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[Music] Hey folks and welcome back to the Theopolis Podcast. I'm your host Brian Moadson, I'm the content manager at theopolis institute. We at theopolis train men and women to lead cultural renewal by renewing the church.
Participants in our programs learn to read the Bible imaginatively, worship God faithfully, and engage the culture intelligently. In this episode we have another talk from our recent Theopolitan Ministry conference. And here Kyle Lammott is going to be discussing the food of Christ, the wedding reception at Sicar.
Kyle is the pastor of Exodus Church in Wichita, Kansas, and is a recent graduate of the Theopolis Fellows program. We want to thank you so much for listening, and we hope that you enjoy and are edified about this time of teaching. And here is Kyle Lamott discussing the food of Christ.
[Music] Thank you. This has just been such a blessing for me, as I'm sure it has been for you. Each of these lectures have been encouraging, challenging, and I'm excited to bring what I've learned back to my church and share it with them as well.
For the last 10 months I have been preaching through the gospel of John, and through this time it has been a constant reminder of God's goodness, of his glory, of his beauty. Working through John's gospel has been exhilarating, challenging, and worshipful all at the same time. I've tried to explain to our church that we ought to view the gospel of John like a massive crystal lake, a lake that is so calm that you can see the top reflecting the trees around it.
It looks like a piece of glass. And as we work our way through this gospel, you could imagine rowing on a canoe, and there's very little turbulence, there's very little struggle to get through it. Yet when we look down into the water we see that it is incredibly deep.
And as we look further and peer into the murkiness of the waters we see shapes of the creation account in Genesis 1. We see shadows of the temple and the tabernacle and the priesthood. We hear the echoes of the prophets.
We see King David. We see the patriarchs. All of these things start to come out of the waters.
That is the gospel of John. So simple a child can go across the top. Yet it leaves scholars and pastors and theologians scratching their heads as they peer into the depths that is this gospel.
John is an imaginative storyteller. He weaves the story of Israel's scriptures into the very fabric of his gospel. And he does so with very few quotes or actual phrases or sentences that come from the pages of the Old Testament, but rather he does so through images and types and shadows.
John's gospel is a story that contains many stories. There are multiple coexisting stories within his gospel. We see the story of creation and the story of the new creation, the story of the Exodus and the story of the new Exodus.
The story of the temple and the story of the new temple. Together with Revelation the gospel of John tells the story of the bridegroom and his bride. John presents Christ as one who embodies in himself the story of Israel's scriptures from the creation account all the way to the post-exilic prophets.
As Richard Hayes notes, John reads the entirety of the Old Testament as a web of symbols that must be understood as figural signifiers for Jesus and the life that he offers. John tells the story of the Old Testament as a story that points us and prepares us for Christ. As I mentioned, the temple gives way to the new temple that is Christ.
The great feasts of Israel's worship are transformed to be seen as signs and symbols pointing us to Christ. The Exodus, the manna and the wilderness, the stories of Abraham and Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah and more all transfigured from the waters of the old and to the wine of the new. Augustine has a beautiful homily on John chapter 2 with a wedding at Kana and he sees the six stone jars filled with water as representing the old covenant.
And when Christ comes, he transforms the waters, he transforms the content of the Old Testament into the wine of the new. And John chapter 4 is no exception to this. Jesus not only weaves together a type scene from the Old Testament recorded by John, and not only does he echo back to the love song of Solomon, but he also paints another picture of Christ in his bride that are restlessly waiting for the fully realized glorified bride to descend from heaven in the book of Revelation.
One of John's favorite stories to tell throughout his gospel is the love story of Christ and his bride. The love story is woven together throughout the gospel from beginning to end. In fact, John even book ends his gospel with this theme.
Again, in John chapters 2, we see the first miracle of Jesus at a wedding where he turns the water into wine. This is the inargable miracle or sign of his ministry. And then at the end of John's gospel, we see Jesus in a garden.
We see Jesus as a new bridegroom, a new Adam, and Mary is there as well as a new Eve as a type of the church. The love story is woven throughout. Even within the story of the transformation of the water to wine, we see Jesus assuming the role of the bridegroom.
It is the bridegroom's responsibility to make sure that the wine does not run out at the wedding. If it runs out, there is great shame potentially for the rest of their lives because of this error. So Jesus assumes the role of the great bridegroom who makes sure that there is more than enough wine for this wedding.
Yet he says his hour has not yet come. In John chapter 4, we see the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman developed in the form of a wedding. It is an eschatological wedding.
It is eschatological forward thinking in nature as it is a preview of the great wedding that is to come. The final wedding that we see at the end of Revelation where Jesus and his bride are finally united in glory. John 4, 1 through 42, the story of the woman at the well, reads as a type scene from the Hebrew Scriptures.
This type scene introduces love and marriage through the meeting at the well. And then it therefore places the woman from Samaria as the typological bride, a representative not only of the Samaritan people, but also of the nations, the ethnos of all the world. She is united with her true bridegroom through whom many children are produced, the converted Samaritans.
The love story of John 4 is actually introduced for us in John chapter 3. It is introduced to John chapter 3. So what I want to do in this talk is work through John chapter 4.
I would put forward that this is more than just a type scene introduced by Jesus in this woman meeting at the well, which indeed is a type scene from the old. The Old Testament, but it is more than that. Rather this marriage theme, this bride and bridegroom union is played out and developed all the way through the story.
We'll see that there's a wedding announcement in chapter 3. The bridegroom arrives at the beginning of chapter 4. We then see a wedding gift, a wedding vow, and finally the wedding feast.
This can also be connected with the redemption of Christ in the order in which he comes with the prophetic utterances as the wedding announcement of Old Testament prophets culminating with John the Baptist, as we will see here in chapter 3. The bridegroom arrives in the form of an incarnation. There is a wedding gift, mainly the Holy Spirit.
There is a wedding vow, the new covenant, and finally the wedding feast, which would be the Eucharist. So at the end of chapter 3 we see this introduction, this announcement, this wedding announcement go out, and this announcement is heralded by John the Baptist. At the end of chapter 3, John and his disciples are baptizing, and his disciples become somewhat jealous, somewhat concerned, because there's a new rabbi on the scene, and this new rabbi and his disciples are baptizing more than John.
So, his faithful disciples are concerned for their fearless leader, John the Baptist, and they are worried that his influence might be slipping, because of this new character on the scene. John responds to his disciples and explains to them that it is good and right that Jesus, the Christ, does what he is doing. Why? Because he is the bridegroom, and the bridegroom must have the bride.
So John actually introduces this language for us in chapter 3, verse 29, where John the Baptist says, "The one who has the bridegroom," or excuse me, "the one who has the bride is the bridegroom." The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore, this joy of mind is now complete. So here, John puts forward very simply for us that Jesus is the bridegroom.
He is the one that the bride belongs to. John's role, the Baptist role, is the role of best friend. He is the friend of the bridegroom.
He is the one who loves and protects the bride for the groom. He is jealous not for the affections of the bride, of the bride's attention, but rather his jealousy is for the groom himself. He wants to make sure that the bride cleans to the groom and the groom alone.
Thus, the famous words of John the Baptist, "I must decrease, he must increase." John is put forward here as the perfect friend. He is the one who never tries to step into the role of the groom in an inappropriate way. He does not want the attention of the bride.
He wants the bride to look to Christ. Again, in verse 29, he says that the bridegroom, or the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. John, contrary to his disciples, did not have jealousy.
He had joy with Jesus being there baptizing many, though not Jesus but his disciples. Pastors and leaders today, like John, play a very important role of the friend. We are to look over the well-being of the bride.
We are to present her mature and beautiful to Christ, the true groom. In the celebrity culture in which we live in today, I think John the Baptist's words are a welcomed anchor and reminder. We live in a day where both the friend and the bride tend to enjoy taking their eyes off of the groom and they begin to look at each other.
Now, celebrity culture within the church is one that always ends in an affair between the bride and the friend. I'm not just talking about Hillsong culture, this same temptation and the same struggles and the hearts of conservative-reformed pastors as well. Pastors, leaders, influencers who long for the affections of the bride will end up receiving the destruction of the jealous husband.
We ought to remember the words of King Solomon when he says, "Rath is cruel. Anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?" John the Baptist is our example here. He wants the attention, the love, the praise to be given to Christ, the true groom.
He is not trying to carve out an inappropriate place in the bride's life. Rather, he is fully rejoicing that the bride has found the arms of her true husband. But not only that, we must likewise rejoice with John when we see the bride look to the groom and fall into the groom's arms.
I so appreciated Dr. Lighthart's talk yesterday as I don't know about you, but it felt like he put up a mirror and has called me as a pastor to look into it and make sure I see the reflection rightly. To see what the Bible says about a shepherd, not to listen to the culture and how it might shape that ideal for us, but rather see what the Scripture says about what it is to be a shepherd, a pastor.
And as a shepherd and as a pastor, I and we ought to be holding up a mirror to the bride so that she likewise can see who she actually is in light of Christ, who she is in Christ. We are to lift the bride's veil so that she can see her redeemer rightly, pull back the veil so she can see into the holy of holies. So this sets the stage for us in chapter 4.
