Taking a "back day" (IOW My back is messed up), I've been spending time studying Judges, particularly the two early mysteries (Why is Judge #1, Othniel, listed as being Caleb's brother but with 2 different fathers, and is Judge #3, Shamgar, really supposed to be there), I overlook the early point made: That from a place called "the rolling" because there God rolled the guilt of the 40 years in the desert off of Israel (Gilgal), the Angel of the Lord left and met them at "the place of weeping" to tell them their sins had once again removed God's protection. Point: Sometimes seeking that which you won't find points you towards what you NEED to find.
The Better Part, day #176:
One of the things I've always struggled with- self-esteem vs a humble servant- finally got explained to me in a way I could grasp by Jack Hibbs. Paraphrasing, the world teaches you that self-esteem is a must to be happy- and that means a self-centered view of the world. Jesus teaches us true reward comes from serving others.
"Don't you thing those bozos in Portland, rioting and burning things, angry and hateful, would be much happier mowing Grandma's lawn?"
The Better Part, Day #177:
Without the whole litany of "boy, was TODAY Friday the 13th!", here's a simple equation that every Christian workman either has or should learn: Rant-able occurrence + prayer to prevent said rant and bring peace = laughter!
Today is Friday, August 13th, and as a Friday the 13th, I had a real battle deciding how to start this week's post. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be doing a Little Eva bit, but reading her bio was... sad, to say the least. Not a life you really want to have sport with. So I thought I might try doing things like we used to- what happened on August 13th in any of the years we are doing this week? Well, in 1965, Marty Balin, who owned a piece of a club called the Matrix, debuted the band he put together to be his house band- Jefferson Airplane. It was not the famous band that we would know later- Grace Slick was not in it yet- but they did have a singer I'd like to introduce to you- meet Signe Toly Anderson!
STA: Nice to meet you all...
So you were with the band a little less than a year, and missed out on "the good stuff"...
STA: Actually, I left because of the good stuff! My daughter, Onateska, was born in May of the next year... it was too hard taking her on the road, and I quit in October. It worked out well for them, and I went back to Oregon.
That name for your daughter's a mouthful...
STA: I think it was supposed to be Native American for Ladybug...
Well, just to give you a proper hello, let's play the first JA single, in which you and Marty do the singing...
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STA: Nothing off that first album charted, sad to say...
Things that don't chart are often better than the ones that do... So anyway, here's what we do on the show. I got through a random-generated list of years, pick out my favorites this week in that year, and name a winner based on where they ended up on their year's year end chart This week, I'm happy to say, we have a TIE! Two songs topped their year's year-end chart on Cashbox! We'll have some fun with that a little bit later, but for now, we're gonna lob off the two at the bottom (for the 6D and the Overseas If You Please), and the top six (to guess the winner from), and have you read off the 10 that landed in between.
STA: Groovy! So by the numbers, I see... the #73 in 1974, Blue Magic and Sideshow... the #71 in 1976, Keith Carradine's I'm Easy... the #71 in 1965, Beach Boys and California Girls... why didn't they ever do a song about California guys?
Um, 'cause they were guys...
STA: Hmmm, I suppose... the #70 in 1965 was Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Save Your Heart For Me... #67 in 1976, Vickie Sue Robinson, Turn The Beat Around... the #61 in 1965, the Four Tops and It's The Same Old Song... Maybe they should have done something newer, I mean, it might have gotten higher...
Speaking of which....
STA: Shhh! Don't tell on me! #51 in 1965, Mel Carter and Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me... #45 in 1976, George Benson and This Masquerade... #32 in 1965, The Righteous Brothers and Unchained Melody... #15 in 1956, Elvis and Hound Dog...
Elvis: You rang?
Where have you been all this time?
Elvis: Oh, I been helpin' Bellbottom with the 6 degrees, s'all... An' who might you be?
STA: I'm Signe...
Elvis: Well, of course y'are seein' me, I'm right in front of ya! Now what's yer name, honey?
You boob, 'sien-ye' is how you pronounce her name! Now kindly let her get that one last song on the list named...
STA: (giggles) You're silly! And the last song on this list is #13 in 1957, Paul Anka and Diana!
