When Mary was only eight years old, her immense desire to learn to read prompted her to walk to and from school every day—a round-trip trek of two hours. As a reward, her teacher allowed her to read aloud from the Welsh Bible at school. Every Saturday, she would spend hours ready her neighbor's Bible. While washing the family's clothes in the river, she had an idea—if she took on chores throughout her town, she could save for a Bible of her own. After six years, she heard that Methodist minister, Thomas Charles, had Bibles for sale. Walking the 20 miles to Bala, Mary found out that the only Bible left was promised to another. Seeing her great desire, Rev. Charles asked the other would-be recipient to wait, and presented Mary with her very own Bible!
Praise God—it was her testimony that eventually prompted the formation of the British and Foreign Bible Society, which prompted worldwide distribution, which prompted such a society right here in the United States—the American Bible Society. Founded in 1816, it translates, publishes, and distributes the Bible, and has grown much through the years. In 2001, the ABS distributed 4,113,106 Bibles and 8,322,112 copies of the New Testament—and all of it can be traced to a little girl's hunger for the Word of God. As Thanksgiving Day approaches, will you be thankful every day for that Word? After all, it is that Word that presents our Jesus in so many powerful ways. Just a few weeks ago, our church looked at Jesus as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), who came to take away the sin of the world. Right now, I would like to turn our focus to the Biblical image of Him being like a lion, even the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
But first, it might be helpful to put all of this in context. In our own American culture, the lion is symbolic of prowess, dignity, and great strength. Now if you were raised on cartoons in the 1950's, like I was, you know they depicted the lion as "the king of the jungle, some of the beasts even wearing gold crowns. Do you remember the story of the lion with a thorn in his paw? Yes, the little mouse befriended him by removing the picker, and found a very valuable friend for life. But what does all this have to do with Jesus. Well, let's let God's word be lamp to our feet. Let's turn from cartoons to the very first image of a lion in the Book of Genesis, in reference to the patriarchs and their tribes. Jacob is nearing the end of his life, so he now blesses each of his sons. When he gets to Judah, he declares, "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people."
(49:9,10 NKJ)
What is that all about? Well, both the previous and the subsequent verses help to explain it, but I really don't have room here—good thing you have your own Bible, huh? What it all means is this—it is prophetically stating that the coming Messiah, springing forth from Judah, would be like a lion—in fact, the emblem of a lion is boldly displayed on that tribe's banner. Even though this Jesus starts out as a young lion, He is already the "king of the jungle"—not to be roused or challenged. We see this even in the Christmas story—"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11) Even as a baby, He is"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) But, Praise God—"Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4) Yes, Satan will spiritually destroy anyone who abandons the protection of God. Through our faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, our spiritual warfare by the Spirit, and our intimacy with God through prayer, we are fully equipped to resist him and to withstand his demonic onslaught.
Lord! True—Satan is also called a lion—
This is powerfully seen in the very last book of our Bibles—Revelation. In this vision, John sees the One who is holding a scroll. This scroll, representing all of the last day's judgments and activities, is now found to be still sealed—it is discovered that no man can break the seals and reveal the contents. John, who wept over this tragedy, was then told by one of the 24 elders, "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." (Revelation 5:5) It was just then that John sees this Lion in a different way—"a Lamb as it had been slain." (vs. 6) Praise God—the Lamb is also the Lion! Read this chapter for yourself, in your own Bible—the One who is in His people is truly greater, truly victorious, and truly worthy to be praised. In fact, read the whole book—Jesus is clearly the victor, clearly the overcoming Lion of Judah!
So, in these current days of uncertainty and worry—no matter the problem—don't despair. The Apostle Paul once told the Corinthian church—"We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." (2 Cor. 4:8-10) Yes, it's a jungle out there, but we have a King—Amen? Amen! He is, in fact, the King of kings and the Lord of lords! In referring to this, Walter Scott once wrote, "In irresistible might, majesty, and sovereignty, He will secure the blessing of Israel and of the whole earth. In His lion-like character, he crushes every opposing force, and establishes His universal Kingdom on the ruin of all opposition. Here, worth and might are truly combined." This entire planet is currently embroiled in economic uncertainty and financial failures. Political voices are purporting to have the unique solution, but God's Word should have been a lamp to our feet and a light for the path. Many times in Scripture we have been warned that covetousness, greed, and material preoccupation would bring a collapse and failure. My friends, it is a wake up call—eventually, every opposing force will be crushed. Our God is a sovereign God!!!
With the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church coming up on November 9th, perhaps it is a good time right now to mention this aspect, as well. All around this globe, it looks like Satan is in control in his efforts to persecute true Christians. Take North Korea, for example—evil is rampant. "Choi Yong Kim" (not her real name) was caught by the police for reading her own Bible and tortured severely. She was forced to kneel down on a chair, as the officers stomped on her legs. They tied her legs, hung her upside down, and beat her violently—every day, all day long! Sentenced to 15 years, after just one of them, she only weighed 62 pounds. Her husband sold their home, and bought her freedom with money plus—imagine this—a TV set! Contacts in North Korea now say that Christians are no longer imprisoned—now they just disappear!
People, it's a jungle out there! Muslims like "Laila," who leave Islam to follow Christ, are shunned by their family, kicked out, or threatened with death—and "Laila" was in the United States!deplorable conditions—until the owner found out they were Christians. No, it didn't get better—in fact, he beat them severely, while other neighboring Muslims threatened to kill them with pistols if they did not convert to Islam. At a young age, Alex saw Columbian terrorists kill his own father, who was pastor. Years later, Alex himself was attacked, beaten, shot, and left for dead by FARC terrorists. It’s a jungle out there, but Praise God—Alex lived and managed to tell his would-be killer, Ismael, about Christ's saving grace. Yes, there is a King in this jungle, and it is not Satan! Our God is in ultimate control! David Wilkerson once wrote, "I believe in healing afflictions. Any affliction that keeps me from going astray—that drives me deeper into His Word—is healing!" It may look as though Satan is the King of this jungle, but he is not—Jesus is! Get into your Bible, and let it get into you—be thankful each and every day for the Word of God, and through it, let Him be the King of your Though rare, these Islamic honor killings even occur in the U.S. In Pakistan, Javir, and his wife, Fadilah, worked in a brick kiln under jungle!
