Diary of a Pregnant Virgin #13
12:11 PM Edit This 2 Comments »
Dear Diary,
I think Elizabeth is the wisest person I have ever met. All these years married to a priest, and without kids to keep her busy, she’s pretty much made God the focus of her entire life. My favorite times during the couple months I’ve been here have been just sitting with her and talking. The other day I asked her about the Messiah.
Elizabeth explained to me that the prophecies show two different pictures of the Messiah. The first is the “warrior king” idea. Daniel had a vision of the Messiah being crowned king and all the nations of the earth serving him. He will rule forever and his kingdom will never be destroyed. David wrote in the Psalms that he will rule over his enemies, crush kings and judge nations. It’s a pretty violent passage.
This is the picture I hear talked about the most in the synagogue. Israel is really hurting right now. We’ve been under the thumb of the Romans for so long that we are desperate for the Messiah to come and save us, now more than ever. My dad talks about the Messiah overthrowing tyrants like Caesar and Herod. He gets that fire in his eyes like every Jew does when we talk about the Messiah’s never-ending kingdom.
The prophets also talk about another picture of the Messiah, the “suffering servant.” Zechariah talks about him being gentle and humble. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a whole chapter in Isaiah that is just weird. Honestly… it kind of scares me. I spent all afternoon yesterday reading it over and over. I hope I’m missing something, because I can tell you right now that I’d rather die than let my baby go through this stuff. It says that he will be “despised and rejected,” and “oppressed and afflicted,” and then it goes on to talk about him being killed—it looks like willingly. How is this the same person as the “warrior king”?
Even Elizabeth didn’t have an answer for that. She did tell me one thing, though.
“God has promised to rescue his people through the Messiah. You can bet that he will keep his promise. Whether this Messiah that you carry will be born with a sword in his hand to defeat the Romans and set up a palace in Jerusalem, or whether he will be killed like a helpless lamb, God’s salvation will be accomplished through it.” She reached out and put her hand on my knee. I was gripping my stomach and fighting back tears. “There will be pain, my precious Mary, for you in a very special way, but it will all be for the best in the end. God’s glory will shine through.”
I love Elizabeth. She helps me believe that I’m not crazy and God is really doing something big here, bigger than he’s ever done before. Her faith helps my faith stay strong.
Daniel 7:14
Psalm 110:1-7
Zechariah 9:9
Isaiah 53:1-12
I think Elizabeth is the wisest person I have ever met. All these years married to a priest, and without kids to keep her busy, she’s pretty much made God the focus of her entire life. My favorite times during the couple months I’ve been here have been just sitting with her and talking. The other day I asked her about the Messiah.
Elizabeth explained to me that the prophecies show two different pictures of the Messiah. The first is the “warrior king” idea. Daniel had a vision of the Messiah being crowned king and all the nations of the earth serving him. He will rule forever and his kingdom will never be destroyed. David wrote in the Psalms that he will rule over his enemies, crush kings and judge nations. It’s a pretty violent passage.
This is the picture I hear talked about the most in the synagogue. Israel is really hurting right now. We’ve been under the thumb of the Romans for so long that we are desperate for the Messiah to come and save us, now more than ever. My dad talks about the Messiah overthrowing tyrants like Caesar and Herod. He gets that fire in his eyes like every Jew does when we talk about the Messiah’s never-ending kingdom.
The prophets also talk about another picture of the Messiah, the “suffering servant.” Zechariah talks about him being gentle and humble. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a whole chapter in Isaiah that is just weird. Honestly… it kind of scares me. I spent all afternoon yesterday reading it over and over. I hope I’m missing something, because I can tell you right now that I’d rather die than let my baby go through this stuff. It says that he will be “despised and rejected,” and “oppressed and afflicted,” and then it goes on to talk about him being killed—it looks like willingly. How is this the same person as the “warrior king”?
Even Elizabeth didn’t have an answer for that. She did tell me one thing, though.
“God has promised to rescue his people through the Messiah. You can bet that he will keep his promise. Whether this Messiah that you carry will be born with a sword in his hand to defeat the Romans and set up a palace in Jerusalem, or whether he will be killed like a helpless lamb, God’s salvation will be accomplished through it.” She reached out and put her hand on my knee. I was gripping my stomach and fighting back tears. “There will be pain, my precious Mary, for you in a very special way, but it will all be for the best in the end. God’s glory will shine through.”
I love Elizabeth. She helps me believe that I’m not crazy and God is really doing something big here, bigger than he’s ever done before. Her faith helps my faith stay strong.
Daniel 7:14
Psalm 110:1-7
Zechariah 9:9
Isaiah 53:1-12
2 comments:
Wow that was really cool!
What a great concept. I'm really enjoying this. Can't wait for your next post.
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