The Lion and the Lamb -- Brenton Brown, Brian Johnson, Leeland Mooring

 

They might have felt like they were in the same room with Isaiah, or maybe John. It began with Leeland Mooring’s experience at a church in California, and then his reflection later on that moment at a retreat with Brenton Brown and Brian Johnson, as the three of them were trying to capture and hold some mental imagery deep inside themselves. It was a scene that none of us today have certainly ever observed, when “The Lion and the Lamb” have occupied the same space in a peaceful way. (See the reproduction of the artwork A Little Child Shall Lead Them, an 1896 work by William Strutt, which includes the peaceful association of two animals, a lion and a lamb, in the resurrected world of other peaceful animals envisioned by the prophet Isaiah [11:6; 65:25].) That’s the kind of thing that can happen when people try to put themselves in the shoes of characters who’ve had stunning visions of what our Creator plans to do one day. The lion and the lamb will also play a powerful role in eternity. Who but the one at God’s right hand is capable of occupying two seemingly opposite positions, of both peace and power?

 

Leeland recalled how the worship with a California church was focused on finding God in His space during a three-day stay there around 2015. The crowd was really seeking Him, through songs with lots of words like ‘holy’ and ‘worthy’ in them, both characteristics of Him. And so, that made the chorus emerge from inside Leeland, at the same time that his brother was praying with people during that time. What Leeland expressed was that God, the Lion of Judah cannot be stopped in His power as the Almighty; and yet, He’s also the Lamb who allowed Himself to be sacrificed. Was the imagery of Isaiah (chapters 11 and 65) and also what John saw in his Revelation – especially about the Lamb, who played such a crucial role in John’s vision -- part of what ultimately inspired the three songwriters? Leeland remembers discussing the duality of Jesus with his brother, and also recalling that the beloved Apostle John was reassured by this same God to not be afraid  (Revelation 1:17). A lamb and a lion who has the gentleness and also the power and authority, and one who will be coming on the clouds (v.1 of song) – so does it seem like it will be difficult, if not impossible to not be awed by Him! That’s what Leeland, Brenton, and Brian are inviting us to imagine, even as we go about the daily hum-drum of earthly life. We have ‘chain(s)’ and ‘broken hearts’ (v.1) and ‘battles’ (chorus), but these pale and fall away; they are immaterial when we acknowledge Him and ‘open the gates’ for the ‘King of kings’ who came to free we who would otherwise remain ‘captives’ (v.2).

 

It seems that when we make a conscious effort to get in the same mindset as Isaiah and John -- as Leeland, Brenton, and Brian have done – that there’s many more phrases and whole choruses that center on God and what He has done and will do. That comes through clearly in ‘The Lion and the Lamb’ – the scenes pictured lyrically show us Him repeatedly. ‘Who can stop the Lord Almighty?’ is the question that the three songwriters ask over and over. A God who can be slain, and yet reign with unchallenged power, is a Lord who can take care of anything in between those two extremes that threaten me. Death, for us humans at least, is the ultimate penalty, for nothing worse can befall the mortal. At the other end of the spectrum, a being who has been invested with all authority – or has attempted to attain that status -- in our human experience has been someone to dread, a tyrannical ruler. There have been many Caesars, and other emperors or dictators closer to our own century, like Napoleon, Stalin, and Hitler. We can rejoice that death and tyranny are overthrown by the one who redefines our existence and our outlook. The Lamb and Lion of Judah is one and the same God, who overthrows all of our dread.     

 

Read about/watch the story of the song shared here: 'Lion And The Lamb' Brenton Brown …also shared here: Lion and the Lamb by Leeland - Songfacts

 

See here for some brief information on the song: The Lion and the Lamb (song) - Wikipedia

 

See information on the image-graphic here: File:William Strutt - A little child shall lead them.jpg - Wikimedia Commons (found inside the link here: The lamb and lion - Wikipedia   ) This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.

