for His glory. He had given them His word and His law; He had sent them His servants the prophets, who declared to them His will. God had chosen Israel to be His bride. He claimed their love and their exclusive allegiance.

How marvelous were the manifestations of His power and grace to this people! He brought them out of Egypt by showing great and manifold miracles. He led them through the wilderness for forty years. Notwithstanding their ingratitude and sin, He removed nations before them in order to plant them into their inheritance. Contemplate also what a treasure God gave to His people in His Holy Word--the books of Moses and the writings of the prophets--in which God revealed to Israel His will, His character, His purposes! And how beautiful was that law which He gave them, revealing His character and what God requires of man.

Not only had Yahweh given them His Word and Law, but he sent prophets who pointed out that Yahweh himself would come down from heaven and have mercy upon His people, making them the light to shine forth to all the ends of the earth.

But Israel transgressed, and God was obligated to punish and rebuke them. Yet see how tenderly He watched over them during the captivity in Babylon, even sending Ezekiel to testify that God was not limited by space. He sent Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi to sustain their courage, and to point them to the great and glorious day of Yahweh, which would come upon them with numerous, magnificent blessings.

And after a long period of silence, "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." He preached to the people that they had sinned, and that they had violated the holy will of God, thereby summing up the message of the law. With loving tenderness he exclaimed, "Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world!" and thereby summing up the testimony of all the prophets

To crown all these benefits God sent His own Son, Jesus, the Messiah, who was the heir. He spoke of Moses and the prophets. And for those who were searching the Scriptures and diligently reading them, how the words of Jesus should have attracted and riveted their attention. His words ought to have filled them with the conviction that here spoke One who was taught by the same Spirit, who was manifesting to them the same truths, and who was greater than any prophet who had preceded Him. Jesus also performed miracles in which He showed that He was the Lord of nature, that He was the great power of God to heal all disease, and that He was that perfect Physician of whom Isaiah says, "He Himself took our infirmities."

Jesus also gathered Israel to Himself by a character and life perfectly free from every spot and blemish. Gentleness, meekness unselfishness, patience, love, and prayerfulness never for a single moment failed. It was manifest in everything that Jesus said and did. There was not merely the absence of sin or dishonesty, but in Him was every perfection. All that God ever required of man, all that God ever expected in man, was realized and fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth.

In all these, He was different from all other prophets sent by God. They taught the truth but directed the hearts and attention of the people to wait for One who was yet to come. But Jesus says not merely, "I teach the truth," but "I AM the truth!" He is that center around whom Israel was to be gathered, to the glory of the Father. When Jesus says, "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink," He declares Himself to be Yahweh, the fountain of living waters. When Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," He declares Himself Yahweh God omnipotent. When Israel rejected Jesus, they rejected the only center around which Israel can be gathered into eternal life. The very countenance of God was beaming upon them, and yet they hated both Him and the Father.