These brand new baby believers in a brand new system of faith had nothing, nowhere to turn, no Scriptures to search. They were left only with the Apostles words and many, as time passed, had those only as they were handed down. And so as the Apostles taught and moved from place to place they needed someone, anyone, that could share their teachings...the Scriptures...with these new believers.
Enter the 'elders'.
Not elder as in older but elder as in more mature in the Scriptures. Men that appeared to be able to understand what the Apostles were teaching and had the ability to remember these teachings. Age is just a number and would not have mattered.
Who would you pick to leave in charge of sharing the Scriptures if you were leaving a group of believers with no Bibles and had only other people to oversee the sharing of whatever Scriptures they could recall?
Would you pick the oldest man in the group? What if his mind was going and he was a believer today but not tomorrow? What if his faith turned on and off like a light switch and he couldn't even keep straight who his wife was from the housemaid? In other words what if this man suffered from dementia?
What if the middle aged man had trouble keeping his facts straight? What if you searched the believers hearts and minds and came up with no older man to lead them but there was this young man, a man in his twenties, or even in his teens, that seemed to have a sincere faith, he was a willing student of your teachings, he learned and applied them to his life, he showed fruits of the Spirit, and he could remember what you taught him?
Who is the best 'elder'?
We must remember that life expectancy was not the same then as it is now. In my research into the first century I discovered that girls could marry at 12 years and a day. They were grown the day after they turned twelve. So a twenty year old had been an adult for eight years. By thirty they were pushing the end of their life expectancy. To live into what we consider old age was probably a great honor and not nearly as common as it is today.
No matter the age of an 'elder'...I prefer the description more mature believer or overseer...someone had to be left in charge. If you were a new believer, in today's world or the first century, and a more mature believer was going to be appointed to oversee the only version of the Scriptures that you will be exposed to, in other words this person will be your walking, talking Bible, he will instruct you, lead you, and correct you, who do you want appointed to that task?
In this ever going study I have already gone over what the qualifications for an elder were but it's worth repeating, at least in part, here.
In 1 Timothy 5 we see:
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (verses 17-18)
I'm going to quibble just a bit about translations and different versions of the Bible. This is something that has been on my heart and mind of late but I'm not going to delve too deeply into that here. What I want to point out is that there are some differences in our modern versions and in the older translations. I'm not a King James Bible fan, the history of it does not sit well with me, so I prefer to go a bit further back to the Geneva Bible. I also favor the ESV as far as modern translations go but I can no longer deny their are differences in my favored modern translation and the older versions.
The above verse came from the ESV and paints a pretty clear picture of what is being said. The problem comes in when we start picking that set of verses apart and delving deeper into it, using Scripture to interpret Scripture. But first, here is the same verse from the Geneva Bible (1599):
The Elders that rule well, let them be had in double honor, specially they which labor in the word and doctrine.
18 For the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn: and, The laborer is worthy of his wages.
There is a huge difference in that set of verses? Our modern version says 'preaching and teaching', while the older version says 'word and doctrine'.
Believers are to give double honor to those that 'rule well' and 'labor in the 'word and doctrine'. There is a pretty significant difference in 'teaching and preaching' and 'word and doctrine'. I'm going to touch ever so briefly here on this even deeper study into men's teachings to show that our very own Bible's are being used against us to promote their systems of 'church'.
By looking to older versions of Scripture we can see that 'word and doctrine' were what the elders labored in. Our modern teachings of men would have us believe that elders labored in 'teaching and preaching'. There is a HUGE difference in what the Bibles of old said and what the modern versions say.
We are not to hold teaching and preaching to a high esteem but to hold those that 'labor in the word and doctrine' to a high esteem. In other words it is men that devote so much to our Lord's word...the true Word...that deserves such honor.
And who are those that deserve this double honor? Let's look at that same set of verses once more...
The Elders that rule well, let them be had in double honor, specially they which labor in the word and doctrine.
The first four words give us the answer...The Elders that rule well. I find it interesting to note here that Elders is capitalized. Extra importance is given to that word for some reason.
The elders that rule well. If we use Scripture to interpret Scripture and look to 1 Timothy 3:4-5 we see:
One that can rule his own house honestly, having children under obedience with all honesty.
5 For if any cannot rule his own house, how shall he care for the Church of God?
That is the Geneva version and it gives a clearer picture...'rule his own house...care for the church of God'.