Jesus is established as the bridegroom at the end of chapter 3, and we see the bridegroom come to claim his bride and John chapter 4. The bridegroom arrives in verses 1 through 6. I'll read verses 1 through 4 for us.
It says, "When Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John, although Jesus himself did not baptize but only his disciples, he left Judea and departed again for Galilee, and he had to pass through Samaria. The reason Jesus had to pass through Samaria had nothing to do with geographical necessity. He could have taken the road that the Romans built, which many Jews at that time would take to go around Samaria, yet the text says he had to pass through Samaria.
This is a divine necessity. He had to go through Samaria because he is the bridegroom, and the bridegroom must get his bride. Verses 5 and 6 say, "So he came to a town of Samaria called Saikar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, where he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
So he comes to Jacob's well, where he was from his journey, he sits down, and at this point if we press our ears closely to the text, we begin to hear the wedding bells ring. The reason for this is because of the type scenes of the Old Testament, where wells are notorious as hookup spots where men find their wives. This well is called Jacob's well, and it just so happened that Jacob found his wife, Rachel, out of well.
Not only Jacob but Isaac. Jacob's father found his wife Rebecca at a well. And not only Jacob and Isaac, but Moses likewise found his wife at a well.
Again, wells are the hotspots. If you are thinking about cultivating or creating a single ministry in your church, I would encourage you to call it the well. So we can get these people together, and they can get married.
The connection between wells and love and marriage are found in wisdom literature as well. In Proverbs we see Solomon warning his son to avoid the strange woman when he writes, "Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well." And in the song of Solomon, the bride is described as a garden fountain, a well of living water and streams from Lebanon. There's other places as well.
So wells are symbolically loaded throughout the scriptures, a place of love, of weddings, of marriage. So what John is doing is setting a scene for us so that we ought to remember John the Baptist words of Christ. In chapter 3 he is the bridegroom.
The bridegroom has now come to a well. We read from his journey. He sits down and we must be waiting for the bride to arrive.
This is what the next step is. And in verse 7 we see the arrival of the bride. Verse 7 it says, "A woman from Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' This particular Samaritan woman had lived a particularly heartbreaking life. She is one who was despised and thrown aside as an unwanted bride. This woman, this stained bride, comes to the well and Jesus asks her for a drink.
Now before we get into this request, which is very significant in the story, I want to focus a bit more on how John presents Jesus as the perfect bridegroom. That's the perfect husband. To do this I want to jump down to verse 17.
We are after talking to the woman for a little while. Jesus tells the woman to go call your husband. "Go call your husband," he says.
And the woman responds in verse 17 saying, "I have no husband. I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying you have no husband, for you have had five husbands. And the one you now have is not your husband.
What you have said is true. The woman at the well had been married five different times. Five different times a husband either died or divorced her.
This woman who was experiencing the depths and the despair of hopelessness had given up on finding a husband. And now the sixth man that she is living with is not her husband at all. Rather in her life than receiving security from a husband, she received scrutiny.
Rather than being loved, she was languished. Rather than devotion, she received divorces. Time and time again, this woman was cast aside by one husband after another.
In the same way that she would go back to that well day after day for water hoping to be satisfied, to quench her thirst. In the same way she had gone time and time again to a husband hoping to find one who would love her, protect her, care for her and lead her. And then on this day she comes to the well once again and who is sitting there but the true bridegroom.
This woman had been married five times, five different husbands and living with a sixth man. And Jesus now sits at the well as the seventh man, the final, the complete, the perfect husband. This woman after going through six men is looking for rest, now comes to Christ who presents himself as a seventh, the Sabbath rest, the peace that she had longed for.
I really appreciate it, Jack's talk yesterday as far as the Sabbath being a canceling of debt. This woman comes to the well with an awful lot of baggage, an awful lot of debt. And the true Sabbath husband is one who is able to take care of that for her.
Jesus is the bridegroom of the new creation. He is the one who will bring this woman into his eternal new covenant rest. She will be brought out of the labor and turmoil, out of the shame and bondage of her old vows and be brought into Christ as a new creation as his bride.
So when Jesus arrives at the well he does so as the bridegroom, the true bridegroom of the new creation and he meets his bride, the Samaritan woman. So coming back to verse seven where Jesus asks her for a drink. Verse seven again says, "The woman from Samaria came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink.' The church fathers go out of their way to make the point that Jesus is not asking her for a drink because he's thirsty." They're saying, "Listen, it really doesn't have a lot to do with his physical thirst, but rather Jesus is thirsting for her faith, for her salvation, for her love." Augustine writes, "Jesus was not thirsty for water, but rather he was thirsty for the woman's faith.
He thirsted for her salvation." And Augustine, as usual, is correct. Theologically speaking, for Jesus to ask this woman for a drink is far more consequential than just quenching his thirst. Even the sense of the verb "pinno" to drink is a word that is often used metaphorically, meaning to partake in something to absorb, to be united to something.
We see this in Hebrews chapter six, in 1 Corinthians 11 and Revelation 14. And in a similar sense, the drink offerings of the old covenant were acts of worship, where we are symbolically poured out for God's consumption. That is, we are absorbed into God himself.
And as we develop, or as will be developed in the following verses, we can see that Jesus asks this woman for a drink. When he asks for a drink, he is asking for her whole life. He is asking for union.
He is asking her to be his bride. Now, there is much involved in this request for a drink, yet the woman has no idea what Jesus is saying. She has no idea.
In fact, there's almost a comedic element with the woman's response throughout the story, where she just doesn't quite seem to get what Jesus is saying. The woman does not yet know that the one sitting in front of her is the great bridegroom, the one that she had long for, the one that is able to take care of her sins, to cleanse her of her shame. She has no idea who it is that is sitting in front of her.
She doesn't know of his power or authority. She doesn't know of his glory or majesty or sovereignty. She does not yet know that he will give her himself and that he will bring her into himself as his bride.
And when this bridegroom arrives and meets this woman and asks for a drink, he does not do so, empty handed, but rather he comes with a gift. In verse 10, we see Jesus responding to the woman when he says, "If you knew the gift of God, if you knew the gift of God, and who it was that was saying to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." Jesus here presents himself as the gift giver of God's gift for the bride. So what is the gift that he's talking about? When we read this, when we see this gift of God, what is it that Jesus has in mind? If you look at commentaries, you will see that this gift is often attributed to the grace that comes from Christ or the forgiveness or the love of Christ or even the gospel or salvation.
And all of these most certainly correlate to the gift, yet they are not in themselves. The gift Jesus is ready to give his bride. In verse 10, we see that the gift of God that Jesus gives is described as living water.
Yet this is not overly helpful either as living water is yet a symbol of something else. The metaphorical language Jesus is using was obviously confusing to the woman because in verses 11 through 14, she is thinking that Jesus has access to another well that's better than this one. She hears living water and she's thinking, "Well, it's not stagnant water.
It's living water that comes from rivers or wells. All wells are living water." So she is wondering, "Where are you going to get this water from? This is the only well and you don't have a bucket to draw water. Are you greater than our father Jacob? Is there another well here maybe with better water than this one?" Jesus continues to describe as living water for the woman in verses 13 and 14.
He says, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again." That is of the well present in their conversation. "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
Now the woman is intrigued. Now she wants this gift of living water. She comes to this well day after day.
Yet 30 minutes later she's already beginning to get thirsty again. Day after day she was thirsty and never fully satisfied. So if Jesus is saying that we can receive this gift that she has access to this living water that would cause her to never have to come back to this well.
She said, "Let me have some. I would love to have that water. I don't have to come back here day after day." And not only that, not only will it quench her thirst, but it also wells up to eternal life.
This sounds like some high quality water and she really wants some. Verse 15 says, "That the woman said to him, 'Sir, give me this water. So I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.'" She's so close.
She's closer than she was at the beginning. She's closer to understanding what this gift is, but still not quite. So to come back to our question, what is the gift of water? If it's not living water from Jacob's well or another well in the area, what is this gift? What is this living water? The answer, I believe, is concealed within the phrase "gift of God." It is a gift of God.
The New Testament writers will do this often where they will use grammatical constructions that can be translated in one way or another. The phrase "gift of God" can be translated as a subjective genitive gift of God, which most of us have in our Bibles, or it can be translated as an objective genitive, which would read the gift "who is God." And as Edith Humphrey suggests, the phrase "dorraine tooth you" is most certainly meant to be translated as an objective genitive, the gift "who is God." The gift "who is God." What is the gift? The gift is God Himself. God Himself is the gift of living water.
God has always been the gift of living water for His people, always from the beginning to the end. Jeremiah 2, we have Yahweh speaking and He says, "For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water." He's always been the living water for His people.
And not only in Jeremiah, but Jesus Himself a few chapters later in John chapter 7, stands up on the last day of the feast, and He cries out, "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink." Whoever believes in me, as the Scriptures have said, "Out of His heart will flow rivers of living water." Now this, He said, about the Spirit. The living water, the gift "who is God," is the Holy Spirit. The very Spirit of Christ, the third person of the Trinity, God Himself.
