“John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair and he wore a leather belt around his waist”
as followers of Christ wear the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth around their waist. “For food he ate locusts and wild honey," much like scroll that tasted like honey and became bitter inside of Ezekiel's tummy. “People from Jerusalem, and from all of Judea, and all over the Jordan Valley went out to hear and see John, and when they confessed their sins he baptized them in the Jordan River.” And Jesus sent his disciples into all ends of the earth, teaching them to obey His commandments and be baptized by the Holy Spirit. “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them and said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” Can you believe the audacity of John to call them snakes? I wonder what he meant? Could he be making an analogy to Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God? "And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.” Let us remember that Satan is serpent who tempts humanity to disobey God. Perhaps we are to be afraid of the consequences of our sin. “Don’t just say to each other, ‘we are safe for we are the descendants of Abraham” because even Abraham, the Father of Faith, had to endure God’s test of obedience when he was called to sacrifice his son. “for I tell you God can create children of Abraham from these very stones” for everything in creation is made to glorify God. “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised and ready to sever the roots of the trees” just as Daniel foretold, right before the King Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind. Yes, even a king had to learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world, and gives them to anyone he chooses. “Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” And Jesus will curse the fig tree that does not bear fruit. Matthew 3:4-10
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