Thanks! And now, the M10 debut at #10, here's the next off of Rest In Blue from the late Gerry Rafferty...
Elvis: Good stuff, man! You oughtta have him on the show!
We'll look into that... but i n the meantime, how about giving us the finalists?
Elvis: I thought the guest did that...
I believe she... 'nodded off'...
Elvis: Gotcha. Okay, yer finalists, in alfer... alphar.. well, you know:
Me first, from 1956 an' Don't Be Cruel...
Aw, then those goshdurn Beatles an' Help from 1965...
then Andy Kim an' Rock Me Gently from '74...
KC an' the Sunshine Band in '76 with Shake Your Booty... guessin' they never was on Sullivan...
Debbie Reynolds an' Tammy from '57...
...an' we finish with the Browns an' The Three Bells from '59!
Now, y'all gotta guess who was that two-way tie at the top- an' then who won it by checkin' where they finished on the Billboard year-ends! An' now, my good friend an' legal eagle, Horace -he's for us- Bellbottom!
HB: Good grief, Presley, I'm not running for office! At any rate, we start with the Boston band called Aerosmith and their song... if it can be called that... "Dude Looks Like A Lady". This song was the dividing line between the 6 top 40 singles they had had in the somewhat distant past and the 15 they would have there on. I mention the past, because it was nearly ten years since their last top 40, a cover of the Beatles' Come Together.
This tune was from the ill-fated Bee Gees/Peter Frampton movie- which I protested in no uncertain terms at its inception- Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The only good things from that entire disaster were this song and Earth Wind And Fire's rendition of Got To Get You Into My Life.
Well, and one other thing. During a day off in filming, the Brothers Gibb sat down and wrote three #1 songs. One day! One of them was their brother Andy's hit Shadow Dancing; the other two were to be on their upcoming album, Spirits Having Flown. They were Tragedy, and Too Much Heaven. The horn section from Chicago- most notably, one Lee Loughhnane on flugelhorn- played prominently on Too Much Heaven. And Loughnane wrote the 6D song- which, while not making the Cashbox top 100 for 1974, did place 98th on Billboard- Chicago's Call On Me.
Nicely done! And now, here's some fun debuting at #9 on this week's M10- from an upcoming lp due out in October, and some help from Japanese stars Chai- here is Duran Duran:
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Elvis: You ain't catchin' ME kissin' no dragon!
I bet not! So before we get to this week's M10, let me clue you in on who tied for the top this week! Did you take...
...our big buddy and Debbie Reynolds? Then you move on to the final round! Hey, and also before we do the M10, here's our rapidly-recovering Signe Toly Anderson with the Overseas If You Please!
STA: Yeah, sorry about that... new baby and all, you know... so here's what topped the chart this week in 1965- the year in which Smokey Robinson and the Miracles finished 98th with Tracks Of My Tears...
In the UK and Australia, the Beatles were #1 with Help!
In Canada, the Playboys and Save Your Heart For Me...
New Zealand, the year that got lost... who did that one?
No one... all the 1965 charts for New Zealand apparently disappeared...
STA: Wow, like an alien kidnapping thing... anyway, in South Africa, it was Elvis and Crying In The Chapel...
Elvis: YEAH! It's a sign! I can't be beat this week!
Maybe... anyway, here's the rest of the M10...
8- Sagittarius up 2 with 1969's In My Room...
7- Rafferty's Slow Down is down 2, and ties Challenge The Gods on the summer list...
6- illuminati hotties and Buck Meek up 3 with u v v p...
5- Redspencer up 2 with Big Deal...
4- the Ventures from 1969 with Theme From A Summer Place up 2...
3- Holding is courtship. and Fuzzy...
2- Down one is last week's topper, Weezer and Tell Me What You Want....
And to no big surprise, moving up 1 to take the top spot...
credit Jackie Lee Young
....the Black Pumas and Wichita Lineman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, before I give you the winner, just in case someone's keeping track:
Help! finished 11th in '65...
Shake Your Booty was 10 in '76...
The Three Bells came in 7th in '59...
...and Rock Me Gently took 4th in '74.
And the winner, taking the #2 on Billboard for its year, versus the other song being a shocking 12th....
Elvis: It was ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Me, me, me! Oh, with Don't Be Cruel!!!!!
