என் உள்ளம் கவர்ந்த ஒருவர்

என் திருமணத்தில், அம்மாவுடன்

A Builder Named Sheerah

Recently I was surprised to hear from our friends who have named their daughter as “Sheerah.” They said that she is a biblical character whom they found worth naming their daughter after! Forgive me for my lack of Biblical knowledge. I started digging, googling about this special lady. I got motivated. 

Sheerah was a Blessing

Living in a nation where girls are considered as liabilities in many cultures, this came as a learning to realize that Sheerah was born as a blessing. The Bible narrates that she was born in the family of righteous Joseph. His wife was an Egyptian lady named Asenath, daughter of a local priest (Genesis 41:45).  This is important to consider because of the clannish cultural context of the Old Testament times. Many of us still hold to various unscriptural biases like this even today! The good Lord caused Jacob to give a double blessing to this inter-racial couple by giving both their sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, a blessing in par with his own sons, while children of others were not included (Genesis 48:1-22).

Sheerah is introduced in a time when Ephraim, one of Joseph’s sons had a misfortune in his life. Two of Ephraim’s sons, Ezer and Elead were killed by the “native-born” (emphasis mine) men of Gath, possibly because Ezer and Elead were of inter- racial origin, their grand mom being an Egyptian! In such a time of mourning, Ephraim was blessed with another son, named Beriah. Added to Beriah was another bundle of joy and blessing, Sheerah our heroine. (Read 1 Chronicles 7:21-24)

Sheerah Built Cities

It surprises me at this point to see a female progeny finding her place, ‘named’ in the Bible! Not many had that privilege. The next shock is that Sheerah built three cities/communities named, Lower and Upper Beth Horon as well as Uzzen Sheerah 

(1 Chronicles 7:24).  

She was an acclaimed personality to the extent that a city she built was named after her.  I am surprised that a huge task of building three cities is mentioned in just one verse here. One commentator suspects that such a mammoth task could have been achieved by men and not a woman like Sheerah! https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/sheerah/   

Does not the Bible also mention about the daughters of Shallum, an influential governor in Nehemiah’s time, who repaired the walls of Jerusalem? A wise woman can not only build homes, she can repair and build houses, be an architect, a city-planner and do all jobs under the sun! It is God who enables her!

God Saved Sheerah’s City

This would be even more surprising. It was in one of the cities Sheerah built, Beth Horon, did God perform an extra ordinary victory for the Israelites over their enemies while conquering Canaan. God saved Sheerah’s city from oppression. It was after this incident, on that very day did Joshua  command the sun and the moon to stand still. They obeyed! This astronomical miracle is associated to Beth Horon, Sheerah’s city. It became a historical event (Read Joshua 10:1-14). Later Beth Horon became a dwelling place of the Levites and priests. Is that not a blessing again? (1 Chronicles 6:68) The Bible says that Solomon fortified Sheerah’s cities, both Upper and Lower Beth Horon further down in history (2 Chronicles 8:5).  The foundation Sheerah laid was so strong that Solomon only had to fortify it. The modern names of these cities are Beit Ur al Fuqua and Beit Ur al Tahat. It is said that the foundations are still visible!

Last but not the least, a wise woman like Sheerah builds. The wisdom writer also mentions about what a foolish woman would do! (Proverbs 14:1) May the life of Sheerah encourage women and men to be constructive so that we also build God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Darling

We love to be called by pet names. Have you come across pet names in Bible? Jeshurun is a pet and a poetical name for the people of Israel. It means "God’s dear upright people". The Greek Septuagint translates Jeshurun as “beloved one,” using a form of the word agape. The name Jeshurun is used four times in the books of Deuteronomy and Isaiah. In each case the name occurs in a poetic setting and refers to Israel, God’s beloved people.

Warning and Grace 
Jeshurun displays both warning and grace. God comforts His people with these words:
“But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the Lord says—
he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.” (Isaiah 44:1-2)

Israel could be called “Jeshurun” only because of God’s mercy and forgiveness. The book of Isaiah starts off with condemnation of Israel’s sin, calling them a “sinful nation” (Isaiah 1:4). They had been branded in a similar way in (Deuteronomy 32:15). “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior.” This is an interesting and important warning from God. The power of affluence can turn a person away from God like how it did to Israel. The Bible is not against wealth. The warning however here is that it can deter our spiritual life. Yet God still tenderly calls them “Jeshurun,” the “upright one” in Isaiah 44.