The Holy Spirit is the wedding gift that comes from, proceeds from, the Father and the Son to His bride, the church. The woman thought she was going to get some water that would physically quench her thirst forever. Yet Jesus is offering the true living water, the gift "who is God," and this gift will quench the thirst of her parched soul.
This gift of living water, the gift of the bridegroom that He gives to His bride, is seen further developed in Revelation chapter 21, where the one who upon the throne says, "To the one who thirsts, I will give of the spring of the water of life as a gift." So Christ is the bridegroom who comes with a gift for His bride, the gift who is God Himself. And now we see that this bridegroom comes not only with a gift, but this bridegroom, this true husband, the seventh man, also comes making wedding vows. A new covenant with this woman.
The section that we just looked at with the gift began in verse 7 when Jesus asks for a drink. He asks for a question, or he asks a question to her. And then we see in verse 15 that that section concludes with the woman asking Jesus for a drink.
He asks for this living water. And then we see how Jesus responds to her request for this living water that Jesus offers. Jesus knows she still doesn't quite understand that the living water is God Himself, so to help her understand the gift of God, he makes a second request.
First, found in verse 7, "Get me a drink, the second request is now in verse 16 where Jesus turns the conversation in another direction." Says this, "Jesus said to her, 'Go call your husband and come here.' The woman answered him, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right in saying you have no husband, for you have had five husbands and the one that you now have is not your husband.' And you have said, 'It's true.' So Jesus tells her, 'Go call your husband and she denies having a husband.' I think it's amazing how easily we can identify with this woman. Jesus begins to poke just a little bit at that shameful part that she is concealing. And she says, 'I don't even have a husband, what are you talking about, Jesus?' Jesus will come to us so often and say, 'Go get your pride.' 'I don't have pride.
Go get your hidden secrets.' 'I don't have any hidden secrets.' Nothing is hidden from you, Lord. He tells us to go get our insecurities and we say, 'We are confident in you, God. We trust you fully.
I have no insecurities.' Jesus tells us to go get that thing which we worship. We say, 'Lord, we don't have any idols.' And Jesus responds and saying, 'You are right in saying that you don't have an idol. In fact, you have five idols.' You have money, the desire for personal safety, the need for approval, the opinions of others, and entertainment are all idols in your life.
Go and get them. He is telling her and he is telling us to not deny or ignore the sin that we have, but to bring them to him. 'For he is the one who can restore and wash his bride from the stains of her guilt and shame.
For he is the groom who works to purify his bride.' The woman responds in verse 19, 'Sir, I perceive you are a prophet. I perceive you are a prophet. You just said something about me.
You have information about me that would be impossible for you to have otherwise, unless you are a prophet.' And I think we should notice how this woman's perspective of Jesus has developed throughout the story and continues to develop. Do you remember when Jesus first came to her at the well, she responds to him as a Jew? She is a Samaritan woman. Samaritans and Jews deny like each other at this time.
But as a story progresses, we see that her clarity, her understanding, the mirror that is Christ begins to show who she is and starts to reveal who he is with greater clarity. It starts with her in verse 9 saying, 'How is it that you a Jew?' I would ask for water for me, a Samaritan woman. And then it goes on in verse 15, her view of Jesus becomes a little bit more honorific where she calls him, 'Sir, carry us, Lord.
Sir, give me this water that you have, a term of respect.' And now when Jesus reveals that he knows about these five husbands and the man that she is currently shacked up with, she says, 'You are a prophet.' Jew, sir, prophet.' In verse 29 we see her declare that he is the Christ. And then by the time we get to the end of the story in verse 42, she and the people of Saikar from her home declare in doxological praise that Jesus is indeed the Savior of the world. It is as if the veil of the bride is being lifted as she is ushered into the most holy place where she sees Christ for who he really is.
This ought to be the goal of our teaching and our preaching and our counseling and our leading and everything that we do in ministry. This ought to be the goal to lift the veil of Christ's bride and our own churches so that she can see Christ for who he really is. Our churches ought to come to Christ with unveiled faces.
And we have the great privilege of leading her into his presence, into the holy of holies so that she might see him in all of his glory. The prophet title comes naturally as he reveals knowledge of her shameful past. And yet this prophetic knowledge of Jesus causes her to be a little uncomfortable.
In fact, very uncomfortable. So what does she do after being exposed before Jesus? She quickly wants to change the subject. Sir, you're a prophet.
Let's talk about something else. Let's not talk about these sins that I have. Let's not talk about my past.
But rather, let's talk about worship. Let's talk about where we worship God, a quick diversion to ease the awkwardness. Verse 20 says, "Our fathers worship on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people opt to worship." So the woman in her diversion asks about the contrast of worship between Jews and Samaritans.
Jesus responds in verse 21, "brilliantly," as always, "Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe me. The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father." Woman, Gunay, in Greek, which can also be wife. "Wife, believe me.
Listen to me," Christ said. Christ said, "The hour is coming when to worship the Father will not require this mountain nor Jerusalem." The hour is coming when Christ himself will be set up as the true temple, the true mountain, where people are to worship the Father. Christ himself is the mountain.
Christ himself is the tabernacle. Christ himself is the temple. As we see John already developing for us in John chapter 1 and in John chapter 2, and will continue to be developed in chapter 5 and so on.
We see the fullness of this tabernacle, of this Christ being veiled in the tabernacle glory of the bride, Groom, when Christ dwells in the midst of his bride in Revelation 21. He dwells in the midst of her as God dwelt in the midst of his people in the tabernacle. And it is there that she drinks freely from the living water.
In verse 22 he moves from the temple tabernacle imagery to that thing which flows from mountains, ultimately the bride's salvation. In verse 22 he says, "You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." Now here he says salvation is from the Jews. What he does not say is salvation is from Judaism.
He is not saying that salvation is coming from temple adherence or obedience to the law perfectly. He is not speaking of the law or the sacrifices or the whole temple called to this time. When he says that salvation comes from the Jews he is speaking of himself.
Not only is Christ the temple, but he is also the salvation which flows from the temple. This is where we start to pick up on the implicit wedding vows or the characteristics of the covenant that Jesus makes with his bride ultimately here in chapter 4. Jesus presents himself as the all-sufficient Groom that the bride desperately needs.
He is the one. She asks for living water. He says that the living water flows from the one that is standing right in front of you.
She longs for a husband. The true husband is standing right in front of her. Where will God meet her this mountain, that mountain, this temple or that temple? The true temple is standing right in front of her.
Where will she find salvation? True salvation is standing right in front of her. If we see this as a wedding ceremony the bride and the groom are now facing each other and Jesus is rehearsing his vows to her. I will give you living water.
I will give you the gift who is God. I am your true husband. I am your true temple.
I am your true salvation. This woman is now undone by the words of Christ. She knows that there is something different about this.
Jesus, something powerful, something perhaps even divine. She says to him in verse 25, "I know the Messiah is coming. He was called Christ.
When He comes He will tell us all things." And Jesus responds to the woman's words with words that are so powerful at one point could knock an entire army onto the ground where he responds in verse 26. I am He, Ego, A. Me.
At this point, not a whole lot else matters to the woman. She believes her life has now been transformed. If this is a wedding ceremony, she just said, "I do." For she has come face to face with the living God.
She has received the wedding gifts. She has consumed the living water. She has been brought into the new temple.
She has received God's salvation. She has been brought into the arms of the true husband, the Messiah, the Christ. And now for the very first time in her life, she has hope.
So much hope that she leaves her water pail there at the well and runs to her town to tell everybody about who she has just met. She goes to tell everybody about this one who is the Christ. What we see developing from here is a wedding feast that comes.
We see that she goes off to her city to find her people, to bring them back. And then in verse 30, it tells us that all the people start to make their way out of the city to see Jesus. So the wedding feast is what follows.
Now there are many things that go into a great wedding celebration, a great reception, good music and dancing, heartfelt toast and mighty cheers to the bride in the groom. My first dance, throwing the bouquet of flowers and so on, but at the absolute center of any wedding, and any celebration is food. It's the cutting of the cake.
It's feasting with friends and family. It is drinking good drink and feasting on good food. The Eucharistic wedding supper of the Lamb is described in Isaiah 25.
When Isaiah says on this mountain, Yahweh of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine, well-refined. A wedding is one of the greatest of all celebrations and food and drink is how God has created us to celebrate. So verse 31 shifts the scene from the folks from Saikar coming to see Jesus based off of the woman's testimony to then Jesus' conversation with his disciples, explaining to them what had just taken place.
Verse 31 through 33 says this, "Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him saying, 'Rabbi, eat.' But he said to them, 'I have food to eat. You do not know about.' So the disciples said to one another, 'Has anyone brought him something to eat?' This is the question the disciples have and this is the question that we need to ask of the text. Who brought Jesus' food to eat? What is this food that he speaks of? It was the disciples' responsibility to make sure their rabbi was taken care of.