I guess it truly was an omen! Better be here next week- just 11 more to go!
Even with all the Messianic references and prophecies of the last few chapters, I don't rightly know how you 'drive-by' those in chapter 53. The Jews have done it, though, for almost 3 millennia. However, let me try by sharing some verses...
Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
"...we esteemed Him not..." There's a damning self-accusation. Do I esteem Him? Not nearly enough...
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
Just so, Jesus never opened His mouth during His trials to strike back; and when He did speak...
Joh 18:33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Joh 18:34 Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Joh 18:35 Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" Joh 18:36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." Joh 18:37 Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Joh 18:38 Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" ...
...and when He did, He witnessed to Pilate. Pilate scoffed at His truth... do we?
Isa 53:9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Crucified between robbers, buried in a rich man's tomb. How did the scribes not tremble with fear watching this unfold- how do we not?
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The entirety of Christian faith is born in this one chapter. And for 700 years, the scribes and teachers had this to mull over until at last they WATCHED it happen. And they denied it, because it would have upset their lifestyle, their power base. All of their finery, all of their parsing truth to the poor and enjoying life themselves, would have been out the window had they believed what was plain before them. And you, if you don't believe, aren't exempt of this charge....
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
If you have read any of this, you are in the "without excuse" crowd. Next question- what do you do with it?
Rom 10:8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); Rom 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
On a Sunday when the inspiration just wasn't there to start, be sure to pay attention to the last one- the reminder that God is still with me, taking joy in obedience.
The Better part, day # 171:
Spent the morning reminding myself over and over: I don't need to know the things I cannot understand; I need to understand the things God wants me to know.
The Better Part, Day #172:
One good sign we have a Living, Loving God: When you pour out your heart over something one day, and a pastor virtually reads God's reply out of the Bible the next...
The Better Part, Day #173:
Today was one of the more discouraging days of work I've had in a while. At 3 pm (right after last break) is when I usually do my "prayer group" praying- for our Summer prayer group and missions at Emanuel Community Church- but I was in such a state, I knew I needed help with me first.
As I poured it out to God, He had me think about that about 90% of my discouragement came because of one thing- my past. Growing up, I was taught a good faith and moral perspective on the macro- level; but there were things on a more subtle level of morality- work ethic, perseverance, unselfishness- that didn't quite start taking till later, and those faults bent my attitudes in a bad direction.
As I realized this, I realized that these were the kinds of things I needed to pray about for the schoolkids that our prayer group is focusing on this week- and everyone else's kids, too! That one realization turned a day Satan was winning on me to one that God won for the kids. Our God is an awesome God!
The Better Part, Day #174:
Psa 17:13 Arise, O Jehovah, go before his face and bow him down! Deliver my soul from the wicked, by Your sword,
Psa 17:14 from men, by Your hand, O Jehovah, from men of the world whose portion is in this life, and their belly You fill with Your treasure; they are satisfied with sons, and will leave their riches to their babes.
Psa 17:15 As for me, in righteousness I will look upon Your face; when I awaken, I shall be satisfied by Your image.
That last line caught my attention this morning...as the commentators explained, and I suspected, the meaning is not in awaking from sleep, but from death to the new life. A reminder that what the worldly man sees as his gain will pass with his life on earth, the Christian will have his reward forever.
Hi, gang, and welcome to the second time through the cycle on our "Last Legs of Time Machine" tour...
Elvis: You're really gonna call it that?
Why not? We're in 'jumping the shark' territory as it is! Anyway, the draw this week was for 1962, 1963, 1969, 1970, and 1977- and because this is the second time through, this time I'm drawing favorites from not just the top 10, but the top 20...
'Bout had to if'n you aren't repeating any from the first rounds...
Very true, oh King! And this week we have on hand the generals of the Raiders, Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay!
Gentlemen, good to have you aboard!
PR: Good to be here... good to be anywhere, I guess!
Now, Wiki says, "Revere was the energetic comic relief, the madman of rock and roll, in contrast to the teen idol look of Lindsay."
Elvis: He 'bout had to be comic relief, with a last name like....
Elvis, shh!
PR: Are we really gonna dig out those gags? I got so tired of that, I was ecstatic when the record company wanted me to drop my real last name and just go by Revere...