God of Jeshurun
It is interesting to see that Moses takes pride in calling God as, “God of Jeshurun”. He blesses Israel in this manner: “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:26-27). Moses adores God as “King of Jeshurun” too. “[The Lord] was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel” (Deuteronomy 33:5).

As a spiritual Israelite today, can someone call my God, tagged with my name as “God of GRACE” (replace your name)? I would be a blessed person if my God can be addressed that way. However let us heed to the warning of affluence in our lives. Our gracious God can help us to be forgiven of our pride and sin. Having washed by his blood, I would not be surprised to know that my God has a pet name for me. I can hear him saying, "I love you, Jeshurun, my darling!" Yes, I am His darling, His beloved, His Jeshurun!

Women’s Day Special: Mother Lee – An Epitome of Strength and Sacrifice

I write this article from a city which the world remembers as Mother Teresa’s. As I was commuting in the historic, colonial city of Kolkata, especially in the Methodist-heritage places, I happened to  read the biography of another Mother in this city, who most of us do not know, with tears welled in my eyes, on and often. We can call her Mother Lee to keep her easily in our memory.

The Lee Memorial Mission is seated on the sacrifice of a missionary couple who lost seven of their children to death. Undeterred, Ada Lee became the mother of many children in this region in India. This is a brief tribute to this strong woman named, Ada Hildegarde Jones on Women’s Day, 2018.

Ada was born on March 23, 1856 in West Virginia. In the winter of 1870, she had her first religious experience.  She was hooked to a question: Would you be willing to leave home and friends and go to India? After an inner agony she cried, “O Lord, I will do anything if Thou wilt only save me.” After fighting her call to India, she landed in Bombay (now Mumbai) on December 22, 1876. She got an assignment to serve women in Calcutta (now Kolkata).  Soon she met her friend (while in US), David Lee in India. Her friendship blossomed as love. They married on June 6, 1881 in the Methodist Church in Vepery, Madras (now Chennai).

Risking Life for One Girl

The following series of events took place prior to Ada’s marriage. It is about Jesudar, the second wife of an uncle of the King of Benares, twelve years of age! Her servant betrayed her into the hands of a wicked woman who sold her into prostitution.  She somehow came into touch with Ada and pleaded to rescue her.  Ada escorted Jesudar from Calcutta to Lucknow by train. A mob, bribed by Jesudar’s captors chased them before they could board the train. However they were dispersed by the police. The captor was sued by the court.  When it came to who would take care of Jesudar, her husband and her mom termed her as an outcaste. When she was growing up in the orphanage in Bareilly, her captor, who is not an Indian stepped in one night. By God’s grace, one watchman (one another was bribed) awoke his companions, and around twenty of them gave protection. By then the captor had escaped. Jesudar, a bright student, later met a Christian man and married and got settled.

Dream to Rescue Many

Burdened to help many more like Jesudar,  Ada, her husband and their children, six then, went to US. God honoured their faith and they returned to India with $ 20,000. They started a training school in their own house in Calcutta. After much struggle a property was purchased on Dharamtala Street which is the present location of the Lee Memorial Mission.

The Darjeeling Disaster

The couple rented in Darjeeling a two-storied cottage where they spent a few happy weeks of vacation. Three of their six kids were teens by then.  The older daughter Vida was seventeen years old. The couple left them there and returned to Calcutta to complete plans for building their newly purchased property. They were waiting for the children to return. But God had different plans. After thirty six hours of incessant rainfall, the mountain where the children were staying slipped off carrying everything into the abyss below. The children made an attempt to save themselves, but they got buried, except for one of them, Wilbur, a thirteen year old.