I'm going to go ahead and throw the ESV translation of those verses in here just so we can see the difference:
He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?
In the ESV he is to manage his own household or else how can he care for God's church? This coming along with the verse in chapter five which said that he who rules well deserves double honor. Looking to the older translations we essentially get:
The Elders that rule (his own house) well, let them be had in double honor, specially they which labor in the word and doctrine. For if any cannot rule his own house, how shall he care for the Church of God?
That is a combination of the two verses but we do not see the same statement being made in the ESV. It's a subtle difference but a HUGE difference. The ESV is essentially saying that elders are teachers and preachers and their is no connection between them managing their own homes well and the double honor they are to receive. It is implied that double honor goes to preachers and teachers because they are preachers and teachers and their is no mention of them laboring in the word and in doctrine.
I can only imagine how much these men must have labored in the word, how much they must have labored in doctrine. This recent study my husband and I have been deep into, this study on the teachings of men, has been a labor of love, we have labored over the Scriptures, devoted hours and hours and hours to studying them, spent hours and hours in speaking of them, compared the Scriptures to the 'church' system and all manner of other teachings of men, I have watched documentaries to get a feel for the times, read 'teachings of men' to understand better why other people say what they do, to see if there is anyone else out there seeing Scripture as my husband and I are (there is), and to put it mildly we have ate, slept, and even breathed this study. It has consumed so very much time and has flowed deeply into our daily lives.
How much more so would the Word have overtaken the elders who labored in it when their labor was to preserve that very word? I can only imagine. It truly had to have been a labor of love. I can understand that because this study has been a labor of love on our part and we are only scratching the surface of Scripture and are in no way tasked with the job of seeing to it that God's word is preserved in the world and that the believers are given that Word.
This is for fun.
That was for...God.
That doesn't sound right because we are doing this to learn more about the Lord but the Apostles jobs were divine assignments by God, the elders were not that far removed from that job and would most likely have had the importance of their task stressed to them. We can clearly see how Paul talked to Timothy in 1 and 2 Timothy. He is giving him deep instructions, important instructions, stressing how important, even vital, his role is.
And it is that very role that all the early elders stepped into. We can look to 1 Timothy 3 to see the qualifications for what elders were. They were essentially men that were put in place to handle that which was sacred, much like the Arc of the Covenant in the Old Testament. These men were handling the Word of God.
They had to be so trustworthy that they could be entrusted with that which must be preserved through all the ages.
And what kind of esteem would believers with no other access to any New Testament Scriptures hold for these elders? I can only imagine it would be very high.
We see the instructions on what an elder, also referred to in Scripture as bishop or overseer, should be and the standard for choosing an elder but can you imagine what it must have been like to be one of these elders? The amazing...horrific... responsibility placed upon your shoulders? Scripture doesn't tell us whether or not every elder volunteered for the job or if they were assigned to it by the Apostles and other elders as time went on. I would guess that somehow it may have been a little bit of both.
Just as I have tried hard to imagine myself in the early believers minds I have tried to imagine what life might have been like to be an elder in the first or second century.
Maybe he was assigned to his task by an Apostle, chosen because he had an affinity for remembering the Scriptures as they were taught, or maybe he volunteered for the position because he was an elect man of Christ and he saw a great need for men to help the Apostles with this monumental task they had. Or maybe he even fell into it by accident, not wanting to be an elder, or overseer, of the believers but his understanding of the Scriptures made people ask him questions because he was there and they had a need to know and understand.
I can easily picture him, a man that loves the Lord and is in love with these new Scriptures, laboring over the Scriptures, committing them to memory, thinking on them, studying them, trying hard to live them out but above all loving them and his Savior, when he encounters a believer that is new in the faith. I can see this believer asking him so many questions, begging for guidance, needling leading, and so it's not all that hard for me to imagine an ordinary man going about his daily life, minding his own business, falling into that of leadership or eldership not because he desires to rule over the believers but because his love for the Lord and his fellow believers in Christ have him living out that love, putting the Scriptures and those in need of them over all else.
However it came to be, here he is, an elder...an overseer of the very word of God, entrusted to him because it must be preserved and someone has to undertake that monumental task. Maybe he even became an overseer in part because he saw others blundering, by accident or intent, the word of his savior and he could not stand back and do nothing when his mind had the ability to retain it and keep it pure.
