The Secular Settings of the New Testament — Part 2

Homes

Houses in the western part of the Roman Empire were built of brick or concrete, at least in cities. Poorer sections and rural areas had frame houses or huts. In the eastern part of the empire, houses usually consisted of stucco and sun-dried brick. Few windows opened onto the street, because cities lacked proper police forces to keep thieves from roaming the streets at night and breaking into houses through windows. More expensive homes had double-door front entrances, sometimes with knockers. A vestibule led to the door, beyond which lay a large central court called the atrium. Roofs were tile or thatch. In the kitchen an open hearth, or an earthen or stone oven, served for cooking. Oil lamps provided lighting. Plumbing and heating were well developed. A central furnace heated some houses, pipes conveying the warm air to different parts of the house. Many Roman lavatories featured running water, and Pompeian houses had at least one toilet convenience, sometimes two. Murals decorated walls. In larger cities lower- and middle-class people often rented flats in apartment houses.

Palestinian towns and homes differed somewhat from their Greco-Roman counterparts and were comparatively backward. One entered a town through a gate in the wall. Inside the gate an open square provided a public place for trade and for social and legal interchange. Jesus must have preached often in these town squares. The houses were low and flat-roofed, sometimes with a guest chamber perched on top. The building material for these homes was usually bricks made of mud and straw baked in the sun. The typical low-class Palestinian had an apartment in a building containing many apartments, all on ground level. An apartment might have only one room. If so, part of the room was on a slightly higher level than the rest. Beds, chests for clothes, and cooking utensils were located on the higher level. Livestock and other domestic animals inhabited the lower level; or, when the animals were outside, children played there. Branches laid across rafters and plastered with mud formed the fiat roofs. Rain caused leakage; so after each rain the mud had to be rolled to seal the holes. A parapet around the edge of the roof kept people from falling off, and a flight of stairs on the outside of the house led up to the roof The housetop was used for sleeping in hot weather, drying vegetables, ripening fruit, and, in devout homes, for praying. The floors consisted of the hard earth or, in better houses, of stone. The beds were merely a mat or a coverlet laid on the floor. Only well-to-do homes had bedsteads. People slept in their day garments.

Food

Romans ate four meals a day. An average diet consisted of bread, porridge, lentil soup, goat’s milk, cheese, vegetables, fruit, olives, bacon, sausage, fish, and diluted wine. Jews ate only two meals a day, one at noon, another in the evening. The Jewish diet consisted mainly of bread, fruits, and vegetables. Meat, roasted or boiled, was usually reserved for festival days. Raisins, figs, honey, and dates supplied sweetening, since sugar was unknown. Fish often substituted for meat. At formal meals people reclined on cushions; for informal meals they sat.

Clothing and Styles

Men wore tunics, shirt-like garments extending from the shoulders to the knees. A belt or sash, called a “girdle” in the New Testament, was worn around the waist, coarse shoes or sandals on the feet, and a hat or a scarf on the head. In cold weather a mantle or heavy cloak worn over the tunic gave additional warmth. These garments were usually white in color. Women wore a short tunic as an undergarment and a sometimes brightly colored outer tunic extending to the feet. The more fashionable used cosmetics lavishly, including lipstick, eye shadow, and eyebrow paint, and for jewelry wore earrings and nose ornaments. Women’s hair styles changed constantly, though Palestinian women wore veils covering the head (but not the face). Men wore their hair short and shaved with straight razors. Dandies had their hair curled and used large amounts of hair oil and perfume. Both men and women dyed their hair, often to cover up the gray. False hair added to the coiffure, and both sexes wore wigs. In Palestine men grew beards and let their hair grow somewhat longer, but still not so long as portrayed in traditional pictures of biblical people. Generally, Palestinian styles leaned toward conservatism for both sexes.

The Secular Settings of the New Testament — Part 1

Jewish Population

It has been estimated that more than four million Jews lived in the Roman Empire during New Testament times, perhaps seven percent of its total population. But scarcely seven hundred thousand of these Jews called Palestine home. More Jews lived in Alexandria, Egypt, than in Jerusalem; more in Syria than in Palestine. Even in parts of Palestine (Galilee, where Jesus grew up, and the Decapolis) Gentiles out numbered Jews.