David and Ada with their new born baby met Wilbur who was lying in a hospital bed. He lived for a few more days, to  narrate the ordeal of the fateful, yet victorious day: After failing every possible attempt, Vida the oldest said, “If the Lord wishes, He can save us together, and if not, He will take us together.” They knelt in prayer several times asking God to protect them. They had a knock at the door. A local man, came crippled, his face bleeding. Since he was ill and shivering, the children started to care for them. Vida took a cloth and wiped the blood from his face. With a rug they wrapped him.  This man survived and later told that the last time he saw the children they were kneeling together in prayer. The centre of the room cracked open, while they were still praying. Vida said, “Children, the house is coming down and we will soon be in heaven.”

Wilbur continued, “We felt as if we were coming home to you, by train. We said to each other if papa and mamma and baby Frank were only here, we could all go together to heaven. Vida’s face looked like an angel as she talked to us. Jesudar (a Bengali girl, with a similar name as the one Ada rescued earlier, cared by this couple, who died too) was kneeling with us. ‘Oh merciful God, take us now.’ These were her last words.” Around this time Wilbur said, he was thrown more than a hundred feet down the mountain-side to be spotted in the dawn by two ladies. After a desperate struggle along with some men, they cared for him and took him to a doctor. Realising that Wilbur will not make it long here on earth, Mother Ada took time to get him reassured of his salvation.  The little teenager often said to his mom, “My precious mamma, you are my sweet heart.” In her painful ordeal, Ada saw a glimpse of heaven, seeing Wilbur just entering in and the other children greeting him, all so happy. The vision was so real which gave her super natural strength to awful days that followed. Wilbur joined his brothers and sisters just eight days after the land slide.

The Mission Grew

The Lee Memorial Mission was organized in memory of their six biological children and one spiritual child. The work grew with famine hit orphans pouring in into their home in Calcutta.  Ada became sick and the couple travelled to US, only to return to India in 1907 to the work they loved. The plans for the new buildings at Wellington Square were under taken. They had one more son, Albert next to Frank. After completing their studies in America, they came to India. Frank, a graduate in medicine stayed for a few years. Dr Lee became ill and passed to his heavenly home on his 74^th birthday. His body was laid to rest along with Wilbur’s in Darjeeling.

Mrs Ada Lee, Singled, Yet Strong

The products of the Lee Memorial Mission became outstanding Christians both in spiritual and secular realms. When she was 80 year old, Mother Lee turned the work over to the Griffiths. On 11 May 1948, Mother Lee rested on the everlasting arms of Jesus at a ripe old age of 92.  She was a queen among women, a wondrous personality. As a single woman towards the end, her sacrifice and strength stands stupendous.  The administration transitioned to Indian nationals by the year 1972. Today the life and works of Lee Memorial Mission is a living testimony of a great woman, Mrs Ada Lee who worked alongside her family in a foreign land, in my own India.


Note:  I am publishing this blog from the very site of the Lee Memorial Mission in Kolkata. I have written primarily based on, Triumph through Sorrow: A History of Lee Memorial Mission by Frances Major (Lee Memorial Mission, January 2004) and  The Darjeeling Disaster (Triumph through Sorrow) written by Mrs Ada Lee herself. In this second book Mother Lee pays tribute to all her deceased children. The book also contains journal entries of the Lee household. It is a very moving, motivating and life-changing book.

The Blame Game

We commit mistakes, small, big, and sometimes, costly ones. Our immediate instinct is to blame people and contexts. We even point our fingers to God, saying, “Don’t you know this Lord?” “Why didn’t you hear my prayers?” Well we follow our own parents, Adam and Eve who did the same thing. They did a costly mistake of missing the mark. When God made an inquiry, the first thing Adam did was he blamed God and his wife, Eve in the same wave length. He said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." (Genesis 3:12). Eve was no different. She blamed serpent and said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (v.13). The good Lord did not allow Satan, who was in the form of serpent, to talk! He knew that he is the culprit behind the blaming game.

The Solution
Imagine if only Adam had said, “It's me who went wrong, Lord. I didn’t hear the command you gave me properly when I was alone with you in the garden. After you created Eve, I should have communicated to her clearly. I could have even stopped her from eating, because when the serpent talked to her, well, I was with her! I am sorry!” And imagine Eve saying, “Lord I didn’t listen to Adam properly. Also I totally got confused when the serpent tricked and twisted the truth. I am sorry!” (Read Genesis chapters 2 and 3) Think of ourselves now! How nice and fair it would be if we can avoid the blame game in our daily lives, and say to our precious family and friends, “I am sorry. I could have…” and also say to God, “I am sorry!” 

