The Parable of ThaddeusThaddeus heard a voice one evening as he was lying upon his bed.It was the voice of the Lord.Thaddeus recognized it, but it brought him back a bit when the voice said to him, "Thaddeus, you are called to be a prophet -- You are to go and preach repentance to the people of your city and also in the neighboring city to the west." That next morning, Thaddeus called his family together and told them of his new and special call.They were all very happy with what they had heard and asked when he would start with this new errand from the Lord.Thaddeus told them that as soon as he returned from his trip to a country located far away that he would then begin his preaching.Thaddeus, was a merchant by trade and for months he had planned this trip to a far country where he would buy and sell.It took him quite some time to complete his business and the night before he arrived once again at his home he was a second time visited by the Lord.The Lord told him that it was very important for him to preach to the people of his city, but that because he had delayed his previous commandment that he had called another prophet in the other city to which he was called to preach.Thaddeus was a bit shaken up by the words of the Lord as he arrived home, for the entire city was in the midst of a momentous celebration.As he explained to his family of the newest revelation and the visit that he had received from the Lord, they too were concerned. Then his wife said to him, "Thaddeus dear, do you really believe that the wicked people of this city will listen to you during this time of celebration?You know the evil things that are going on."And so they reasoned with him that it would be better to wait until after the month long revelry had ended so that the people would listen.The night that the celebration concluded, Thaddeus had made up his mind to begin the very next day to begin his preaching.That night the voice of the Lord came unto him again and spoke these words, "Thaddeus, it is too late to preach to the people of this city, but because your heart has been right with me, I am commanding you to gather your family together on the morrow.Take what few provisions you can, hastily prepare and speedily leave this city.Go and see the prophet whom I called in the neighboring city.There he will instruct you and your family in what you must do." Early the next morning Thaddeus explained these new instructions from the Lord to his wife and family.They immediately began packing.Everyone helped but they were wealthy and so it was difficult for them to decide what to take and what to leave.By late that afternoon they were nearly packed but also completely exhausted.Thaddeus said to his family, "Let's make speed and be on our way to the neighboring city for I detected a note of urgency in the Lord's voice as he spoke to me.I know he must have had a good reason to have us leave today as he said his other prophet named Noah would tell us what to do.If we leave now we can still arrive there by morning." The family was tired and they reasoned with their father, "Let us get a good night's rest and we will leave refreshed early in the morning.In the light of day we will be able to travel much faster and we will be rested. We will get to see this prophet named Noah before the next day is over.And so, they rested well that night and the next morning they arose and in preparing to depart they found that it had begun to rain.Of course they didn't want all of their belongings to get wet, and to travel in such severe weather wouldn't be safe and so they decided not to leave until after it had stopped raining.I wonder if perhaps that is the reason why I have never read anything about Thaddeus in the Bible?
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
I think one thing we need to work on in the days ahead is the Christlike attributes. Sometimes we get into a "keep the commandments" fetish and forget that we are supposed to become like Christ, not just immitate him, so that when he appears we may sim Him as He is. The Pharisees were very "obedient", yet in their zeal to reach perfection they had left the weightier matters undone. For an insightful teaching, read the definition of "Shewbread" in the Bible Dictionary...
Besides that, prepare to be patient and cheerful as the black worldly ooze gets deeper!
Shewbread (lit. "bread of the face" or "presence bread") The name given to 12 unleavened cakes placed in two piles on the Table of Shewbread, which was made of acacia wood and stood on the north side of the altar of incense in the holy place (Ex. 25:23-30). Frankincense was put upon each row (Lev. 24:7). The shewbread was changed every Sabbath day and the old loaves were eaten by the priests in a holy place (Lev. 24:9). In the shewbread the 12 tribes were perpetually presented before God; yet it was wholly consumed by man; thus it provided both a sacrifice and a communion. On one occasion the shewbread was given to David to eat (1 Sam. 21:6); the Lord drew from this incident the lesson that the law of charity overrides every ritual law (Matt. 12:4; Mark 2:26; Luke 6:4).
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no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing... the truth of God will go forth till it has penetrated every website, sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done
To be bluntly honest, I don't think I'm ready for the days ahead yet. But I'm doing my best to work up to that point, and I think that counts for a lot with the Lord.
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If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen! - Samuel Adams