Languages

Latin was the legal language of the Roman Empire, but was used mainly in the West. In the East, Greek predominated. Besides Greek, Palestinians spoke Aramaic and Hebrew; so Jesus and the first disciples were probably trilingual.

Transportation, Commerce, and Communication

In transportation, commerce, and communication Palestine was relatively undeveloped. Nevertheless, several main roads deserve mention. One led southwest from Jerusalem past Bethlehem to Gaza and northeast from Jerusalem to Bethany and Jericho, up the Jordan Valley and the west side of the Sea of Galilee, and on to Damascus. Paul was traveling this road when he received his transforming vision of Christ. A second branched off the first below the Sea of Galilee and led up the west side of that lake to Capernaum. To avoid Samaria, Jews often traveled this road in going between Galilee and Judea. But a third main road led from Jerusalem straight up through Samaria to Capernaum, and along this road Jesus talked with a Samaritan woman by Jacob’s well. A fourth main road went up the Mediterranean coast from Gaza to Tyre. A branch, on which the risen Jesus conversed with two disciples, went from the southern coast past Emmaus to Jerusalem. Finally, a main road led from the northern coast past Nazareth through Capernaum to Damascus.’

Although the Palestinian road system was comparatively poor, throughout much of the Roman Empire the roads were justly famous. They were as straight as possible and durably constructed. Early Christian missionaries used them to full advantage, and the imperial post carried governmental dispatches over them. Private businesses had their own couriers to carry messages. People traveled by foot, by donkey, by horse or mule, and by carriage or litter. Because roadside inns were usually squalid, people of better means depended on friends for lodging. One could buy tourist maps in manuscript form, and even guidebooks for tourists.

Water offered the primary means of commercial transport. Since Egypt served as breadbasket for the Roman Empire, Alexandria pro vided the main port and outlet for Egyptian grain. Alexandrian ships reached almost 200 feet in length, had sails, and carried oars for emergencies. One large ship could transport several hundred passengers in addition to cargo. Paul was aboard an Alexandrian ship when he suffered shipwreck. Warships were lighter and faster. Galley slaves labored at the oars, of which there were two to five banks, sometimes as many as ten. Barges plied the rivers and canals.

Roads, rivers, and the Mediterranean Sea supplied lines of communication. Papyrus, ostraca (broken bits of pottery), and wax tablets were used as writing materials for letters and other documents. For important manuscripts, leather or parchment was used. Most news was spread by word of mouth, by town criers, and by public notices posted on bulletin boards.

Public Conveniences

Alexandria had a well-developed school system. The city library contained well over half a million volumes. Excavations have shown that the city of Antioch, Syria, had two and one-half miles of streets colonnaded and paved with marble and a complete system of night lighting. Serving major cities of the empire were underground sewage disposal systems. Public baths for all: admission, one cent. At first people took one bath per day, but later some were taking four to seven baths daily. Shower baths had been invented by the Greeks long before New Testament times.

Happy Thankgiving

As we take time this day to celebrate with family and friends please remember why we are truly thankful.

As yourself  “Are we as Christians celebrating it the way the Lord would have us celebrate, or have we compromised with the world?” Have we lost the emphasis on thanksgiving and prayer and shifted it to a gluttonous feast of food, drink and games like those in the world have done? God wants us to enjoy family, friends and feasting, but leaving God out of the day breaks His heart. More and more the media is referring to this holiday as “turkey day” instead of Thanksgiving Day. They also eliminate the object of who we are to offer our thanks. We are just to be “thankful” we are told. Who should our thanks be directed to? The object of our thanks for our many blessings, should be directed to the Lord God. It should not just be a general “thanks.”

Here are a few Bible verses to assist you in giving thanks and praise at Thanksgiving time or anytime throughout the year.

Psalm 31:19

How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you.

Psalm 95:1-6

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.
The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

Psalm 100

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

Psalm 107:1

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

Psalm 145:7

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.”

Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders like this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a prominent magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on 28, 1863, urging him to have the “day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.” She wrote, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution.” The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November “as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.”

According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln’s secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary that he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,

Secretary of State

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Source: Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, edited by Roy P. Basler.

