Echoes of His Presence: Stories of the Messiah from the People of His Day - Hardcover

Vander Laan, Ray; Markham, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0310678862 ISBN 13: 9780310678861

Publisher: Zondervan, 1998

Synopsis

Have you felt the dust on your sandaled feet, the sun warming your back in the fields as you work? Have you smelled the sweet fragrance of a breeze through the olive groves and the piquance of the sea's salty air? Have you wandered the Galilean hillsides, or tarried along the Jericho Road? Come, immerse yourself in the Jewish customs and traditions of Jesus' day and behold the eye-opening relevance that unfolds before you. Through personal glimpses into the lives of a rabbi and a shepherd, a bridegroom and a disciple, a mason and an ailing woman, you'll grasp the undeniable significance of God's only Son in a way believers have rarely understood. Suddenly, it will all make sense! You'll appreciate how He lived, what He did, the words He used -- and what He meant, both then and today! And as you begin to fathom the extent of God's love, you'll hear the echoes of His presence in your life. Through historically accurate, fictional stories of people Jesus touched, Echoes of His Presence spans the gap between the history of Jewish tradition and Western thinking, making Christ’s ministry more meaningful than ever to modern believers. By setting the gospel story in its cultural context, this book offers a better understanding of Jesus and inspires a deeper passion for him.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

The Promise
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?"
So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."
Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. . . . When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land."
(Genesis 15:6–10,17–18)
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blame-less. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." . . .
Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep."
(Genesis 17:1–2,9–10)
The Northern Negev, A.D.27
Forty years in this desert wilderness. What must that have been like? Yochanan wondered. He and his rabbi had been traveling for only three weeks, yet it was beginning to feel like forever. The two of them had left their hometown of Capernaum, trekked down the Jordan Valley to Yericho, and then climbed through the steep mountain passes to Yerushalayim. The city of Daveed, golden in the morning light. After visiting the Temple, they had headed south through the foothills of the Judean Mountains. Now they were nearing the place where Jahweh had made His presence known to their people. "Forty years He forced them to wander here," Yochanan said. "After 400 years slaving for the Egyptians. What kind of God does that to His people?" "A just and righteous one," replied the rabbi. "And a gracious one." "How can you say that?" Yochanan said angrily—and a bit fearfully. After all, he was only 17, and this man was his teacher. Hoping to become a rabbi one day, Yochanan had chosen to follow this respected teacher from the synagogue at Capernaum. As their religion required, Yochanan would live and study with this man for several years, learning as much as he could about the Torah and the Haphtarah. Someday he hoped to be both as wise and as righteous as his teacher.
"Listen, my son," said the rabbi. "You have heard it said that it was cruel of the Almighty to treat His chosen people in such a manner. But I tell you, those 40 years were not wasted."
"What do you mean?" Yochanan asked.
"Let’s climb up there and I’ll explain." The rabbi pointed toward a hill rising alone in the distance. The rolling countryside around it was brown from the heat of summer, although a recent shower had left traces of green on the plains. As they walked through the stony fields, Yochanan stripped off some ripe heads of wild wheat and munched on the sweet kernels.
When they reached the bottom of the hill, the teacher led the way, using the tumbled ruins of a wall as a stairway up the steep side. Halfway up, he stopped. Then, sweeping his arm from side to side, he indicated the landscape before them. Rolling hills and fields faded into the horizon as far as they could see. Sheep, goats, and camels ranged the countryside. Nomad tents and encampments dotted the plains.
"When this land and its people were already very old," said the teacher, "Moshe led our people out of the wilderness in which they had wandered because of their disobedience. They had tried to enter the land once before, but the spies sent to scout out the territory were terrified by the sophisticated and fortified cities and the powerful inhabitants. The Philistines had iron; they had weapons our people had never seen before. Their city walls and fortresses were formidable. Our forefathers were shepherds and farmers, not soldiers."
"But Adonai had promised them this land."
"Ah, yes. But to get it, they had to defeat the people who already lived here. And could they trust Adonai to fight the battle for them? That was the question. Ultimately, they did not trust the One who had led them safely all this way. Their disbelief sent them back for another 40-year trek in the wilderness south of here, camping from place to place—just like those nomads over there. One year for every day the spies were gone checking out the land." The teacher smiled as he added, "We are a people who have always needed concrete images. ‘You’ll learn to trust Me,’ said the Almighty. And He meant it."
"What is this place?" Yochanan asked. "Why are we here?" They had come to an area where the crumbling remains of city walls crisscrossed the hillside. "People have lived here for centuries. When one town was destroyed by earthquake or enemies, another was built on top of it. But be patient. We’ll talk more about it when we get there," said the teacher, pointing to the summit. "Let’s climb the rest of the way."
At the top of the hill a few minutes later, Yochanan saw the cobbled streets of an ancient city, wide enough for two to walk side by side. The building walls that formed the narrow passageways, though broken and cracked, still rose above their heads.

About this edition

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0310678862
• ISBN 13: 9780310678861
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 195