They went to buy food, they come back and now Jesus is saying he has food that they're unaware of. What is this food? Now as we all know, having spent any time in the theologian sphere, that food is one of the great themes of the Bible and one of the great themes of life. When you come into God's presence, you come into a feast.
Both in the temple, in the tabernacle, fresh bread and wine are available at all times. The garden of Eden is marked out by the tree of life where Yahweh comes and dwells with his people there feasting. After the flood, the first things that Noah does is sacrifice to God and plant a vineyard for wine.
The whole sacrificial system is about feasting with God. The people eat their part of the sacrifice, the priest gets his portion, Yahweh feasts on his portion. There were feasts throughout the Old Testament such as the feast of booze and the Passover feast.
The covenant likewise is marked out by food and drink. Eucharistically speaking, we see, as Drew brought up wonderfully in his talk, that food in the Eucharist has got hospitality. It's its invitation to us to come into his presence and feast, but not to stay there but to go out likewise, bringing that bread and wine to the nations.
We see in John chapter 6 that Jesus calls himself the bread of life. He also says that he calls his people saying, "If you're following me, you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood." And of course, the Eucharist is the ongoing feast where we come into the presence of God and he serves us there. The book of Revelation concludes with the tree of life in the marriage supper of the land.
Eating and drinking is a big deal to God from beginning to end. It is near and dear to the heart of God and it is absolutely crucial for believers to walk and live faithfully before him. So when Jesus said that he has food to eat that we don't know about, we ought to slow down and savor his words.
So let's look at verse 34 where Jesus explains this food that he has to eat. He says, "Jesus said to them, 'My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.' The food of Christ is this, to do the will of the Father and to accomplish his work." But what is this work that he is to accomplish? The idea of accomplishing or finishing God's work is one that stretches throughout the entire Bible. And John himself highlights this multiple times throughout his gospel.
You see Jesus referred to the accomplishment of this work in his high royal prayer, high priestly prayer of John 17, where he says, "I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." This is the same work that Jesus accomplishes upon the cross. When Jesus had received the sour wine he said, "It is finished." And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. And all three of these texts, the word for finished or accomplished, comes from the root word, telos.
The telos is th...

Team Jay-Z's verse on Monster

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 The Wyrm danced to and fro in its frenzy, killing hunters left and right. Young or grizzled they died on the Offspring's vicious claws and its outbursts of Lightning and tornadoes. Their weapons bounced from its hide like blades of rice-grass against stone. In the peak of its rage the dragon reared its spear ended tail, aimed right at the Hunter's heart. The Hunter saw the glint of sunlight on its sharp bony tip Just before it blurred out of sight. He was in the middle of a swing with his greatsword and he knew there's not enough time to dodge it, in the blink of an eye the tail-spear struck flesh. The hunter turned, half surprised he that was still able to, and beheld Lady Hinoa standing before him and, to his horror, with the Offspring's tail-spear transfixed in her prim gut. She convulsed and coughed causing blood to spray out of her mouth. In unison with the dragon's scream, The Hunter felt the despair in Minoto's voice. "Sister! Noooooo!" As if having dipped it in boiling oil, the dragon withdrew its tail from Hinoa's body. Leaving the cavity to gush torrents of blood. The same blood sizzled and smoked on the Offspring's tail, causing the scales to fall out. The infant dragon writhed in the air, letting out a most deafening scream of pain before it bolted and disapeared into the mountains. The doctor emerged through the curtain wiping sweat from his brow with a little handkerchief. "How is she?" Minoto's voice shook with concern. The doctor sighed deeply, his sharp ears drooping in unison with his shoulders. " I have stopped the bleeding, she lost a lot of blood. But the tail. It left a very potent venom and it had entered her bloodstream." Minoto lowered herself making her eyes in level with the old doctor's " can you do something about it?" With pained effort, the doctor met her gaze. "I wish i can. But the venom is more than anything we have seen before. I tried all kinds of antidote, rath, garuga, giginox, even apex rath antidote. Nothing worked. And its spreading in her body like wildfire." Minoto stared at the old wyverian. Biting her lower lip to stop it from quivering, she couldn't find any more words to say. Her eyes welled. The doctor put his little hand on her shoulder. "If you have final words to share--" Minoto swept past the doctor and into the room. The Hunter took a step to follow her but stopped when the doctor reached out and grabbed a handful of his leggings. He instantly understood from the look the old wyverian gave him. The twins have been like mothers to him ever since his parents died during one of the rampages, and as much as he loved them, the twins have been around for decades before he was born, they shared a bond that even he is not a part of and it is sacriliege to intrude into. "Minoto, it looks like I'm not gonna last much longer." "Please don't say that, Hinoa, you will live." "No, Minoto, our fates are already sealed from the day we were born, our lives are intertwined with those gods. Now that they are dead, we must pass too and the Offspring will take over." "If that is so, then i shall go with you." "No, Minoto. You must stay for a while longer. You must ensure that the hunter completes his mission. To see that the Offspring does not mature and find a mate, so that their curse may be banished from this land." "But how?" "The scrolls say that the only Materials that provide dragon element powerfull enough to wound a god dragon are Mystic wyverian bones, the marrows especially. You have seen what my blood did to that monster, what more can my bones do?" Hinoa's breathing Have become shallower and faster, her eyes became droopier. "Hinoa, I can't do this to you!" "There Is no other way Minoto" there was an admonishing tone to Hinoa's voice that brought out the elder sister in her, then as if trying to make up for the harsh tone. "With all the dango i've been eating, there might be enough of me to make two weapons." And let out a weak giggle. Minoto let out a heavy sigh. " Very well, Hinoa, it shall be as you wish." Hinoa raised a hand and caressed Minoto's cheek. "I never regretted every moment I spent with you." Minoto bent down and kissed her sister at the corner of the lips. "Me too. I love you Hinoa." "I love you too, Minoto, dear sister." With that Hinoa closed her eyes and stopped breathing. Minoto wept, clutching her sister close to herself. She poured herself out for an hour before regaining her usual cold composure again, she gently placed Hinoa's hands on her chest, kissed her one last time at the forehead and went out of the room. The Hunter stood at the door way, his eyes puffed. Of course, he heard her. "Yes, she has passed" as if she knew what he was going to ask. The Hunter turned sideways from her in a failing attempt to hide his face. His body was shaking from trying to stiffle his sobs. His face was a mess of tears, sweat, and snot. He looked no more like the great hunter he had grown into. Now hes just nothing but the boy they had taken in whose parents died in a rampage 17 years ago. Minoto wrapped her arms around him and laid his head on her shoulder. "But you must be strong." She whispered into his ear. A bit surprised that she did this, Minoto realized that Hinoa's softness had rubbed off on her. When his sobs have settled Minoto gently pushed the Hunter back and held him by the shoulders at arms length. "Remember. You have a dragon to kill. Go and take Hinoa's body to Master Hamon, He'll know what to do." The hunter gave her a horrified look. "I know, but this is the only way. This is what Hinoa wanted." The hunter let out a huge sigh, turned to look at minoto with those bright green eyes, now full of determination, and nodded. [ At this point the player must carefully choose which weapon to craft from hinoa's bones. The crafting requirements are set so that certain weapons will use up all of the bones while some will use half the amount allowing the player craft another with the remaining amount.] The Cherry tree rained its soft petals like snow as the genle breeze rocked the branches. Minoto breathed deep and savored its aroma as she sat in the shade. Crickets echoed in the empty walls of the pagoda behind the tree. This is where they were born, where it all began, the shrine ruins. The crickets were suddenly joined by the rumbling of a cart and the distinctive quacking of a gargwa, Minoto turned and saw master Hamon turn around the corner of a dilapidated building. Cradled in his arms were a silk pouch and a small urn, behind him rolled a cart pulled by a gargwa, carying what was to be Hinoa's tombstone, a pickaxe and a shovel. "G'day Lady minoto." "Where is the hunter?" "He left as doon as the weapon was finished." "I am praying for his success." "I am too, milady." After a bit of silence. He handed the silk pouch and the urn to minoto. "I am sorry this is all i could save. I left her hair untouched just as you asked. I also Cremated whats left of her in the steelworks furnace, with the same honor as master Fugen." "Thank you master Hamon." Minoto undid the ribbon on the pouch, pulled back the silk and stared longingly at Hinoa's sleeping face, she held the head to her chest and sang Hinoa's favourite song. the Purification of Kamura, which wil never be heard in kamura again, when the song has ended. She kissed Hinoa's forehead one last time. "It won't be long dear sister. I will be with you soon." 