 

Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

General Thanksgiving

By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America

A PROCLAMATION

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WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;– for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;– for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;– and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;– to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

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Source: The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday, October 14, 1789

Thanksgiving — A History

Let’s Talk Turkey
Barbara Curtis

I’d stuffed many a turkey before I really understood Thanksgiving. Oh sure, I knew we were supposed to be thankful, and once I became a Christian I knew who we were thanking. But it wasn’t until I homeschooled some of my children that I really discovered the whole story. Unfortunately, that story keeps getting harder to find.

For years, public schools have left God out of Thanksgiving, teaching instead that the Pilgrims gave a party to thank the Native Americans and Mother Earth. Even more current are claims that the first Thanksgiving was a copy of European harvest festivals, a stolen Native American custom, or just a repetition of thanksgivings offered by other explorers.

But the Pilgrims’ own writings and the historical events leading to the first Thanksgiving show the traditional accounts (available in pre-1960 books and encyclopedias) to be authentic. Thanksgiving was not an isolated event, or an imitation of some other event, but a uniquely inspired Christian celebration the culmination of a long journey of faith during which the Pilgrims relied on God and trusted him through tremendous adversity.

While Thanksgiving often gets lost in the pre-Christmas shuffle, teaching our children the real story of this holiday can make it an opportunity for spiritual growth that our children will cherish for years to come. With a little history, a little creativity, and a sense of fun, Thanksgiving can become one of your family’s favorite.

Tell The Real Story

The Thanksgiving story is more than just the tale of Pilgrims and Indians. It’s a portrait of God’s hand in bringing people together to accomplish a specific purpose. As you share this story with your children, encourage them to listen for the ways God helped the Pilgrims and guided them through difficult times.

In the early 1600s the Wampanoag (Wam-pa-NO-ag) Indians inhabited the coast of what we now call New England. They raised crops, lived close to the ocean in summer for seafood, and moved inland in winter to set up hunting camps. Their encounters with Europeans over the years were mostly friendly.

But there was one exception: In 1614 Captain Thomas Hunt captured several Wampanoag, along with a Patuxet Indian named Squanto, to be sold into slavery in Spain. A Spanish monk purchased Squanto’s freedom, taught him Spanish, introduced him to Jesus Christ and sent him to England. In 1619, Squanto returned to his native land, only to find that his tribe had been wiped out by an epidemic. Thereafter he made his home with the Wampanoag.

Meanwhile, in 1608, a British group called Separatists fled to Leyden, Holland. There they found religious freedom, but also poverty, grueling work hours, and a secular culture that threatened to undo the values they had carefully instilled in their children. In 1620, they sold all their belongings to help finance their journey to America.

On the Mayflower’s voyage, the Separatists were joined by another group of people bound for America. They called these people Strangers. The two groups, 102 people altogether, were called Pilgrims.

Their journey lasted nine weeks. In one of those divine “accidents” that change the course of history, the ship lost its course and landed far north of its destination at what we now know as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Once outside the territory covered by the King’s Charter, the Pilgrims became responsible for their own government, and so they wrote a set of laws called The Mayflower Compact. On December 21, 1620, they began their new life at the place they named Plymouth.

The winter was devastating. Wind whipped through their settlement and sleet and snow chilled them to the bone. Half of the Pilgrims died. But the Separatists clung to their faith; not one person chose to return to England when the Mayflower made her return voyage.

Spring brought unexpected relief the help of a Christian brother, Squanto. He taught them how to grow corn, use fertilizer, stalk deer, and catch fish. William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, wrote that Squanto was “a special instrument sent of God for good beyond our expectations.”

And so their first harvest was good. Governor Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to God, and the Pilgrims invited their Indian friends. Chief Massasoit and 90 members of his tribe came, along with Squanto, bearing venison and wild turkeys for everyone to share. The Pilgrims and Indians feasted, played games, ran races, and showed their prowess with bows and arrows and muskets. With so much to be grateful for, the Pilgrims celebrated that first Thanksgiving for three days!

Make Every Day Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving was a joyful celebration and so much more. Though the Pilgrims had much to be thankful for the shelters they’d built, the successful harvest, their good relations with the Native Americans they were still grieving the loss of fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and children. Their story reminds us that this season is about more than giving thanks. It’s about giving thanks in all circumstances. Making time each Thanksgiving to remember how the Pilgrims celebrated God’s goodness and providence challenges us to do the same each day.

Read About It

I found information in the following books. Any of them would make a wonderful edition to the family library.