ML: I agree, seems a little juvenile...
Well, now you know why Elvis is OUR comic relief! Honestly, I never really watched your act myself- I was a wee lad- but perhaps you could come on-
ML: Wait, no one said anything about performing! Our costumes...
...I was going to say, you could come on our Halloween bash, I've been considering a "costume party" theme anyway! You'd be perfect!
EP: Yeah, you could come as a giant...
ELVIS! You're about this close...
EP: Sorry, boss...
While I discuss with my partner here what is actually permissible around here, let's watch our first debut! It was a hot 100 hit in 1969, but last week was the first time I heard it! At #10, here is Sagittarius...
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So, guys, this week we ended up with 14 songs out of those five years, and because of diving a little deeper, they hit their respective years' hot hundreds a little lower than last time through the cycle. Never the less, I have three I'm saving for the final, two that get saved for the 6D and Overseas If You Please, and the remaining nine are yours to present, in order of where they hit their hot 100s!
PR: Man, that seems like a lot of work...
Elvis: What, I thought you were good at announcin' stuff! What happened to, "The British are comin'?"
ML: I hate to say it, Paul, but he has a point. Don't be a...
PR: Not you, too, Mark??!
ML: Sorry. Here, let me do them...
#99 in 1963 was Judy's Turn To Cry by Leslie Gore...
Oh, look! At #94 in 1970 was my Silver Bird!
PR: What? Gimme that list!
Okay, so #92 in 1977 was Ariel by Dean Friedman ...
#80 in 1963 was Doris Troy and Just One Look...
#71 in 1969 was Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition...
man, this is a lot of work!
ML: Here, let me do some more...
#66 in 1963 was Kai Winding's Orchestra with More...
That would be my favorite in the bunch...
ML: #65 in 1977 was Helen Reddy and You're My World...
#47 in 1962 was Claudine Clark and Party Lights...
PR: Hey, gimme the list back!
ML: There's only one left we can do...
PR: Whatever! The #35 in 1970 was Mungo Jerry an' In The Summertime! The end, for now!
Uh, yeah, thanks guys! Let's go right out to our 6D list! Horace, here you go, no fanfare!
Horace: Very well, and I think you'll find that using some respect instead of all the shenanigans this show tends to drift into will find a more appreciative aud... Good Heavens, what is that young man doing?
Aw, don't have a cow! It's only blanks! BANG! BANG!
HB: Sigh. Anyway, this week, we will be reversing our usual course to save for the end the truly astounding record that lies there! Our 6 degrees song, which made neither the Billboard or Cashbox year-end charts for 1969, was country legend Roy Clark and Yesterday When I Was Young. Clark came to fame as the winner in both 1947 and 1948 of the National Banjo Contest, which helped him get a regular part in the touring band of soon to be star Jimmy Dean. While Dean fired him from the band in 1957 after 3 years of excessive tardiness, Dean still invited him on the Tonight Show during a week he filled in for Jack Paar. Despite the fact that his Yesterday was his most famous hit, his only #1 on the country and western charts was 1973's Come Live With Me.
That song was written by the famous duo of Felice and Boudeaux Bryant. In the course of what might have ended up a list of their biggest hits- which upon reflection is a path we traveled once before- we discovered one of their songs set a unique record. That song was All I Have To Do Is Dream by the Everly Brothers. On the week of June 2nd, 1958, this song became the only one to top ALL 6 of the current Billboard charts- Country and Western, Rhythm and Blues, and Pop, both sales and airplay on each- simultaneously! Bravo, gentlemen, bravo!
Elvis: I can't believe those dummies managed that!
Now, just because I have fun with them on my bits doesn't mean they're dummies- any more than you are!
Elvis: I know, but- wait, are you sayin' you play me like I'm a dummy?
PR: Ha! Now that's comedy!
Before this becomes a shooting match, whatsay we play our second debut! At #9, here's M10 stars illuminati hotties, with some help at the end from Buck Meek:
So now, right before I announce your top three, here's Paul and Mark with the Overseas If You Please!
ML: So the other bottom song- not on the CB hot 100 of 1963, but #66 on BB- is our other country crossover, Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire. In his honor, we have the top songs this week in 1963 around the world. Paul?