Song of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis) – Simeon

 

²⁹ “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; ³⁰ for my eyes have seen your salvation ³¹that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, ³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

 

You could say it was Simeon’s exclamation, and not just the mark one might make at the end of a sentence. This one was worth a whole life’s wait. (See here the 19^th Century artwork Simeon the Righteous by Aleksey Yegorov.) The story of Joseph, Mary and their unique son Jesus began before He was even born, and four songs marked this unique occasion. Three other songs had already been sung because of events surrounding Jesus and his relatives. The first one was Mary’s song called the Magnificat (Glorifies, in Latin) when she visited her aged relative Elizabeth, and the baby inside Elizabeth rejoiced because he recognized Jesus even when He was still in the womb; the second one was the song of Zechariah (Elizabeth’s husband) and was called Benedictus (Praise Be, in Latin) and celebrated his son John the Baptist’s role as a prophet heralding/announcing the Messiah’s coming ministry and salvation; the third was the song Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the Highest, in Latin), which was the angels’ song announcing Jesus’ birth to shepherds; and the fourth was the song sung by this old man named Simeon. All four of those songs are in the first 2 chapters of Luke.

 

Joseph and Mary, though poor commoners, were doing what the Jewish law dictated, but also what the angel had told them to do, and they named the baby Jesus (Luke 1:31/Matthew 1:21; Jesus is the Greek form of the name that means Joshua [the Lord saves]). They traveled the five or six miles or so from Bethlehem north to Jerusalem to do what was required. Three distinct Jewish legal requirements they performed after naming Him were these: first, they had Him circumcised (the eighth day after birth, according to the law [Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3); second, they waited until 40 days after Jesus’ birth (so, 33 days more), so that Mary could make an offering at the temple for her purification (Leviticus 12:4); and third, they had to offer Jesus, as the firstborn son, as a dedication to the Lord – what is known still today as Pidyon Haben (redemption of the firstborn son) – according to the ancient law (Exodus 13:2,12-15; Numbers 18:15-16). It was probably just before this Pidyon Haben that Joseph and Mary encountered the man named Simeon. Simeon was apparently a ‘devout’ man (Luke 2:25) whom the Spirit had moved to come into the temple courts (verses 26-27).  And he said something that he must have been wanting to say his whole life – that this baby was the source of salvation for all. That’s very important, because it is so strikingly reminiscent of what the prophet Isaiah had said about a servant centuries earlier (see Isaiah passages – 42:6 and 49:6). To be clear, Isaiah wasn’t necessarily looking ahead to a Messiah, but this Simeon was looking backward to what Isaiah had said, and through the Spirit that moved him, projected that that servant who would be a light and offer salvation for the Gentiles, and would be a glory to the Jews, would in fact be this baby he was holding. When Simeon said he was satisfied that he could now be dismissed and feel at peace, would it be too much of a stretch to say he was singing his own funeral’s song? What a way to conclude one’s life, not with a dirge, but with an exclamation of utter delight! Nunc Dimittis (in Latin) – Lord, you now dismiss!

 

 After Simeon had sung his song, Joseph and Mary marveled at what he’d said (verse 33) – very similar to Mary’s treasuring up things in her heart (verse 19) earlier, on the night Jesus was born. But then, Simeon told them some things that must have made them cringe, too – that Jesus was to be a source of clashes and controversy, and some heartache for them too (verses 34-35). Aren’t all children, even occasionally, sources of some anguish for parents? Where would an exceptional child from God rank on that heartache spectrum? An old prophetess named Anna, who stayed at the temple all the time, also was moved by Jesus’ presence, and told others about the redemption of the city. And so, no parents in history had more to ponder, nor felt more responsibility for a child in their care, than those two from Nazareth.

 

The above story details are all obtained via the NIV Study Bible and notes for the Luke 2 account of this episode.