And so here he is...this man of the Lord, chosen or volunteer, and he is one of only a handful of people in his town that knows the Scriptures. He possibly has some handwritten copies of things the Apostles have said, written by himself or others. Chances are he has a family, most people do, he may have been caring for aging parents. He was working. Maybe as a farmer or a blacksmith. Maybe as a potter or...whatever it was men did in the early centuries.
It's been a long day. He's worked hard, dealt with heat or cold, done his job to the very best of his ability because we should 'do all this as unto Christ' and he strives to be a man of his word and be someone others can respect. He has given the gospel to someone new today, explained his faith...again...to someone that thinks he's crazy. He has even tried, and failed...again...to point out the heresies being spread by the men in town making hucksters of Christ's name. He dropped a coin into the tin cup of a blind man sitting on the street corner and fed lunch to an orphan while giving the gospel to the people that showed up asking questions on his lunch break.
And now he is home. Relief hits him at the sight of his little house. It's not much, he doesn't need or want much, just a place to lay his head at night and safety for his wife and children. He heads up the walk, tired, imagining the smile on his wife's face when she see's him, his baby's arms lifted in welcome, the chatter of his older children. He imagines a hot meal and loving conversation as he rounds the bend to the front door-
And pulls up short.
A group of men are lounging on the floor around his door, two more men are in a heated conversation near the corner of the house, and his wife, baby on her hip, looks flustered as she shakes her head at some women standing in what little space the men have left at the front door.
His heart sinks, his joyful homecoming an unattainable wish. With a weary smile his wife points the women toward him and he sees the same women that have plagued his wife every day for a month. The ones that seek answers, two of which are married and he cannot instruct them because they have husbands, husbands that do not share their faith. He nods their direction as he slips past them, telling everyone he will be out in just a moment. He shuts the door firmly and pulls his wife and baby into his arms.
Their happy hello is short lived because someone pounds on the door, anxious for answers and instructions. He reminds himself that some are sincere believers desperate for more of the Scriptures...as he himself is...and that those that argue may be sincere believers tomorrow. He tells his older children hello, wishing he had a moment to hear about their day, while listening to his wife recount the women's questions and giving her instructions to share with the other women.
He accepts the carefully wrapped loaf of bread his wife presses into his hands, wishing he could feed the people on his doorstep a better meal than buttered bread but the price of food gets high quickly and the never ending people seeking his help have forced him to cut back on what he shares because his wages from work do not allow him to pay taxes, provide for his family and feed the believers that come to him daily. He's doing all he can and his last meeting with the other overseers told him they are all in the same boat that he is.
He thinks of Christ and how he fed the multitudes with just a few fish and wishes he could do the same. But he's not Christ. With a sigh he hugs the baby holding his arms out to be held and leaves him crying in his mama's arms. No one told him that being an overseer was going to cost him time with his family and hurt his children.
Wishing he could stay inside with his family he recalls the instructions he received to lead without complaining, to never grow weary of doing good. He musters his strength and blocks his owns feelings. It's an honor to be the vessel chosen, whether he wanted to be chosen or not, and some days he questions his sanity in doing this, to handle the word of God and to be a part of the task of giving it to the believers and preserving it through the ages.
He reminds himself that he has no idea what the impact of tonight's discussions will have and that if just one person is granted salvation because of his sharing of the gospels and the Apostle's teachings than it was all worthwhile.
He hopes his family feels the same way.
I cannot truly know the mindset or the reasoning of any overseer of the Scriptures in those days or today. I can only imagine what life might have been like based on what the Scriptures say and what I learned when I looked at the history of that time. I know how I was in those early days of regeneration and the time that had me searching and searching for answers to what I was seeing in Scripture and what I felt. I can imagine how I might have been had I had no Bible and was left instead with someone that knew the answers and if that person was the only way to get those answers.
I can easily picture myself going to that person day after day, learning something in the morning, over coffee or breakfast, then having more questions by lunchtime. The midday answers would have given way to more questions by suppertime. And I know I would have made a pest of myself...okay, did make a pest of myself, my husband can attest to that...in those early days of regeneration.
And I can take my own experiences and mix them with Scripture and history to gain insight into what those poor overseers of Scripture must have gone through. But I am only imagining. Things may have been very different than I imagine them to be. They may have been but I can't see them being too much different.
