I HAVE FIVE BROTHERS

FIVE BROTHERS

Jesus told a parable to His disciples one day, about a rich man, and a beggar named Lazarus.

There have been multitudes of explanations of the parable, and even a few feuds about whether it was, in fact, a parable, or a real happening. Let me inform the reader that about two-thirds of the times that Luke said "A certain Man", you will find the exact same story in another Gospel, but it is called a parable in the other Gospel. Unfortunately, THIS ONE is NOT recorded anywhere else, so the battle lines remain.

Our judgement is that it WAS a parable, and that it was NOT dealing with the awfulness of hell, but was pointing up another situation that those folks were familiar with, namely:

THE SINS OF THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE END OF CEREMONIAL LAW

The Levitical priests were "clothed in Purple". They also "fared sumptously every day". Read in Leviticus how much revenue the priests received from the Altar. Figure out how the tithing system worked, and see that the High Priest received 16 times the amount which Joe Blow was paying tithes on. Rich man, faring sumptously every day.

That is not to say that the tithing system was wrong, for it CERTAINLY WAS NOT. However, the nature of man being such as it is, it afforded wonderful opportunity for exploitation and sin. And to make matters worse, there was NO ONE who could "blow the whistle" on such activity. The law of tithing, in one sense, assures us that God is a good Paymaster to those who have forsaken other callings in order to be free to do His bidding, and WILL do it.

One prime requisite of a Priest is that he be merciful, and, of course, the Levitical Priesthood forsook that trait in short order after the death of Moses. They soon became despotic and abusive. The sons of Eli were good examples of Clerical Misconduct. Eli was a fat, man (he had fared sumptously).

In hell, the fat, rich man woke up to reality, and started calling for mercy, of which he had shown none, in his lifetime. He was rebuffed by the Father of the Faithful, who assured him there could be NO CONCORD BETWEEN LAW AND FAITH.

ABRAHAM WALKED WITH GOD BY FAITH, and pleased Him. He lived apart from the Law of Ordinances. It was not "showy" in any sense of the word. He walked alone, just as you and I have to walk alone with God. The Law of Moses, with the Priesthood, could never find a place in the "Bosom of Abraham". There was no DELIVERANCE in the Law.

The Law was cruel and unmerciful. It HAD TO BE DONE AWAY WITH.

The rich man said he had five brethren. HERE IS THE KEY to understanding the parable. The names of the brethren were: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Gad and Asher. The name of the rich man was Levi, instead of Dives. Levi was the priest of Israel, and one of the six sons of Leah and her handmaid. Leah was not favored, but Rachel was the one Jacob loved.

We walk with God by Faith, or not at all. If we try to mix Mosaic Law with Faith, we commit spiritual adultery. Our allegience is to Jesus Christ ALONE. HE, ALONE, CAN SAVE US. HE, ALONE, IS OUR HOPE. "MOSES, MY SERVANT, IS DEAD."