 

See a well-done, pretty moving rendition of Simeon’s Exclamation here: Nunc Dimittis by Peter Wilkinson

 

See information on the artwork here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yegorov-Simeon_the_Righteous.jpg …This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.

I Will Boast – Jeremiah, Paul, and Paul Baloche

What he had to say, the people did not like. In fact, Jeremiah the prophet (see depiction of Jeremiah [The Prophet Jeremiah (1511), from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo] here) did not much like what he had been given to tell the people of the southern kingdom of Judah either. ‘Don’t brag about yourself’ – that was the message that a descendant of this weeping prophet, someone named Paul, would recast some six centuries later, and which another Paul (Baloche) would repeat for us another 20 centuries later in history. If you want to brag, say “I Will Boast” because you know your Creator, the only righteous, just, and compassionate One, your Redeemer. You want His approval? Good, then practice those characteristics in your life, and see what that does for your outlook and rapport with Him and with others whom you know. It’s the only way to avoid eternal and terrestrial calamity, if you really take some time and think about what these three in history have had to say.

 

Jeremiah had the unenviable task during his prophetic mission (between 626 and sometime after 586 B.C., so around 40 years) of telling Judah’s inhabitants that doom was coming. Here’s a paraphrase of his message: ‘The land will be laid waste, and exile to Babylon awaits. If you want to prostrate yourselves and admit that you’ve violated the covenant with the Lord God, and reengage with the true One, here’s what you have to do, though your punishment cannot be avoided ultimately’. Then Jeremiah tells them in some short directives what Paul Baloche repeats in his musical rendition in 2006. Don’t boast in or count on the following: your wisdom, your strength, or your riches (Jeremiah 9:23-24). That covers an awful lot in the human experience, and the penchant to chase after these still entices a lot of people today, some 26 centuries after Jeremiah first delivered this rebuke. The great apostle Paul must have taken note of his ancestor’s words, for he too talks about boasting pretty frequently, and then tells his contemporaries in the first century that any such crowing should be exclusively connected with Christ. (Paul wrote at least nine times in five New Testament letters about boasting in Christ [Romans 5:11; 1 Cor. 15:31; 2 Cor. 10:14; 11:10; 12:9; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 1:26; 2:16; 3:3].) His namesake 2000 years hence has thus connected what Jeremiah said so long ago with the apostle’s instructions, in order to consummate some ordinances for a God follower’s lifestyle in our current era. The 21^st Century Paul links our boasting to being ‘humble’ and full of ‘thanks’ for Him because He created us in His image and has saved us (v.1 of  ‘I Will Boast’). So, boast in the ‘Lord’, the ‘worthy’ One, in fact ‘in Christ alone’, Paul Baloche says over and over. It never gets old.     

 

What Jeremiah says after his warning about the harlots of human wisdom, strength, and riches is fairly important also, and when lived out today are pretty meaningful. Paul Baloche mentions humility in his lyrics, versus what Jeremiah says in the latter words of his two verses – that kindness, justice, and righteousness are the ways to please God. It sounds a lot like what another prophet, Micah (6:6-8), had already said to the northern kingdom of Samaria approximately 100 years earlier (sometime between 750 and 686 B.C.), in his warning to those people of what was approaching. If worship – true worship – to the true God is not connected to heart-level attitudes like kindness (mercy), justice among people, and ability to humble oneself to Him, then all the sacrifices on earth you can make won’t matter to God. He’s a righteous God, Jeremiah said, and He expects His image-bearers to mimic Him in these key character traits that He gave to His prophets to tell us. Be kind, practice justice, and be humble, if you want to know what righteous living resembles. That is so needed today in early 2025, so get out there and boast in a shining Christ-likeness everyone…or will we need another weeping prophet to come preach?

 

Read about the contemporary author-composer here: Paul Baloche - Wikipedia 

 

See information on the image of Jeremiah here: File:Michelangelo Buonarroti 027.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.