I can further imagine this man's life, 'seeing' what happens as the evening wears on...
The early morning and the long hours of work and dispensing of God's Word are wearing on him. His body aches and his mind is tired. Grit is making it harder to keep his eyes focused on the man still talking with him.
He does his best to lead him, gently, slowly, through the Scriptures...again. This middle aged man is his elder in life but is still an infant in Christ yet his soul seems genuine. He believes this man to be of the elect. He sure hopes he is. With time and enough instruction maybe this man will grow up in faith and become another elder, someone to help him carry the weight of a task so great he often doubts his own ability to continue.
He is deep in conversation with this man, his baby's cries carrying out the window and to his ears. His arms ache to hold his son before he falls asleep for the night, his heart hurts knowing how happy his little baby would be to have a bit of his daddy's attention. He enjoys these talks with fellow believers but wishes they came a little less often and that these men understood he had a family that needed his care too.
In the midst of that, one of the men that had been arguing earlier returns, having been bitter and angry in their discussion before he left. He is still bitter and angry. He points out the faults of the elders, going so far as to tell him he cannot manage his own home because his baby is crying inside. The elder considers telling him to go away and never come back but thinks twice before doing so...he does not know the eternal condition of this man's soul and for some reason the Lord has put him in his life. He explains his baby is in his mothers care and is just tired, as they all are, and does his best to soothe ruffled feathers. He explains...again...why the Lord's word is right and the teachings of men roaming the town, collecting fees for their 'scripture' is wrong.
The angry man does not agree, arguing with him and the sincere believer that has helped as best he could to deflect this man's statements. Finally the angry man goes on his way with the ominous warning of 'we aren't finished yet'. He heaves an inward sigh of relief. He's finally gone. For now anyway.
His sigh must not have been inward afterall because the sincere believer lays his hand on his shoulder and says, 'you're tired'. With a few understanding words, some of which lift the elder up in the Lord, the man departs to give him some time with his family and to rest.
He is grateful for his understanding but wished it extended to the others too.
The elder lets himself into his home. The baby, no longer crying, crawls to him and pulls up on his leg. The big smile that lights that tired little face warms his heart and lifts his weary soul. Such a wonderful miracle from the Lord and an honor to get to be a part of this child's life. He lifts the baby into his arms and greets his wife and children.
'Why do you do it, dad?' His oldest son questions him.
The words are said respectfully but he can hear the hurt in them, see it in his son's eyes. He remembers the days when evenings were spent talking and telling stories, bouncing baby's on his knees and laughing with his wife.
He explains...again...the importance of preserving the Scriptures...of laboring in God's word...and in giving the Gospel to others.
"Why don't you charge them for your labor?" His daughter asks. "Other's do."
Indeed. Why doesn't he charge them. It would be so much easier to give up his job and stay home, let those seeking his instruction drop a few coins in a cup for every hour they wish to speak with him. He could devote his days to teaching Scripture and take evenings off, spending them with his family, since he would have more time to give to those seeking his instructions in the Scriptures during the day.
But that isn't the Lord's way. Paul did not charge for his services. In fact the Apostles warned others against elders and teachers doing that very thing.
He sits down and gathers his children close. He begins to tell them the story of Paul the great Apostle and the giver of the new covenant. He relays Scripture to young ears that he hopes will take it to heart and grow in the knowledge of the Lord. His baby falls asleep, drooling on his shoulder, just as he gets to Paul's instructions...
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 ESV)
The elder hands the baby off to his wife, smiling at her, knowing she will have her say later, she always does. She doesn't like him laboring over the believers either, though she loves the Lord as he does.
He looks each of his children in the eye and tells them 'that's why I cannot charge for my labors'. I labor for the Lord who gives us all things. My life is two fold...to provide for my family and anyone else that we may be able to help through the money I make with my hands, and to administer to the spiritual needs of believers that long to hear the Lord's word. He tells them of the Old Scriptures, preserved in written form and how Moses oversaw the law, he tells them it is his job to help oversee these new Scriptures and to give all Truth to anyone that seeks it.
His children aren't happy, he can see it in their faces, they miss their time with daddy but they nod in understanding and hug him goodnight. The little house grows quiet as the children settle in for the night. He is weary and longs for sleep but his wife needs him first.