Guilt Kills, Confession Saves
How nice it would be, if we do not point our fingers to others! See what a Pharisee said pointing to others and a co-worshiper in the temple: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. He also justified himself saying, “I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” Look at the tax collector. Standing at a distance, striking his breast, he said, “God have mercy on me, a sinner!” The Bible says: Jesus said “I tell you that this man (the tax collector), rather than the other (the Pharisee), went home justified before God (Luke 18:9-14). Feeling guilty of oneself is an essential part in the blame game. But that should not be carried for long. For guilt, kills. A guilty Judas, a culprit in the crucifixion of Jesus, killed himself. However confession helps. Another equally guilty disciple, Peter in the same passion events of Jesus, confessed his sins and was saved. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and guilt (1 John 1:7 Amplified Bible).

If we need to live guilt-free, let us stop the blame game, pointing our fingers to others. God graciously clothed Adam and Eve’s guilt with garments of skins, symbolically  showing his love and concern for them. The first sign of repentance is seen in Adam and Eve, when Eve named their first son, saying, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." (4:1) and in the naming of Seth, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him." (v.26) Their second son Abel was a true worshipper of God, receiving God’s favour. The family of Adam after the birth of their third son, Seth began to call on the name of the Lord (v. 26). I am sure, even Adam and Eve who played the blame game were saved and became worshippers of Yahweh. 

The Boat Experience

Once a furious storm came up on a sea ‘without a warning’. The waves swept over the boat. There were experienced fishermen like Peter, Andrews, James and John in the boat. Their skills failed. The good thing in this incident was that Jesus was in the boat with his disciples (Matthew 8:23-27). Prior to this incident, the disciples had seen Jesus performing miracles to others. Now it is their turn to expect a miracle. But Jesus was sleeping. God never sleeps nor slumbers. That is for sure. But the second person in trinity, Jesus in human flesh, slept like we humans do. He slept out of tiredness, and also to teach the disciples a lesson. Firstly he rebuked them for their little faith because they screamed that they were perishing! Then he rebuked the winds and the sea. They obeyed. Perfect peace prevailed. Here are some lessons I learnt.

Learning 1
The disciples not only learnt about anchoring their faith in the divine power of Jesus. They also learnt that God who parted the Red Sea, River Jordan, is of the same essence in Jesus. A sudden shocking news pins us down. Unexpected death rips and wears us out. What is our faith level in times of adversity? We have the benefit of knowing these real incidents that demonstrate the power of Jesus over nature, disease and death. Jesus, Immanuel, is always with us. He expects us to face adversity fearlessly. He will order peace in our painful and stormy situations. Jesus can make a difference in our difficult situations. He is the Lord of all creation.

Learning 2
There is another interesting learning in this boat experience. Jesus never used the word ‘miracle’ but only the word ‘sign’. His miracles were real. But on the other hand they had deeper meanings. It was Jesus who got into the boat. His disciples followed him (v.23). So the next lesson for the disciples was to follow Jesus by setting their feet in an unfamiliar gentile zone (v.18), stepping out of their comfort zones. In the early church, this meant following Jesus in both the Christian and gentile communities as witnesses. This was why the little boat on the stormy sea became an ancient symbol of the church. The church in this regard is not a pleasure boat. It is a fishing boat! Did not Jesus ask his disciples, to follow Him and to be fishers of people?

Learning 3
Satan attempted to curtail the mission of Jesus right from the beginning. He worked through Herod to finish off baby Jesus, when he was around two years old.  The people in the synagogue in Nazareth tried to push him down a cliff (Luke 4:29). The sudden storm in the sea in this boat experience could have been an attempt from satan to finish off Jesus and his team of disciples in one take. It did not happen then. But eventually Jesus gave his life on the cruel cross for all our sins. He crushed satan’s heel through his ultimate power over death by rising on the third day. Following Jesus, his twelve disciples were martyred too for their faith, in Jewish and gentile areas, as witnesses all over the world. They are now with Jesus forever. Satan is a defeated foe. Christ reigns supreme. Every creation would obey, every knee bow would bow to the Lord, one day! Come Lord Jesus, reign supreme over us!!

