Epiphany Day 10 GO!

I’m departing the norm and picking two songs today. They both speak of the “Great Commission” to go and tell the good news. Go Tell it on the Mountain and Go Where I Send Thee.

I originally had intended on using God Tell it on the Mountain for today but was having trouble with the fact that there are three version I know of. The traditional Christmas version commemorates the shepherds’ journey from announcement to spreading the good news. The version I found from Musixmatch includes a ‘seeker’ who would be the wise men. And the version I heard first in an episode of Little House on the Prairie speaks of me after finding the Lord. After searching diligently, I still can’t find any YouTube or Google combination of all three. I have only the Christmas version to share with you.

This song speaks to me because I can Go Tell It too! Jesus commands all of us to share the good news.

So why the second song? Because while searching for a combination of the three versions, YouTube put up another of my favorite songs and it too speaks of the “Great Commission” from Jesus. I got so wrapped up in praising during this video that I HAD to include it today. It speaks of those both before and after telling of commitment to the Messiah.

When looking at doing an epiphany countdown I originally considered this song as my base but it only has eight categories instead of twelve so I left it behind. I feel like I was brought back to it for a reason. Let’s look at as many of the groups as I can clearly identify. Any I miss I would LOVE to hear from you on where to locate them in scripture. As with the first song for today, there are several versions. My references come from a few different ones.

Number 1: This one is easy. It is Jesus Himself. “The little bitty Baby born in Bethlehem.”

Number 2: Two by two is Paul and Silas. My favorite story of these two missionaries is the night they literally praised the doors off the hinges while in prison. A time that should have been spent in great sorrow and pain instead resulted in the greatest praise service ever heard. You can find that story in Acts: 16:16-40.

Number 3: Three for the Hebrew children. These were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In Daniel 3 we hear the story of how Jesus walked with them in the midst of the fiery furnace. And this was before His birth in Bethlehem.

Number 4: Four who stood at the door. This reference reminds me of the story where four friends brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus. The house was so crowded they had to climb up to the roof, remove some tiles and let him down. Mark 2:1-13.

Number 5: Five for the gospel preachers. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John proclaimed the gospel to the different groups of their time and ours. I’m assuming that Paul is included as the fifth as his letters comprise a LARGE portion of the New Testament. (Home Free version.)

Number 6: Six who couldn’t get fixed. Six for the days the world was fixed (Wikipedia alternate). The six days of creation are at least a definite reference. I couldn’t find a story for the original lyrics.

These next two are not in the Johnny R. Cash/Joyce Faber-lyle lyrics from Musixmatch but are in the Home Free version I chose to link to today.

Number 7: Seven who couldn’t get to heaven. This could easily relate to the ‘seven deadly sins’ list. This ISN’T a list you will find spelled out like the Ten Commandments. It is a ‘man made’ list of different sins Jesus addressed in His teachings. I’m posting a link to a rundown of this list from Bibleinfo.com.

Number 8: Eight who stood at the gate. I wondered about this reference and Googled it (like I have for several of the others) and was reminded of eight people who literally stood at the gate of a new beginning; Noah and his group. There were eight people who entered in through the ‘gate’ of the ark to begin anew with God. Genesis 7:13.

Wikipedia has TWELVE verses! If I would have found this link when looking originally I would have used this song for our epiphany journey.

Number 9: Nine that stood in line. This one reminds me of the ten lepers who came to Jesus. They were all healed but only one returned to give thanks and praise to Jesus. I wonder what happened to the other nine. Luke 17:11-19.

Number 10: Ten Commandments. This one is easy! They were first given to the people in Exodus 20:1-21.

Number 11: Eleven deriders or the ‘leven of ‘em singin’ in Heaven. I have no idea on this one. I’m open for suggestions.

Number 12: Twelve disciples. Jesus chose 12 men who would become His chief disciples. Eleven of them would remain true to the end of their lives. He first names them in Matthew 10:1-4. Matthias was chosen by the disciples to replace Judas in Acts 1:21-26. Paul is also called a disciple untimely chosen.

I really enjoyed doing the song Go Where I Send Thee because it brought me back into the Word. While walking the epiphany journey I haven’t been spending time reading and researching like I usually do. I’m looking forward to getting back in and digging for the treasures waiting to be discovered.

Father God, thank You for this time with You. It has been very different from what I’m used to. I don’t know if it was supposed to be a time of rest. I am refreshed and ready to sink my teeth in again. It is still a couple more days left before I get back to our regular routine. Keep refreshing me during the next two days.

I struggled with deciding to post this for today or as a wrap up for this season. I fully believe You bring to me EACH DAY what I need for THAT DAY. I feel like I would be missing out if I wrote a second one for this day and held this for two days instead. I would be robbed of spending time on the ‘held day’ as the work would already have been completed. Thank You for meeting me ever day in our time together. I pray others receive as much from You through what You share with me as I do. I’ll keep walking. I wouldn’t even have been struggling with this question if it weren’t for the Wikipedia reference with 9-12 listed. I need to simply trust our process together. Thanks God for the reminder.