I can picture all these things and more. I can imagine them because life today may be different, people may be different in some ways but in many ways we are not so different. Children still need their parents, we all still struggle, wives need their husbands, husbands need their wives, and somewhere in all that come the day to day tasks that see us through the necessities of life.
I can imagine this elders wife and the thoughts and feelings she has because I am a wife. I know what it feels like to see your husband labor for your family, to see him so tired he falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. I know the joy of seeing my children happy because my husband plays with them, the ache of watching them cry because Daddy doesn't have time for them or must leave for some reason or the other. I know the needs of a wife...the need for communication, discussion, friendship, the dependence on your husband for many things. I know the sacrifice of setting aside your own needs to let him sleep or spend time in something he enjoys. I know what it feels like to sit by and wait while others seek out your husband's counsel. I know the happiness in knowing your husband can do that but also the frustration of wishing he would tell them goodbye and spend time with you.
I can easily imagine this elders wife, at the end of a long day. She is tired. The baby was fussy today, the older kids quibbled over nothing. She did laundry, tending to the house, and still she feels as though she accomplished nothing except keeping the baby happy. She feels like a failure because she had to leave the older kids to their own devices while she tended the baby. She got onto them too harshly and made them do work she should have done herself. She wasn't as welcoming to the people on her doorstep as she should have been and her thoughts were not as charitable as they could have been while she waited for her husband to send the people she has begun to secretly call 'the needy ones' on their way.
Now here it is, getting late into the night. The kids are finally sleeping, the needy ones have all gone back to wherever it is they come from, sometimes she feels as though they pop right out of the ground though in reality they are all neighbors, friends, some are even relatives. Her husband is so tired his eyes are blood shot, he hasn't had a decent supper, hasn't changed from his soiled work clothes, she'd never say it aloud but he doesn't smell very pleasant, the bath water she drew for him has long since grown cold, and she must tell him the roof is leaking and the wheel on the vegetable cart broke. The boys tried to fix it but their efforts only made matters worse. She's not about to tell him she cried with the baby when she couldn't calm his tears or that she wished the people on the doorstep would just disappear. And to top it all off she would like to tell her husband 'see me', 'hold me', 'pay attention to me'...I NEED you.
Instead she spoons less than fresh soup into a bowl and sets it before her husband along with a piece of bread that was warm and fresh hours ago but is now cold and dried out. She pats his hand as she goes for his cup of water. She served the last of the coffee to the needy ones this afternoon to quiet them for a time. No one ever told her she would have to give up her husband to the needy ones when she married him.
I can imagine all of this because I am a wife. I watch my husband labor, sometimes endlessly, day in and day out, often giving more of himself to others than I want him to. I can imagine this woman's need for her husband because I have stood by and watched my husband work himself into so much tiredness that his eyes are bleary and I get lost in the shuffle.
I understand this but I'm still human, still me, and I need my husband. More with every passing day. He is vital to my emotional happiness. Talking with him makes me happy. Being with him makes me happy. And I can well imagine this elder being much like my husband is, working for his family, sharing when he can, doing what he can, and sacrificing himself...and therefore his family...when the need arises for him to do for others. And because I know my own feelings at times I can easily imagine those feelings in this wife. I have wished my husband would get off the phone with someone that has him tied up discussing Scripture for hours...yes, I'm happy for this person that is seeking understanding and more of the Lord, but I am still human, still me, and still need my husband. I have wished certain people would leave or that my husband would come home from somewhere.
It's easy enough to imagine this elder and his family because I live and therefore have experienced life's happiness and frustrations. They lived in different times, had different lives, may have had different feelings. But I can imagine.
And I read in Scripture what an elder must be and that he must live in love. He must show the fruits of the Spirit because that is what those in Christ have and he must remember the commandment of love. And so I see this man, living, working, but most of all loving all those he encounters. He lives for his family, loving them, ruling them in love, overseeing them in love. He lives for the Lord, loving others because the Lord has given him this great love, overseeing the Scriptures and those thirsty for more of the Lord, out of love.
And I read in Scripture what an elder must be and that he must live in love. He must show the fruits of the Spirit because that is what those in Christ have and he must remember the commandment of love. And so I see this man, living, working, but most of all loving all those he encounters. He lives for his family, loving them, ruling them in love, overseeing them in love. He lives for the Lord, loving others because the Lord has given him this great love, overseeing the Scriptures and those thirsty for more of the Lord, out of love.
No comments:
Post a Comment