The Footsteps of the Essenes
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· 102 viewsGod can use anything including those that march to the beat of a different drum
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A Different Drum
A Different Drum
This morning closes out the Footsteps series: we have seen the footsteps back from the earliest of days of the Jewish people up through the moment our footsteps merged with the birth of the modern church. Today however we are going to look at a group of people who, though they may not have related to the words certainly could relate to the idea behind Linda Ronstadt’s singing “you and I travel to the beat of a different drum.”
During Jesus’ time there were ‘groups’ of Jewish believers who saw things of God in different ways. Much like what we have today with denominations and theological differences between Christians. The most well known of these groups are the Pharisees and the Sadducees; there was another group that isn’t mentioned in the New Testament and aren’t as well known. This group is called the Essenes; they believed the cities had become to worldly and corrupt and therefore removed themselves from mainstream society. There was a community of Essenes in the Qumran valley of 200-300 men.
Here is what the community looked like:
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A Typical Day. Josephus describes a typical day in the life of the Essenes. They rose before dawn and recited prayers to the rising sun (which probably is not to be interpreted as sun worship). Then each man worked at his craft until the 5th hour (11 AM). At that time the community assembled, put on linen loincloths, bathed in cold water, and then went to the building that was restricted to members, to a dining hall that was further restricted to those who were pure. Each Essene received bread and one bowlful of food. The priest said a prayer before anyone was permitted to touch the food, and another prayer after the meal. Then the members laid aside their sacred garments and resumed their work until evening. The evening meal was in the same manner as the noon meal. They ate quietly and spoke only in turn, eating and drinking only what they needed to satisfy them.
Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Essenes. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 720). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible A Typical Day
A Typical Day. Josephus describes a typical day in the life of the Essenes. They rose before dawn and recited prayers to the rising sun (which probably is not to be interpreted as sun worship). Then each man worked at his craft until the 5th hour (11 AM). At that time the community assembled, put on linen loincloths, bathed in cold water, and then went to the building that was restricted to members, to a dining hall that was further restricted to those who were pure. Each Essene received bread and one bowlful of food. The priest said a prayer before anyone was permitted to touch the food, and another prayer after the meal. Then the members laid aside their sacred garments and resumed their work until evening. The evening meal was in the same manner as the noon meal. They ate quietly and spoke only in turn, eating and drinking only what they needed to satisfy them
To say they were committed to God would be understatement; their entire existence was to be in communion with God and to remain pure and holy. It was this separation that led, in part to their obscurity to all except those who would have done concerted historical study prior to and through the times of Jesus.
That was until 1947, in that year there was a discovery so significant it would have a tremendous impact on Jewish and Christian communities alike. There are some conflicting renditions of the story but the foundational elements are the same, so let me share with you the story as told by our guide while in Israel.
In 1947 a bedouin shepherd boy had lost one of his sheep, while he was looking for the sheep in the hills of Qumran he came across a cave. He threw a rock into the cave thinking the sound would cause the sheep to cry out if it was in there. When he threw the rock into the cave he heard it hit and break a pot; hoping to find some kind of treasure he went into the cave and found some old papers with writing on them. He was disappointed with his find but had hoped his dad wouldn’t be as angry with him for losing the sheep if he gave him the papers/papyrus.
His father inspected them and concluded they were worthless and told his son to take them into Jerusalem to the shoemaker to see if he could make shoes out of them. The boy did as he was told taking them to the shoemaker in Jerusalem. The cobbler, who happened to be an amateur historian, saw the scrolls and knew immediately he had something of importance. He told the boy the material was too old to make shoes out of but would buy them from him anyway to use for wading.
He contacted the museum in Jerusalem to have some experts inspect the scrolls and the rest, as they say, is history.
Over the next several months there were bedouins, archeologists, Biblical scholars and historians running around the hills and looking in the caves of the Wadi Qumran in hopes of finding more scrolls. Some of this time was during the Seven-Day War; there were troops fighting one another on the hillsides while all these people were running around looking for scrolls! I bet it was a sight to see.
“This vast manuscript treasury, known as the "Dead Sea Scrolls", includes a small number of near-complete Scrolls and tens of thousands of Scroll fragments, representing over 900 different texts written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.” -Dead Sea Scrolls.org
This is considered the most significant historical find of the twentieth century. The scrolls included all the books of the Old Testament, a copy of Isaiah was found that was 1,000 years older than any other known copy. Some of the scrolls date back to the first temple period which would have been 960-586 BC. This is the amazing part; of all the scripts and scrolls that were found they are in substantial agreement with the Old Testament we use today. Of the differences that were found there were differences that would change the meaning of what is written, the differences were mostly punctual disagreements in translation. This revolutionized Biblical criticism; we have tens of thousands of pieces and parts of scripture that is in complete agreement with the scripture that we read today thousands of years later!
So what can we learn from this group of believers that cut themselves off from society, lived a life of celibacy, lived within the strictest guidelines of any society I have ever heard of. Well, three things came to mind that would apply to us today:
God can use you even if everyone else thinks you’re crazy
God can use you even if everyone else thinks you’re crazy
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God does not see us as the world sees us; people who are not in a relationship with God see anyone who living their life by a Godly standard as foolish. Yet God sees anyone who is wise in the world as foolish.
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”;
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.
The Apostle Paul even told the church at Corinth the apostles became fools that they may become wise. They did this not for self aggrandizement but so that others may come to know Christ more and to become stronger in Jesus.
We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!
1 co4:
God used the Essenes intense devotion to Him to impact and prophet the world almost two thousand years later.
Imagine what He can do with you.
Even the smallest things in God’s hands become big
Even the smallest things in God’s hands become big
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Being an Essene was not what you would call a glamorous life-style; they worked, cleansed, prayed, ate, cleansed, worked, cleansed, prayed, ate, cleansed. Even for the most enthusiastic follower of Heshim I am sure there would be moments that they would wonder if what they were doing would make any difference. I believe we all have something in us that wants to believe some how, some why our being here will make a difference in the world. Remember George Bailey from It’s A Wonderful Life? He was about to throw his life away because he didn’t feel that he made a difference in anyone’s life. Clarence the “angel, second class” showed him just how much of a difference he made in this world.
It is the same thing with the Essenes, God used them as part of His eternal plan. Even in their little things like counting the characters in each line to ensure the copies they were making were accurate. If you think your job is boring try taking on a lifetime of being a ‘character counter.’
Yet God used the faithfulness of the mundane to proclaim Himself, do you know what the first piece of scripture found and translated was?
“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
I
Be faithful in the small things of life; Jesus said;
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Here he was talking about money but it is applicable to every area of our lives.
God has a plan for your life that you may never see
God has a plan for your life that you may never see
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God had a plan for Israel, He had a plan for the Essenes and He has a plan for you. Trust in the Lord with everything in your life, as Paul said to the church at Corinth;
For we live by faith, not by sight.
Give it all to the Lord and you will be glorified in the kingdom of God!