 The Wyrm danced to and fro in its frenzy, killing hunters left and right. Young or grizzled they died on the Offspring's vicious claws and its outbursts of Lightning and tornadoes. Their weapons bounced from its hide like blades of rice-grass against stone. In the peak of its rage the dragon reared its spear ended tail, aimed right at the Hunter's heart. The Hunter saw the glint of sunlight on its sharp bony tip Just before it blurred out of sight. He was in the middle of a swing with his greatsword and he knew there's not enough time to dodge it, in the blink of an eye the tail-spear struck flesh. The hunter turned, half surprised he that was still able to, and beheld Lady Hinoa standing before him and, to his horror, with the Offspring's tail-spear transfixed in her prim gut. She convulsed and coughed causing blood to spray out of her mouth. In unison with the dragon's scream, The Hunter felt the despair in Minoto's voice. "Sister! Noooooo!" As if having dipped it in boiling oil, the dragon withdrew its tail from Hinoa's body. Leaving the cavity to gush torrents of blood. The same blood sizzled and smoked on the Offspring's tail, causing the scales to fall out. The infant dragon writhed in the air, letting out a most deafening scream of pain before it bolted and disapeared into the mountains. The doctor emerged through the curtain wiping sweat from his brow with a little handkerchief. "How is she?" Minoto's voice shook with concern. The doctor sighed deeply, his sharp ears drooping in unison with his shoulders. " I have stopped the bleeding, she lost a lot of blood. But the tail. It left a very potent venom and it had entered her bloodstream." Minoto lowered herself making her eyes in level with the old doctor's " can you do something about it?" With pained effort, the doctor met her gaze. "I wish i can. But the venom is more than anything we have seen before. I tried all kinds of antidote, rath, garuga, giginox, even apex rath antidote. Nothing worked. And its spreading in her body like wildfire." Minoto stared at the old wyverian. Biting her lower lip to stop it from quivering, she couldn't find any more words to say. Her eyes welled. The doctor put his little hand on her shoulder. "If you have final words to share--" Minoto swept past the doctor and into the room. The Hunter took a step to follow her but stopped when the doctor reached out and grabbed a handful of his leggings. He instantly understood from the look the old wyverian gave him. The twins have been like mothers to him ever since his parents died during one of the rampages, and as much as he loved them, the twins have been around for decades before he was born, they shared a bond that even he is not a part of and it is sacriliege to intrude into. "Minoto, it looks like I'm not gonna last much longer." "Please don't say that, Hinoa, you will live." "No, Minoto, our fates are already sealed from the day we were born, our lives are intertwined with those gods. Now that they are dead, we must pass too and the Offspring will take over." "If that is so, then i shall go with you." "No, Minoto. You must stay for a while longer. You must ensure that the hunter completes his mission. To see that the Offspring does not mature and find a mate, so that their curse may be banished from this land." "But how?" "The scrolls say that the only Materials that provide dragon element powerfull enough to wound a god dragon are Mystic wyverian bones, the marrows especially. You have seen what my blood did to that monster, what more can my bones do?" Hinoa's breathing Have become shallower and faster, her eyes became droopier. "Hinoa, I can't do this to you!" "There Is no other way Minoto" there was an admonishing tone to Hinoa's voice that brought out the elder sister in her, then as if trying to make up for the harsh tone. "With all the dango i've been eating, there might be enough of me to make two weapons." And let out a weak giggle. Minoto let out a heavy sigh. " Very well, Hinoa, it shall be as you wish." Hinoa raised a hand and caressed Minoto's cheek. "I never regretted every moment I spent with you." Minoto bent down and kissed her sister at the corner of the lips. "Me too. I love you Hinoa." "I love you too, Minoto, dear sister." With that Hinoa closed her eyes and stopped breathing. Minoto wept, clutching her sister close to herself. She poured herself out for an hour before regaining her usual cold composure again, she gently placed Hinoa's hands on her chest, kissed her one last time at the forehead and went out of the room. The Hunter stood at the door way, his eyes puffed. Of course, he heard her. "Yes, she has passed" as if she knew what he was going to ask. The Hunter turned sideways from her in a failing attempt to hide his face. His body was shaking from trying to stiffle his sobs. His face was a mess of tears, sweat, and snot. He looked no more like the great hunter he had grown into. Now hes just nothing but the boy they had taken in whose parents died in a rampage 17 years ago. Minoto wrapped her arms around him and laid his head on her shoulder. "But you must be strong." She whispered into his ear. A bit surprised that she did this, Minoto realized that Hinoa's softness had rubbed off on her. When his sobs have settled Minoto gently pushed the Hunter back and held him by the shoulders at arms length. "Remember. You have a dragon to kill. Go and take Hinoa's body to Master Hamon, He'll know what to do." The hunter gave her a horrified look. "I know, but this is the only way. This is what Hinoa wanted." The hunter let out a huge sigh, turned to look at minoto with those bright green eyes, now full of determination, and nodded. [ At this point the player must carefully choose which weapon to craft from hinoa's bones. The crafting requirements are set so that certain weapons will use up all of the bones while some will use half the amount allowing the player craft another with the remaining amount.] The Cherry tree rained its soft petals like snow as the genle breeze rocked the branches. Minoto breathed deep and savored its aroma as she sat in the shade. Crickets echoed in the empty walls of the pagoda behind the tree. This is where they were born, where it all began, the shrine ruins. The crickets were suddenly joined by the rumbling of a cart and the distinctive quacking of a gargwa, Minoto turned and saw master Hamon turn around the corner of a dilapidated building. Cradled in his arms were a silk pouch and a small urn, behind him rolled a cart pulled by a gargwa, carying what was to be Hinoa's tombstone, a pickaxe and a shovel. "G'day Lady minoto." "Where is the hunter?" "He left as doon as the weapon was finished." "I am praying for his success." "I am too, milady." After a bit of silence. He handed the silk pouch and the urn to minoto. "I am sorry this is all i could save. I left her hair untouched just as you asked. I also Cremated whats left of her in the steelworks furnace, with the same honor as master Fugen." "Thank you master Hamon." Minoto undid the ribbon on the pouch, pulled back the silk and stared longingly at Hinoa's sleeping face, she held the head to her chest and sang Hinoa's favourite song. the Purification of Kamura, which wil never be heard in kamura again, when the song has ended. She kissed Hinoa's forehead one last time. "It won't be long dear sister. I will be with you soon." 

 The Wyrm danced to and fro in its frenzy, killing hunters left and right. Young or grizzled they died on the Offspring's vicious claws and its outbursts of Lightning and tornadoes. Their weapons bounced from its hide like blades of rice-grass against stone. In the peak of its rage the dragon reared its spear ended tail, aimed right at the Hunter's heart. The Hunter saw the glint of sunlight on its sharp bony tip Just before it blurred out of sight. He was in the middle of a swing with his greatsword and he knew there's not enough time to dodge it, in the blink of an eye the tail-spear struck flesh. The hunter turned, half surprised he that was still able to, and beheld Lady Hinoa standing before him and, to his horror, with the Offspring's tail-spear transfixed in her prim gut. She convulsed and coughed causing blood to spray out of her mouth. In unison with the dragon's scream, The Hunter felt the despair in Minoto's voice. "Sister! Noooooo!" As if having dipped it in boiling oil, the dragon withdrew its tail from Hinoa's body. Leaving the cavity to gush torrents of blood. The same blood sizzled and smoked on the Offspring's tail, causing the scales to fall out. The infant dragon writhed in the air, letting out a most deafening scream of pain before it bolted and disapeared into the mountains. The doctor emerged through the curtain wiping sweat from his brow with a little handkerchief. "How is she?" Minoto's voice shook with concern. The doctor sighed deeply, his sharp ears drooping in unison with his shoulders. " I have stopped the bleeding, she lost a lot of blood. But the tail. It left a very potent venom and it had entered her bloodstream." Minoto lowered herself making her eyes in level with the old doctor's " can you do something about it?" With pained effort, the doctor met her gaze. "I wish i can. But the venom is more than anything we have seen before. I tried all kinds of antidote, rath, garuga, giginox, even apex rath antidote. Nothing worked. And its spreading in her body like wildfire." Minoto stared at the old wyverian. Biting her lower lip to stop it from quivering, she couldn't find any more words to say. Her eyes welled. The doctor put his little hand on her shoulder. "If you have final words to share--" Minoto swept past the doctor and into the room. The Hunter took a step to follow her but stopped when the doctor reached out and grabbed a handful of his leggings. He instantly understood from the look the old wyverian gave him. The twins have been like mothers to him ever since his parents died during one of the rampages, and as much as he loved them, the twins have been around for decades before he was born, they shared a bond that even he is not a part of and it is sacriliege to intrude into. "Minoto, it looks like I'm not gonna last much longer." "Please don't say that, Hinoa, you will live." "No, Minoto, our fates are already sealed from the day we were born, our lives are intertwined with those gods. Now that they are dead, we must pass too and the Offspring will take over." "If that is so, then i shall go with you." "No, Minoto. You must stay for a while longer. You must ensure that the hunter completes his mission. To see that the Offspring does not mature and find a mate, so that their curse may be banished from this land." "But how?" "The scrolls say that the only Materials that provide dragon element powerfull enough to wound a god dragon are Mystic wyverian bones, the marrows especially. You