Prompted to write this after my morning devotion today @ https://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2018-01-31/When-the-storm-strikes

Influence, For God’s Sake

Missionary Spectacle Series

Wearing my missionary-spectacles, I can say that the wisdom literature of the Bible which comprises of  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs had a powerful influence in the nations in the context of its day. If we can vouch for the influence the wisdom literature has in our lives today, we can imagine how much more it would have been in days, when books were few and precious.  Only the wealthy and influential people had access to books. The biblical wisdom literature was like gospel tracts reaching out to the unreached. I am going to point out to three significant persons in this regard.

Influential Singing

Have we admired David the shepherd boy turned powerful king for his rich inclusive style of Psalms? I always admire him as a world Christian, that is, a person who loves the world as Christ loves. I cannot include all of his psalms that reveal his concern for the nations of the world for paucity of space here. Only when we read his songs with missionary spectacles can we justify his world view!  However I wish to highlight a few, here.  We glean about his love for nations in the historical books of the Kings and Chronicles too. After being delivered from Saul he sings, “I will praise you… among the nations…” (2 Sam 22:50). We read about his gospel hymn in 1 Chronicles 16:8-31, inviting the nations to join in praising Yahweh.  The book of Psalms has much more to offer. His song in Psalm 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.”  Have we prayed for nations? David tells about all families of the nation bowing before God (22:7). Similar thoughts are found in 66:1-4, 86:9, 96:7, 98:2, 117:1, 145:11,12, 148:7-11 and so on. In Psalm 67, specifically he answers the question: Why God blesses his people? It reflects the blessing of God to Abraham that all nations are to be blessed.

What should be our influence today in a nation like India where the gospel was given to us in the first century AD by Apostle Thomas? What is the content of the songs we compose these days? Are they influential enough to bring nations to Christ?

Influential Wisdom

Like his dad, Solomon, who became the next king influenced through his writing. Above all, his wisdom was like a powerful magnet.  Rulers of all the earth came to hear his wisdom in his palace in his kingdom (1 Kings 4:31-34) including Queen of Sheba, who came from the area of today’s Iran and Saudi Arabia. Her amazing testimony has lots of spiritual insights (1 Kings 10:3-9).  Also adding to the influence of Solomon, was the temple that he built which had an evangelistic intent. All people of God could pray, even the gentiles, in the temple, and towards it.  Solomon also prays that all peoples of the earth might know that the Lord is God and there is none other (1 Kings 8:60). Unlike the patriarchs, who were sent to nations, nations came to Solomon and his kingdom. His influence was a combination of his wisdom and writing.

I started to write with an evangelistic intent in a time when doors of ministry were shut off for me. Today through blog evangelism, sitting in my place (this comes from a train travel!) I have reached out to many nations, which I will never be able to go to,  in my life time. What could be your area of influence? Use your God-given wisdom for His glory!

Influential Life Style

With my missionary spectacles, I am seeing Job as a powerful missionary in a gentile context. The story happened in the land of Uz, which appears to have been in the Arabian Desert (Job 1:1). Job’s life and testimony stands tall in the patriarchal era. His faith and commitment in the worst adversity of his life should have brought his friends and people to the true God. The writing of the book could have happened between Solomon’s reign and the exile. Job coming from a non-Abrahamic tradition was a representative of the nations who had the knowledge of the true God. He was a recipient of God’s revelation and redemption. This was a reward to his life of integrity. Have our lifestyles influenced people in the land of our living? No wonder, Job’s biography is a gospel tract of all times.

For God’s sake, I would love to influence and persuade people to the knowledge of our Saviour. How about you?  May this New Year be such a purpose-packed one!  And do not forget to wear your missionary-spectacles whenever you read the Bible 😊

Note: I am indebted to Dr Frampton Fox for his teaching at HBI, Chennai on this subject and for his book, "Down to Earth" (Mission Educational Books, Chennai, 1998)