Pilgrim Boy by Matilda Nordtvedt (A Beka Books); ages 7-12 (877-223-5226, order #56480)

This wonderfully readable book tells of life in Leyden, the Mayflower passage, first year hardships, and the first Thanksgiving feast from the point of view of a young boy. The sparkling dialogue and expressive feelings make this a historically rich and faith-filled account.

Voyage to Freedom by David Gay (Banner of Truth Trust); ages 9-12

A historical narrative of the Atlantic crossing through the eyes of one family. Their encounters with the actual historical figures provide a satisfying, adventuresome view of the Mayflower voyage, from their first steps aboard to their first steps on Plymouth.

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas (Tommy Nelson); ages 4-8

Among many wonderful books about Squanto, this one stands out, showing clearly that the primary player in the Thanksgiving story was not a Native American or Pilgrim, but God.

The Light and the Glory for Children by Peter Marshall and David Manuel (Revell); ages 9-12

A simplified version of the adult original, this thoughtful text details God’s hand in American history from Christopher Columbus through George Washington. Questions at the end of each chapter can be used to spur family discussion.

Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl, Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy, Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters (Scholastic); ages 4-8

Authentically staged photos follow each child through a typical day, with a first-person narrative describing daily activities, family life, hopes, and fears.

Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness (Alladin Paperbacks); ages 4-8

Richly detailed, with engaging illustrations of the Mayflower voyage, the first wedding at Plymouth, the Indians, and the harvest. You’ll appreciate the rich language and the child-friendly format.

For An Audio Version of The Story Try

The Legend of Squanto by Paul McCusker, (Focus on the Family Radio Theater), www.family.org/resources/search.cfm

Focus says this is “more than a story about an honest man who triumphed over tragedy. It is also a tribute to forgiveness, integrity, and the ability to look beyond the color of a man’s skin.”

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Parenting Today magazine.Click here for reprint information on Christian Parenting Today.

Barbara Curtis is a former teacher and the mother of 12. She and her family live in California.

Psalm 100 — Living a Thankful Life

I remember reading an article some time back and it had a list of things to be thankful for. It said, “I’m thankful for the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed. I’m thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat. I’m thankful for a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means that I have a home. I’m thankful for the spot that I find at the far ends of the parking lot because it means that I’m capable of walking the distance. I’m thankful for my huge heating bill because it means that I have warmth in my home. I’m thankful for the lady at church behind me who sings off key because it means that I can hear. I’m thankful for the piles of ironing and laundry that have to get done because it means my loved ones are near by. The alarm that goes off early in the morning I’m thankful for because it means that I’m alive. I’m thankful for the weariness and the aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I’ve been productive. “

Often we find we get to a place that we really aren’t thankful for much. I mean how could anyone be thankful when they have a bunch of clothes thrown around and they have to pick them all up to wash it and iron it, what is there to be thankful about that? The thing that this illustration brings out is that sometimes we look at things in the wrong way. We need to look at those things and say, “man… the clothes laying around and a house that needs to get clean is showing me that I have my kids and family right here with me. What a blessing that is.”

I love thanksgiving. I love everything that goes on this time of year. The leaves turn and fall from the trees. The cool crisp air moves in. I love Thanksgiving because is is so uncomercialized. It’s a day where Christians and non-christians gather together and they put aside their differences they put aside the things that they were mad at each other about. They put it all aside and there is this camaraderie, this community and we are a family.

I was looking up my buddy Webster, and he defines Thanksgiving as this: “The act of giving thanks, a prayers expressing gratitude. a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness.” That’s a pretty cool definition of Thanksgiving. In the Hebrew language we see that the word Thanksgiving is interchangeable with praise. The Hebrew word for praise or thanksgiving is towdah, the root of that word is yadah and the root of this word is yad. It is translated literally as extend your arms as an expression of gratitude. When we see praise or thanksgiving in the Old Testament it means that we are to extend our arms out as an expression of gratitude. A person who is thankful is a person who extends their arms to express gratitude.

We see this in worship. The arms are often extended to the Lord. When our hearts are filling with thanksgiving towards the Lord we have a tendency of expressing outwardly what’s going on so deeply within us. It’s an expression of our hearts.

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.”You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Luke 7:36-48 Here is a picture of a woman whose heart is filled with gratitude towards God.