have seen what my blood did to that monster, what more can my bones do?" Hinoa's breathing Have become shallower and faster, her eyes became droopier. "Hinoa, I can't do this to you!" "There Is no other way Minoto" there was an admonishing tone to Hinoa's voice that brought out the elder sister in her, then as if trying to make up for the harsh tone. "With all the dango i've been eating, there might be enough of me to make two weapons." And let out a weak giggle. Minoto let out a heavy sigh. " Very well, Hinoa, it shall be as you wish." Hinoa raised a hand and caressed Minoto's cheek. "I never regretted every moment I spent with you." Minoto bent down and kissed her sister at the corner of the lips. "Me too. I love you Hinoa." "I love you too, Minoto, dear sister." With that Hinoa closed her eyes and stopped breathing. Minoto wept, clutching her sister close to herself. She poured herself out for an hour before regaining her usual cold composure again, she gently placed Hinoa's hands on her chest, kissed her one last time at the forehead and went out of the room. The Hunter stood at the door way, his eyes puffed. Of course, he heard her. "Yes, she has passed" as if she knew what he was going to ask. The Hunter turned sideways from her in a failing attempt to hide his face. His body was shaking from trying to stiffle his sobs. His face was a mess of tears, sweat, and snot. He looked no more like the great hunter he had grown into. Now hes just nothing but the boy they had taken in whose parents died in a rampage 17 years ago. Minoto wrapped her arms around him and laid his head on her shoulder. "But you must be strong." She whispered into his ear. A bit surprised that she did this, Minoto realized that Hinoa's softness had rubbed off on her. When his sobs have settled Minoto gently pushed the Hunter back and held him by the shoulders at arms length. "Remember. You have a dragon to kill. Go and take Hinoa's body to Master Hamon, He'll know what to do." The hunter gave her a horrified look. "I know, but this is the only way. This is what Hinoa wanted." The hunter let out a huge sigh, turned to look at minoto with those bright green eyes, now full of determination, and nodded. [ At this point the player must carefully choose which weapon to craft from hinoa's bones. The crafting requirements are set so that certain weapons will use up all of the bones while some will use half the amount allowing the player craft another with the remaining amount.] The Cherry tree rained its soft petals like snow as the genle breeze rocked the branches. Minoto breathed deep and savored its aroma as she sat in the shade. Crickets echoed in the empty walls of the pagoda behind the tree. This is where they were born, where it all began, the shrine ruins. The crickets were suddenly joined by the rumbling of a cart and the distinctive quacking of a gargwa, Minoto turned and saw master Hamon turn around the corner of a dilapidated building. Cradled in his arms were a silk pouch and a small urn, behind him rolled a cart pulled by a gargwa, carying what was to be Hinoa's tombstone, a pickaxe and a shovel. "G'day Lady minoto." "Where is the hunter?" "He left as doon as the weapon was finished." "I am praying for his success." "I am too, milady." After a bit of silence. He handed the silk pouch and the urn to minoto. "I am sorry this is all i could save. I left her hair untouched just as you asked. I also Cremated whats left of her in the steelworks furnace, with the same honor as master Fugen." "Thank you master Hamon." Minoto undid the ribbon on the pouch, pulled back the silk and stared longingly at Hinoa's sleeping face, she held the head to her chest and sang Hinoa's favourite song. the Purification of Kamura, which wil never be heard in kamura again, when the song has ended. She kissed Hinoa's forehead one last time. "It won't be long dear sister. I will be with you soon." 

By Thomas Mann Translation by H. T. Lowe-Porter THE INFANT PRODIGY THE INFANT prodigy entered. The hall became quiet. It became quiet and then the audience began to clap, because somewhere at the side a leader of mobs, a born organizer, clapped first. The audience had heard nothing yet, but they applauded; for a mighty publicity organization had heralded the prodigy and people were already hypnotized, whether they knew it or not. The prodigy came from behind a splendid screen embroidered with Empire garlands and great conventionalized flowers, and climbed nimbly up the steps to the platform, diving into the ap- plause as into a bath; a little chilly and shivering, but yet as though into a friendly element. He advanced to the edge of the platform and smiled as though her were about to be photographed; he made a shy, charming gesture of greeting, like a little girl. He was dressed entirely in white silk, which the audience found enchanting. The little white jacket was fancifully cut, with a sash underneath it, and even his shoes were made of white silk. But against the white socks his bare legs stood out quite brown; for he was a Greek boy. He was called Bibi Saccellaphylaccas. And such indeed was his name. No one knew what Bibi was the pet name for, nobody but the impresario, and he regarded it as a trade secret. Bibi had smooth black hair reaching to his shoulders; it was parted on the side and fastened back from the narrow domed forehead by a little silk bow. His was the most harmless childish countenance in the world, with an unfinished nose and guileless mouth. The area beneath his pitch-black mouselike eyes was already a little tired and visibly lined. He looked as though he were nine years old but was really eight and given out for seven. It was hard to tell whether to believe this or not. Probably everybody knew better and still believed it, as happens about so many things. The average man thinks that a little falseness goes with beauty. Where should we get any excitement out of our daily life if we were not willing to pretend a bit? And the average man is quite right, in his average brains! The prodigy kept on bowing until the applause died down, then he went up to the grand piano, and the audience cast a last look at its programmes. First came a Marche solonnelle, then a Rêverie, and the Le Hibou et les moineaux——all by Bibi Saccel- laphylaccas. The whole programme was by him, they were all his compositions. He could not score them, of course, but he had them all in his extraordinary little head and they possessed real artistic significance, or so it is said, seriously and objectively, in the programme. The programme sounded as though the impresario had wrested these concessions from his critical nature after a hard struggle. The prodigy sat down upon the revolving stool and felt with his feet for the pedals, which were raised by means of a clever device so that Bibi could reach them. It was Bibi's own piano, he took it everywhere with him. It rested upon wooden trestles and its polish was somewhat marred by the constant transportation—— but all that only made things more interesting. Bibi put his silk-shod feet on the pedals; then he made an artful little face, looked straight ahead of him, and lifted his right hand. It was a brown, childish little hand; but the wrist was strong and unlike a child's, with well-developed bones. Bibi made his face for the audience because he was aware that he had to entertain them a little. But he had his own private enjoy- ment in the thing too, an enjoyment which he could never convey to anybody. It was that prickling delight, that secret shudder of bliss, which ran through him every time he sat at an open piano—— it would always be with him. And here was the keyboard again, these seven black and white octaves, among which he had so often lost himself in abysmal and thrilling adventures——and yet it always looked as clean and untouched as a newly washed black- board. This was the realm of music that lay before him. It lay spread out like an inviting ocean, where he might plunge in and blissfully swim, where he might let himself be borne and carried away, where he might go under in night and storm, yet keep the mastery: control, ordain——he held his right hand poised in the air. A breathless stillness reigned in the room——the tense moment before the first note came. . . . How would it begin? It began so. And Bibi, with his index finger, fetched the first note out of the piano, a quite unexpected powerful first note in the the middle register, like a trumpet blast. Others followed, an introduction de- veloped——the audience relaxed. The concert was held in the palatial hall of a fashionable first- class hotel. The walls were covered with mirrors framed in gilded arabesques, between frescoes of the rosy and fleshly school. Orna- mental columns supported a ceiling that displayed a whole uni- verse of electric bulbs, in clusters darting a brilliance far brighter than day and filling the whole space with thin, vibrating golden light. Not a seat was unoccupied, people were standing in the side aisles and at the back. The front seats cost twelve marks; for the impresario believed that anything worth having was worth paying for. And they were occupied by the best society, for it was in the upper classes, of course, that the greatest enthusiasm was felt. There were even some children, with their legs hanging down de- murely from their chairs and their shining eyes staring at their gifted little white-clad contemporary. Down in front on the left side sat the prodigy's mother, an extremely obese woman with a powdered double chin and a feather on her head. Beside her was the impresario, a man of ori- ental appearance with large gold buttons on his conspicuous cuffs. The princess was in the middle of the front row——a wrinkled, shrivelled little old princess but still a patron of the arts, especially everything full of sensibility. She sat in a deep, velvet-upholstered arm-chair, and a Persian carpet was spread before her feet. She held her hands folded over her grey striped-silk breast, put her head on one side, and presented a picture of elegant composure as sh sat looking up at the performing prodigy. Next her sat her lady-in-waiting, in a green striped-silk gown. Being only a lady- in-waiting she had to sit up very straight in her chair. Bibi ended in a grand climax. With what power this wee mani- kin belaboured the keyboard! The audience could scarcely trust its ears. The march theme, an infectious, swinging tune, broke out once more, fully harmonized, bold and showy; with every note Bibi flung himself back from the waist as though he were marching in a triumphal procession. He ended fortissimo, bent over, slipping sideways off the stool, and stood with a smile await- ing the applause. And the applause burst forth, unanimously, enthusiastically; the child made his demure little maidenly curtsy and people