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April 09, 2005

Pharaoh Wasn't Very Nice!

I'm not home, so it'll take a few days before I'm able to scan this image for you, but walking down the streets of Northampton, I was selected to receive a brochure (they weren't handing these to just anybody, I'll have you know). On the cover is an illustration of a very angry looking Egyptian king, with the title "Pharaoh Wan't Very Nice!"

The whole thing is illustrated, comic strip-style, and folded into three sections (so that it's 6 panels). You'll have to wait until later this week to see the whole amusing thing for yourself in pictures, but here's the text (with all the bad grammar intact):

Pharaoh Wasn't Very Nice!

Pharaoh wasn't very nice. Moses gave the Pharaoh a message from God: "Let my people Go!"

And Pharaoh responded: "No, Mo!"

Maybe it was all right for Pharaoh to say no to Moses, but...it wasn't right for him to say no to God? (uh-huh)

Pharaoh was at the beginning of a learning curve when it came to understanding the plagues God could send.

BLOOD (yech!)
(swat) FLIES
LICE (scratch)
BOILS (ouch!)
(and more!)

But - he learned in a hurry and cried out, "No Mo, please! No Mo!" Unfortunately, he didn't really mean "No More." Maybe he started out trying to say G-G-Go, but it ended up being N-N-No!

And God said, "One last plague and no more No's from you, Pharaoh - that's it!" (Well, God didn't exactly say it that way)

But - He did send death to pass over the homes of the people and where there was no provision from a very special lamb, the first born sonse died!

Pharaoh was very upset and finally said, "Go!" but - he didn't really mean it and the rest is history!

There's a lesson in this for us today --

We don't need ten plagues to know that saying, "No!" to God is dumb! Not being nice has its consequences too -- "the wages of sin is death..."

That's why God sent us a greater prophet than even MOses who conquered both sin and death for us! "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life"
- John 3:16 -

That one is Y'shua,(Jesus) who is God's lamb and takes away the sin of the world. Y'shua can lead us out of the sea of sin into his great truth.

At Passover (or any time!) it's a G-G-G-G-Go to say Yes to Y'shua!

And then there's some contact information.

Now, I'd like to point something out. As I see it, there are three major differences between Jews and Christians. They are (1) pork, (2) the New Testament, and (3) Jesus. This organization has cited the New Testament, and clearly its members believe that Jesus is the messiah. If they don't eat pork, I feel that's rather inconsequential to this whole thing. Never mind that they were passing the leaflets out on the Jewish sabbath.

Far be it from me to mock someone's belief structure, but I fail to see what makes the members of Jews for Jesus actually Jewish, other than a technicality: When you're born a Jew, you're considered Jewish forever. Even converting to another religion is not considered a renunciation of your Judaism. While I'd like to find out the answer, it's a conversation I really don't want to have, as it will surely deteriorate into a shouting match, and there are no answers on the Jews for Jesus web site (which you can go find yourself), but the organization is happy to come give you a "sermonic demonstration" about Jesus and Passover (which, I suppose, differs from an actual sermon in some way). The thing that bothers me most is the assertion that one can accept Jesus into one's life as one's savior and still call oneself a Jew.

Andrea and I chatted for a moment about this. You know, Jesus was probably a pretty cool guy, and he said some good things. All right, so did Gandhi. And Martin Luther King, Jr. And Ernest Hemmingway. But people aren't out on the streets handing out flyers, proselytizing about Gandhi or King or Hemmingway (watch the walls of the restroom in your favorite local coffee shop for preaching on those subjects). Sip coffee. Sigh. Shake head.

Posted by josh at April 9, 2005 10:53 AM

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