In Christian living we can see very quickly and very clearly a person who is totally thankful for the forgiveness of God in their life. We can see it because they love a lot. A person who thinks that they need not to be forgiven of a lot of things, they don’t love, they love little the Bible says. A person who is so thankful for God’s forgiveness upon their life they are a person who loves people, are not critical, not pointing the finger, they just want to love people because they realize how much they’ve been forgiven and thus the Bible tells us they just love much.

Do you appreciate and have a thankful heart for the things God has done for you? Do you love much or do you love little? Are you a critical person of others unwilling to be forgiving and loving?

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. Psalm 100 In most translations of the Bible this Psalm is refered to as the Psalm of thanksgiving. This is the Psalmist’s direction on how to live a life of thanksgiving. How can we live a life of thanksgiving, a life of gratitude towards God? I believe there is some wonderful insight in Psalm 100, it is the beauty of the Psalmist describing the tabernacle of God and the importance of the tabernacle and how it relates to us as believers in living a thankful life.The Psalmist is going to use the tabernacle of God to show us the importance of the tabernacle and how that helps each one of us to have a deeper, richer and more incredible gratitude towards the things of God.

It’s easy to miss the tabernacle reference here, but the Psalm says Come before Him (or the KJV come before his presence). What we have to remember, Jesus wasn’t here yet, He had been prophesied of but He wasn’t around yet. How could you come into the presence of God, the Psalmist is no doubt talking to us about the tabernacle of God, the Holy of Holies. He says Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. This is the tabernacle, the Psalmist is describing to us the beauty of the tabernacle of God. I want to explore the five specific steps that we see here to keep you in a place where you can live thankfully before God.

Many Christians don’t understand the importance of the construction and the layout of the tabernacle and it’s importance to us personally. The Psalmist wants us to know that there is something important about the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle illustrates God’s prescribed way for man to approach God, you had to go through a process to approach God.

The tabernacle was tent like. It had coverings draped down over it, had a roof made of cloth, it was 150 feet by 75 feet, it was perfect, it was exact, and the whole compound of the tabernacle, all 150 x 75 feet of it was surrounded by an over 7 foot tall a fence with large posts driven into the ground to make it stable. Something else about the tabernacle, the gate of the tabernacle, the person would always come into the tabernacle from the east and go into the tabernacle facing west. It was showing everyone that we aren’t going to do what the pagan religions do and that was to always face east. The pagan religions would always face east and today we see many cults and many religions that bow down and pray and they looks towards the east. God said, “no, when I establish My tabernacle people are going to come in from the east and go into the gate from the west.” What a great picture of walking away from pagan religion and walking into the presence of God.

A straggler couldn’t just wander into the tabernacle area, it was blocked off and had just one gate, you had to be intentional on coming into the tabernacle. This is important because for the person standing outside the tabernacle the only way they would want to go into the tabernacle is if they first recognized that they were a sinner. They had to have an intention to go into the tabernacle because inside the tabernacle there was the sacrifice, where your sins were going to be cleansed and washed away for you. So a person standing outside had to have some intent to go in and the same is true today. People don’t just straggle in to God, there has to be an intention, you have to be motivated, you have to understand that you’re a sinner and that you need a savior and you need your sins to be forgiven. This tabernacle area, the gate was very purposeful. It head meaning. It meant that you are acknowledging that you’re a sinner and that you are going to enter into the gate so that you could bring a sacrifice for your sin. The intention had to be there.

We see the same thing in the New Testament. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Notice he says “If we confess our sins” in other words, if you agree you have sin then you confess it to God and you allow Him to do His work in you. The very first step to living a life of thanksgiving is that there has to be an understanding that you are a sinner. That you need to be forgiven of your sin.

As you would walk in through the inner gate you would run across this thing called the brazen altar. It’s 7 1/2 feet, a perfect square by 4 1/2 feet in its depth. It’s a large little sacrificial box if you would. This is the place that a person would present their sacrifice for their sin. They would take the reigns of the animal and hand them to the priest and the priest would then give an atonement, make intercession for the sin. He would then sacrifice it and take it into the Holy place. This bronze altar is very important and located right inside the gate. The Hebrew word for altar means ‘to slay or to slaughter’. In Latin the word is alta and it means ‘a high place or to be lifted up’. This brazen altar to them was a place that was a high place of sacrificial offering. This is exactly what they looked at it as. When you get a good diagram of the tabernacle you will see that the brazen altar is elevated above the rest of the ground. They would set it up on a mound of dirt and it was literally raised up as a sacrificial place. We see some importance in this don’t we because it sounds a lot like the projection of Christ. Jesus Christ was elevated on a cross the mount of Galgotha above everybody else so as the travellers are walking by they can see the Messiah hanging there.