in the front seat thought: "Look what slim little hips he has! Clap, clap! Hurrah, bravo, little chap, Saccophylax or whatever your name is! Wait, let me take off my glove——what a little devil of a chap he is!" Bibi had come out three times from behind the screen before they would stop. Some late-comers entered the hall and moved about looking for seats. Then the concert continued. Bibi's Rêverie murmured its numbers, consisting almost entirely of arpeggios, above which a bar of melody rose now and then, weak- winged. Then came Le Hibou et les moineaux. This piece was brilliantly successful, it made a strong impression; it was an effec- tive childhood fantasy, remarkably well envisaged. The bass rep- resented the owl, sitting morosely rolling his filmy eyes; while in the treble the impudent, half-frightened sparrows chirped. Bibi received an ovation when he finished, he was called out four times. A hotel page with shiny buttons carried up three great laurel wreaths onto the stage and proffered them from one side while Bibi nodded and expressed his thanks. Even the princess shared in the applause, daintily and noiselessly pressing her palms to- gether. Ah, the knowing little creature understood how to make people clap! He stopped behind the screen, they had to wait for him; lingered a little while on the steps of the platform, admired the long streamers on the wreaths——although actually such things bored him stiff by now. He bowed with the utmost charm, he gave the audience plenty of time to rave itself out, because applause is valuable and must not be cut short. "Le Hibou is my drawing card," he thought——this expression he had learned from the im- presario. "Now I will play the fantasy, it is a lot better than Le Hibou, of course, especially the C-sharp passage. But you idiots dote on the Hibou, though it is the first and silliest thing I wrote." He continued to bow and smile. Next came a Méditation and then an Étude——the programme was quite comprehensive. The Méditation was very like the Rêverie——which was nothing against it——and the Étude displayed all of Bibi's virtuosity, which naturally fell a little short of his inventiveness. And then the Fantaisie. This was his favourite; he varied it a little each time, giving himself free rein and sometimes surprising even himself, on good evenings, by his own inventive- ness. He sat and played, so little, so white and shining, against the great black grand piano, elect and alone, above that confused sea of faces, above the heavy, insensitive mass soul, upon which he was labouring to work with his individual, differentiated soul. His lock of soft black hair with the white silk bow had fallen over his forehead, his trained and bony little wrists pounded away, the muscles stood out visibly on his brown childish cheeks. Sitting there he sometimes had moments of oblivion and soli- tude, when the gaze of his strange little mouselike eyes with the big rings beneath them would lose itself and stare through the painted stage into space that was peopled with strange vague life. Then out of the corner of his eye he would give a quick look back into the hall and be once more with his audience. "Joy and pain, the heights and the depths——that is my Fan- taisie," he thought lovingly. "Listen, here is the C-sharp passage." He lingered over the approach, wondering if they would notice anything. But no, of course not, how should they? And he cast his eyes up prettily at the ceiling so that at least they might have something to look at. All these people sat there in their regular rows, looking at the prodigy and thinking all sorts of things in their regular brains. An old gentleman with a white beard, a seal ring on his finger and a bulbous swelling on his bald spot, a growth if you like, was thinking to himself: "Really, one ought to be ashamed." He had never got any further than "Ah, thou dearest Augustin" on the piano, and here he sat now, a grey old man, looking on while his little hop-o'-my-thumb performed miracles. Yes, yes, it is a gift of God, we must remember that. God grants His gifts, or He withholds them, and there is n shame in being an ordinary man. Like with the Christ Child.——Before a child one may kneel with- out feeling ashamed. Strange that thoughts like these should be so satisfying——he would even say so sweet, if it was not too silly for a tough old man like him to use the word. That was how he felt, anyhow. Art . . . the business man with the parrot-nose was thinking. "Yes, it adds something cheerful to life, a little good white silk and a little tumty-ti-ti-tum. Really he does not play so badly. Fully fifty seats, twelve marks apiece, that makes six hundred marks——and everything else besides. Take off the rent of the hall, the lighting and the programmes, you must have fully a thousand marks profit. That is worth while." That was Chopin he was just playing, thought the piano- teacher, a lady with a pointed nose; she was of an age when the understanding sharpens as the hopes decay. "But not very original ——I will say that afterwards, it sounds well. And his hand position is entirely amateur. One must be able to lay a coin on the back of the hand——I would use a ruler on him." Then there was a young girl, at that self-conscious and chlo- rotic time of life when the most ineffable ideas come into the mind. She was thinking to herself: "What is it he is playing? It is expressive of passion, yet he is a child. If he kissed me it would be as though my little brother kissed me——no kiss at all. Is there such a thing as passion all by itself, without any earthly object, a sort of child's-play of passion? What nonsense! If I were to say such things aloud they would just be at me with some more cod- liver oil. Such is life." An officer was leaning against a column. He looked on at Bibi's success and thought: "Yes, you are something and I am some- thing, each in his own way." So he clapped his heels together and paid to the prodigy the respect which he felt to be due to all the powers that be. Then there was a critic, an elderly man in a shiny black coat and turned-up trousers splashed with mud. He sat in his free seat and thought: "Look at him, this young beggar of a Bibi. As an in- dividual he has still to develop, but as a type in himself all the ar- tist's exaltation and his utter worthlessness, his charlatanry and his sacred fire, his burning contempt and his secret raptures. Of course I can't write all that, it is too good. Of course, I should have been an artist myself if I had not seen through the whole business so clearly." Then the prodigy stopped playing and a perfect storm arose in the hall. He had to come out again and again from behind his screen. The man with the shiny buttons carried up more wreaths: four laurel wreaths, a lyre made of violets, a bouquet of roses. He had not arms enough to convey all these tributes, the impresario himself mounted the stage to help him. He hung a laurel wreath round Bibi's neck, he tenderly stroked the black hair——and sud- denly as though overcome he bent down and gave the prodigy a kiss, a resounding kiss, square on the mouth. And then the storm became a hurricane. That kiss ran through the room like an elec- tric shock, it went direct to peoples' marrow and made them shiver down their backs. They were carried away by a helpless compulsion of sheer noise. Loud shouts mingled with the hysteri- cal clapping of hands. Some of Bibi's commonplace little friends down there they waved their handkerchiefs. But the critic thought: "Of course that kiss had to come——it's a good old gag. Yes, good Lord, if only one did not see through everything quite so clearly——" And so the concert drew to a close. It began at half past seven and finished at half past eight. The platform was laden with wreaths and two little pots of flowers stood on the lamp-stands of the piano. Bibi played as his last number his Rhapsodie grecque, which turned into the Greek national hymn at the end. His fellow- countrymen in the audience would gladly have sung it with him if the company had not been so august. They made up for it with a powerful noise and hullabaloo, a hot-blooded national demon- stration. And the aging critic was thinking: "Yes, the hymn had to come too. They have to exploit every vein——publicity cannot afford to neglect any means to its end. I think I'll criticize that as inartistic. But perhaps I am wrong, perhaps that is the most artistic thing of all. What is the artist? A jack-in-the-box. Criti- cism is on a higher plane. But I can't say that." And away he went in his muddy trousers. After being called out mine or ten times the prodigy did not come any more from behind the screen but went to his mother and the impresario down the hall. The audience stood about among the chairs and applauded and pressed forward to see Bibi close at hand. Some of them wanted to see the princess too. Two dense circles formed, one round the prodigy, the other round the princess, and you could actually not tell which of them was re- ceiving more homage. But the court lady was commanded to go over to Bibi, she smoothed down his silk jacket a bit to make it look suitable for a court function, led him by the arm to the princess, and solemnly indicated to him that he was to kiss the royal hand. "How do you do it, child?" asked the princess. "Does it come into your head of itself when you sit down?" "Oui, madame," answered Bibi. To himself he thought: "Oh, what a stupid old princess!" Then he turned round shyly and uncourtier- like and went back to his family. Outside in the cloak-room there was a crowd. People held up their numbers and received with open arms furs, shawls, and galoshes. Somewhere among her acquaintances the piano-teacher stood making her critique. "He is not very original," she said audibly and looked about her. In front of one of the great mirrors an elegant young lady was being arrayed in her evening cloak and fur shoes by her brothers, two lieutenants. She was exquisitely beautiful, with her steel-blue eyes and her clean-cut, well-bred face. A really noble dame. When she was ready she stood waiting for her brothers. "Don't stand so long in front of the glass, Adolph," she said softly to one of them, who could not tear himself away from the sight of his simple, good-looking young features. But Lieutenant Adolph thinks: What cheek! He would button his overcoat in front of the glass, just the same. Then they went out on the street where the arc-lights gleamed cloudily through the white mist. Lieutenant Adolph struck up a little nigger-dance on the frozen snow to keep warm, with his hands in his slanting overcoat pockets and his collar turned up. A girl with untidy hair and swinging arms, accompanied by a gloomy-faced youth, came out just behind them. A child! she thought. A charming child. But in there he was an awe-inspiring . . . and aloud in a toneless voice she said: "We are all infant prodigies, we artists." "Well, bless my soul!" thought the old gentleman who had never got further than Augustin on the piano and whose boil was now concealed by a top hat. "What does all that mean? She sounds very oracular." But the gloomy youth understood. He nodded his head slowly. Then they were silent and the untidy-haired girl gazed after the brother and sister. She rather despised them, but she looked after them until they had turned the corner. 1903 