PR: In Australia, we have Johnny O'Keefe and the rockin' Move Baby Move. Canada had Just One Look; New Zealand had the recent stateside #1 by Kyu Sakamoto, Sukiyaki. And in England, it was fat boy over there with Devil In Disguise....
ML: And the big mover this week from those five years belongs to John Lennon as the Plastic Ono Band and Give Peace A Chance, up 47 spots from 76 to 29.
Nice job, fellows, and congrats for being one of the few acts that were SUPPOSED to be on the show this summer that actually WERE on the show!
Before we proceed to the "devil in disguise" over there giving the M10, and my announcement of the choices you get for this week's winner, let me update the all-time songs of M10 summer leaderboard: Since we forgot to mention it last week, Sass Jordan's The Key pulls into #22; This week, matching Lalena at #38 is Market And Black; matching Big Sur at the new #50 slot is Slow Down! And now...
Your choices this week for the winner-
From 1963, Jan and Dean's Surf City;
From 1962, Little Eva and The Loco Motion;
and from 1977, Alice Cooper and You And Me!
Okay, King, you're up!
Okay, I gots the rest o' the M10 fer ya...
8- Maneskin falls 4 with Beggin'...
7- Redspencer up 3 with Big Deal...
6- The Ventures up 3 with Theme From A Summer Place...
5- down 3, Gerry Rafferty's Slow Down...
4- down 3 from the top, Griffith James and Tennis an' Market And Black...
3- up 2 for courtship. and Fuzzy...
2- the big jump from#8 for the Black Pumas an' Wichita Lineman...
And a new #1....
...Weezer's 2nd chart-topper here, Tell Me What You Want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job, buddy! And now, our winner...
Jan and Dean were #26 in 1963...
Alice was #25 in 1977....
So this week's winner- #7 for the week and #15 for the year of 1962....
.....Little Eva and The Loco-Motion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tune in next time, God willing, for 5 new years, Little Eva's grand re-appearance ( I hope), and more fun!
For a moment this morning, I thought that maybe the "Drive-by" theme should be Foghat's Slow Ride, but when you consider Jack Hibbs takes 4 Sundays to cover 2 verses in 2 Peter, a roughly 4 chapters a post average ain't bad! Today we start in Chapter 49, which really hammers home the life of Jesus, some 700 years before His advent on earth.
Isa 49:1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. Isa 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. Isa 49:3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Isa 49:4 But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God."
Verse 3 kind of puts you into a quandary whether this is about a nation or a person, but lets look at why this is about Jesus:
First, the call is from A PERSON (Jesus) to the 'coastlands'- a term generally used for the pagan nations beyond the scope of Israel's day-to-day.
Second, Jesus has been extensively described in the New Testament as the Word, 'sharper than any two-edged sword', and was hidden in mortal flesh.
Third, the problem for Isaiah and his ministry is the people WEREN'T laboring at all, let alone in vain, this was Jesus looking at the Cross, and how many were going to reject it and Him.
So having set the tone, what else can we draw about Jesus from this passage?
For one, His mission to save the world entire, and the success that mission will someday have...
Isa 49:6 he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Isa 49:7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
For another, the rejection by Israel of Jesus:
Isa 49:13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. Isa 49:14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Isa 49:15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isa 49:16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
Note the last verse: Despite what the 'believers' of ancient times thought, Jesus died for the Jews as well. Yes, He engraved us with nail holes. And that comes with a promise:
Isa 49:24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? Isa 49:25 For thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. Isa 49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
The next chapter starts with some of what Jesus would go through, along with His resolve:
Isa 50:4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. Isa 50:6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. Isa 50:7 But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Chapter 51 condenses the story: Reminding Israel of her beginnings, telling of the coming salvation, and the power with which God has led them, promising that one day the spiritual blindness caused by their lack of faith would be lifted, and used to judge the nations.
And as the start of 52 trumpets the return of Israel to faith at the End of Days, it concludes- as do we for this week- with one further description of Jesus that they were destined to ignore...
Isa 52:13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. Isa 52:14 As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- Isa 52:15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
Get that last line... God telling Israel they HAVE been told, and they should have understood.
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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