We can see some wonderful significance here. They would bring this animal sacrifice and it showed the Israelites that their first step into going before a Holy God was first understanding you’re a sinner and now you need a sacrifice for your sin. Step two for us as we’re looking at it and trying to figure out how to live a thankful life, is to lift the Lord up. The brazen altar was lifted up. If we are going to live a life of thanksgiving we need to life the Lord up above ourselves. It can be difficult sometimes, we want to lift ourselves up before God so often and the only way we will be able to live a life of thanksgiving with a heart that is filled with gratitude is to understand that we’re a sinner, repent and then life the Lord up on high and keep Him there.

On the four corners of the brazen altar were four horns. These horns where there because when they would sacrifice the animal they would take the blood and they would dowse the horns. Horns Biblically are symbolic of power and strength. Dipping the blood onto the point of the horns was showing them that there was power to be forgiven. Why is this a point of interest? Psalm 18:2 and Luke 1:69 tells us that Jesus is the horn of our salvation. Jesus is the power to save. When you come to the gate of the tabernacle you can’t get away from Jesus. The brazen altar, He was there, He was the sacrifice. The animal that was brought in, He was that animal. As John the Baptist says in John chapter 1, behold the lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world. Jesus was that ultimate sacrifice, he was also the blood, also the horns and also the power. Before you get into the presence, into the Holy of Holies, you can’t get past Jesus you have to go through Him to get there.

The third step is to understand that the Lord is your strength. He is the power. If your dealing with a drug addiction, with pornography addiction, alcohol abuse, with anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, if your dealing with something (you fill in the blank) you’re going to try to do it all on your own, you’re going to try to get through it on your own and guess what’s going to happen? You’re going to fall again. You’re not going to be able to do it because the Bible declares it’s Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Zecharian 4:6 The only way for us to overcome and conquer those areas in our life is to come through Jesus. It’s only through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. We have to understand that the Lord is my strength, I’m not strong. Paul tells us “for My strength is made perfect in weakness”. When you’re weak that’s when the Lord is so strong in your life. Why do you think we go through trials and tribulations where we feel as though we’re weak and defeated. We feel overwhelmed and God shows Himself strong.

The question now is why did you need an animal for a sacrifice? In Exodus 12 there was this Passover spotless, innocent animal that was sacrificed. In the final plague of the Lord, the plague of death, the children of Israel were to slaughter an animal and take it’s blood and mark their door post and as this plague of death would sweep through the area, if they had the mark above their doorpost of blood, it would pass by them. Death would have no ability, no strength, no power over them, they would live.

What’s important is the sacrifice, the passover lamb, going into the temple, not only would they sacrifice it but they would eat the meat. There’s something else special about this as well, because it’s yet another picture of Jesus and how we are to eat of Him, not literally but metaphorically. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that one of the last things that Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 26:26 was While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” You see, this isn’t literal but the Lord was giving them a picture, ‘you remember when you guys used to eat the animals after you sacrificed them? I am the ultimate sacrifice and now you take and eat of me and do this in remembrance of me.’ This is why we have communion in the Body of Christ today and we know this is symbolic because when Christ said these words He was still alive. This is why we don’t believe in transubstantiation. It’s a time of remembrance and reflection upon the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In John 6:53-56 Jesus was talking to His disciples and He tells them that ‘unless you drink of Me, unless you eat of My body, you’re not even mine”. This reflects the importance of communion in the church.