 THE FOURTH BOOK OF MOSES CALLED NUMBERS CHAPTER 26 AND it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Ĕ-le-ā'zar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, 2 Take the sum of all the congrega- tion of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' house, all that are able to go to war in Israel. 3 And Moses and Ĕ-le-ā'zar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 4 Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD commanded Moses and the chil- dren of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt. 5 ¶Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hā'nŏch, of whom cometh the family of the Hā'- noch-ītes: of Păl'lū, the family of the Păl'lū-ītes: 6 Of Hĕz'ron, the family of the Hez'- ron-ītes: of Cär'mī, the family of the Cär'mītes. 7 These are the families of the Reu- benites: and they that were numbered of them were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. 8 And the sons of Păl'lū; E-lī'ab. 9 And the sons of E-lī'ab; Nĕ-mū'el, and Dā'than and A-bī'ram, which were fa- mous in the congregation, who strove against the LORD: 10 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Kôrah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign. 11 Notwithstanding the children of Kôrah died not. 12 ¶The sons of Simeon after their families: of Nĕ-mū'el, the family of the Nĕ-mū'el-ītes: of Jā'mĭn, the family of the Jā'min-ītes: of Jā'chin, the family of the Jā'chin-ītes: 13 Of Ze'rah, the family of the Zär'hītes: of Shā'ul, the family of the Shā'ul-ītes. 14 These are the families of the Sim- eonites, twenty and two thousand and two hundred. 15 ¶The children of Gad after their families: of Zē'phŏn, the family of the Zē'phon-ītes: of Hăg'gĭ, the family of the Hăg'gītes: of Shū'nī, the family of the Shū'nītes: 16 Of Ŏz'nī, the family of the Ŏz'- nītes: of E'rī, the family of the E'rītes: 17 Of Ā'rŏd, the family of the Ā'ro- dītes: of A-rē'lī, the family of the A-rē'- lītes. 18 These are the families of the chil- ndren of Gad according to those that were numbered of them, forty thou- sand and five hundred. 19 ¶The sons of Jūdah were Er and Ō'nan: and Er and Ō'nan died in the land of Canaan. 20 And the sons of Jūdah after their families were; of Shē'lah, the family of the Shē'lan-ītes: of Phâ'rĕz, the family of the Phär'zītes: of Ze'rah, the family of the Zär'hītes. 21 And the sons of Phâ'rĕz were; of Hĕz'ron, the family of the Hez-ron-ītes: of Hā'mul, the family of the Hā'mu- lītes. 22 These are the families of Jūdah ac- cording to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred. 23 ¶Of the sons of Ĭs'sa-char after theior families: of Tō'la, the family of the Tō'la-ītes: of Pū'a, the family of the Pū'nītes: 24 Of Jāsh'ub, the family of the Jāsh'ub-ītes: of Shĭm'rŏn, the family of the Shĭm'ron-ītes. 25 These are the families of Ĭs'sa-char according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and four thousand and three hundred. 26 ¶Of the sons of Zĕb'u-lun after their families: of Se-rĕd, the family of the Sär'dītes: of Ē'lŏn, the family of the Ē'lon-ītes: of Jäh'le-el, the family of the Jäh'le-el-ītes. 27 These are the families of the Zĕb'u-lun-ĭtes according to those that were numbered of them threescore thousand and five hundred. 28 ¶The sons of Joseph after their fam- ilies were Ma-năs'seh and Ē'phra-im. 29 Of the sons of Ma-năs'seh: of Mā'chĭr, the family of the Mā'chir-ītes: and Mā'chĭr begat Gilead: of Gilead come the family of the Gĭleadītes. 30 These are the sons of Gilead: of Je- ē'zer, the family of the Je-ē'zer-ītes: of Hē'lĕk, the family of the Hē'lek-ītes: 31 And of Ăs'rĭ-el, the family of the Ăs'rĭ-el-ītes: and of Shĕ'chem, the fam- ily of the Shĕ'chem-ītes: 32 And of She-mī'da, the family of the She-mī'da-ītes: and of Hē'pher, the family of the Hē'pher-ītes. 33 And Ze-lō'phe-hăd the son of Hē'pher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of Ze- lō'phe-hăd were Mäh'lah, and Noah, Hŏg'lah, Mĭl'cah, and Tir'zah. 34 These are the families of Ma-năs'- seh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty and two thousand and seven hundred. 35 ¶These are the sons of Ē'phra-im after their families: of Shu'the-lah, the family of the Shū'thal-hītes: of Bē'cher, the family of the Băch'rītes: of Tā'hăn, the family of the Ta'han-ītes. 36 And these are the sons of Shū'the- lah: of E'răn, the family of the E'răn- ītes. 37 These are he families of the sons of Ē'phra-im according to those that were numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred. These are the sons of Joseph after their families. 38 ¶The sons of Benjamin after their families: of Bē'la, the family of the Bē'la-ītes: of Ăsh'bĕl, the family of the Ăsh'bel-ītes; of A-hī'ram, the family of the Ahī'ram-ītes: 39 Of Shū'pham, the family of the Shū'pham-ītes: of Hū'pham, the family of the Hū'pham-ītes. 40 And the sons of Bē'la were Ard and Nā'a-man: of Ard, the family of the Ärd'ītes: and of Nā'a-man, the family of the Nā'a-mītes. 41 These are the sons of Benjamin af- ter their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and six hundred. 42 ¶These are the sons of Dan after their families: of Shū'hăm, the family ofr the Shū'ham-ītes. These are the fam- ilies of Dan after their families. 43 All the families of the Shīu'ham- ītes, according to those that were num- bered of them, were threescore and four thousand and four hundred. 44 ¶Of the children of Asher after their families: of Jĭm'na. the family of the Jĭm'nītes: of Jĕs'ū-ī, the family of the Jĕs'ū-ītes: of Be-rī'ah, the family of the Be-rī'ītes. 45 Of the sons of Be-rī'ah: of Hē'ber, the family of the Hē'ber-ītes: of Măl'- chĭ-el, the family of the Măl'chĭ-el-ītes. 46 And the name of the daughter of Asher was Sarah. 47 These are the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were numbered of them: who were fifty and three thousand and four hundred. 48 ¶Of the sons of Năph'ta-lī after their families: of Jäh'ze-el, the family of the Jäh'ze-el-ītes: of Gū'nī, the family of the Gū'nītes: 49 Of Jē'zer, the family of the Jē'zer- ītes: of Shĭl'lem, the family of the Shĭl'- lem-ītes. 50 These are the families of Năph'ta- lī according to their families: and they that were numbered of them were forty and five thousand and four hundred. 51 These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thou- sand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty. 52 ¶And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 53 Unto these the land shall be di- vided for an inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered of him. 55 Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 According to the lot shall the pos- session thereof be divided between many and few. 57 ¶And these are they that were numbered of the Levites after their fam- ilies: of Ger'shon, the family of the Ger'shon-ītes: of Kō'hăth, the family of the Kō'hăth-ītes: of Me-râ'rī, the family of the Me-râ'rītes. 58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Lĭb'nītes, the family of the Hē'bro-nītes, the family of the Mäh'lītes, the family of the Mū'- shītes, the family of the Kō'rath-ītes. And Kō'hăth begat Ămrăm. 549 And the name of Ămrăm's wife was Jŏch'e-bĕd, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Ămrăm Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sis- ter. 60 And unto Aaron was born Nādăb, and A-bī'hū, Ĕ-le-ā'zar, and Ĭth'a-mär. 61 And Nādăb and A-bī'hū died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD. 62 And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males from a month old and up- ward: for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel. 63 ¶These are they that were num- bered by Moses and Ĕ-le-ā'zar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 64 But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they num- bered the children of Israel in the wil- derness of Sī'naī. 65 For the LORD had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Je-phŭn'neh, and Joshua the son of Nun. CHAPTER 27 THEN came the daughters of Ze- lō'phe-hăd, the son of Hē'pher, the son of Gilead, the son of Mā'chĭr, the son of Ma-năs'seh, of the families of Ma-năs'- seh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mäh'lah, Noah, and Hŏg'lah, and Mĭl'cah, and Tir'zah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Ĕ'le-ā'zar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the con- gregation, saying, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Kô- rah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away with among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren for our father. 5 And Moses brought their cause be- fore the LORD. 6 ¶And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 7 The daughters of Ze-lō'phe-hăd speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. 9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give an inheritance unto his brethren. 10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father's brethren. 11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsmen that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD com- manded Moses. 12 ¶And the LORD said unto Moses. Get thee up into this mount Ăb'a-rĭm, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14 For ye rebelled against my com- mandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Mĕr'i-bah in Kā'desh in the wilderness of Zin. 15 ¶And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 16 Let the LORD the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congre- gation. 17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congrega- tion of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 18 ¶And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 19 And set him before Ĕ-le-ā'zar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight. 20 And thou shalt put some of thine honour upon him, that all the congrega- tion of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 And he shall stand before Ĕ-le-ā'zar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Û'rĭm before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22 And Moses did as the LORD com- manded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Ĕ-le-ā'zar the priest, and before all the congregation: 23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses. 40 And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.