Step four is the obvious one, it is to understand and appreciate the sacrifice that the Lord has given you. As we progress through the tabernacle we come through the gates, we hit the brazen altar and as you’re cutting across the courtyard you see another door and as you peer through the door you see this Holy place. At the end of this Holy place you see this large veil. The veil was there separating the Holy place from the Holy of Holies where the arc was which is where God’s presence dwelled. The veil in the Hebrew means a screen, a divider, a separator that hides. The veil was hiding a Holy God from sinful man. In their culture you couldn’t just come to God. You couldn’t go into the Holy of Holies unless you were the great high priest chosen by God. If you did God would strike you dead. Even the high priest could only go into the Holy of Holies one day a year, the day of atonement, Yom Kippur, where he would make a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Before the priest could even enter there were some meticulous things that the priest had to do before he even entered the Holy of Holies. They would have a large robe with bells all around the bottom of it, they would tie a rope around his ankle and they would send him in and as he cut throught he curtain he would give a sacrifice first for his sin and then he would give a sacrifice for the peoples sin. As he was in there, if the people heard the bells hit the ground they knew God didn’t accept his sacrifice and they would yank him out. Only the high priest could go into this place, only he could cut through the veil. The people knew that God was behind that veil. In Mark 15:33-39 it is describing that time when Christ is hanging on the cross and He yells out and it means ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI? and it means MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? and you read on the Bible says the Lord yells out it is finished, it’s over. The Bible tells us that He yeilds up His spirit and as that happens the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The veil that was separating the Holy place from the Holy of Holies was torn from the top to the bottom. The curtain size was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. Many scholars believe it was up to 12 inches in thickness. God was showing them that it is finished. Now not only one person can go to God one time a year, you don’t have to bring sacrifices anymore, God has torn the veil top to bottom which shows it had to come from above.

This shows that it was Jesus Christ, His body that was torn and broken opening up a way for you and for me to have fellowship with God. He was showing them that the redemptive power of Jesus Christ nullified the need to bring sacrifices into the Holy of Holies or into the tabernacle ever again. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6 No one comes to God, no one comes into the Holy of Holies, no one gets past the veil, no one gets into the presence of God unless they come through me. You can’t get past Jesus. He was at the gate. He was at the brazen altar. He is now in the Holy place, He is now the veil that was torn so that you can come in and have fellowship with God. You can’t get away from Him, you can’t bypass Him, you have to go through Him.

The fifth step is to understand that we can go through Jesus to get to God directly! I know this seams very elementry to many believers but I think it’s important for some to understand. Believe me, you’re going to sin again and I’m going to sin again. There will be times when you blow it big time. What’s going to happen is when you blow it, what’s going to take place is the enemy is goign to catch you in that place. He’s going to say to you ‘how can you go to God, look at that great sin you committed. You’re doing it over and over again, how can you go to God? Who are you to go to God?’ and you can say ‘oh, because Jesus has torn the veil and I can go to God anytime I want!’ We don’t have to be clean to go to God we go to God dirty and He cleans us. It’s because of Jesus that we can go into the very presence of God. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil,where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22 The Holy of Holies is a representation of heaven because heaven is God’s dwelling place. It was a picture of this place called heaven, a place where you and I will go to and we have access to now through Jesus Christ. In Revelation 21:16, the Lord is describing to John the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is a lot like the brazen altar and the Holy of Holies which is a perfect square.

In Hebrews 9:24-26 it says For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Jesus doesn’t need to go in there again and again and again. He did it once and He did it for all and sometimes we forget don’t we. Sometimes we forget to give God thanks for those beautiful things in His word. The Lord gives us something so special and all He wants is for us to be thankful. Instead we say “God I need more”.

The Psalmist says Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing because you can. And Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise Give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations. The Lord has designed this beautiful tabernacle and the Psalmist is giving us a great picture of this place and it’s significane. The Psalmist gave us a beautiful portrait of five great steps of how you and I can live not just thanksgiving day thankfully but how we can live this life of thanksgiving where we can live a life where we are thankful every single day. Paul tells us always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; Ephesians 5:20 In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul says in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. The Bible tells us that we are to give thanks for all thing and in all things. We’re to give thanks for everything we have and everything we don’t have. We can give thanks when the house is dirty and we can give thanks when there’s laundry laying out because this Thanksgiving we will be picking up after our family and friends that God has blessed us with.

We need to be in this place of thanksgiving where we are so thankful for everything that is in our lives. We need to be appriciating and taking advantage of every single moment of every single day. If you are not living in Christ and not being thankful for the work of Jesus Christ then it really isn’t living at all. You’re not really living unless you have Jesus Christ make you alive.