Hong T. Chin, 1922—2009

There is something very dignified about the burial of an American veteran. Yesterday I, along with the brothers and cousins, carried my grandfather’s casket and laid it above the burial site. I held back the tears as the army guard came to flank the casket opposite the side where I was standing with my brothers and cousins. One stood at attention and saluted my grandfather as the bugler played Taps. They removed the flag covering the casket, folded it in silence, and then presented it to my grandmother.

Yesterday, my grandfather made me proud to be an American again. In these past couple years, I had nearly forgotten what that felt like.

My grandfather served as a rifleman in the army’s 29th Infantry Division during World War II. He disembarked on the beaches of Normandy in the second wave, was wounded by shrapnel at St. Lô, and received the Purple Heart medal. He was always proud of his service to his new country, but he didn’t talk about it much. In fact, he never talked much about himself. For him, others always came first.

Earlier on Monday, friends and relatives of my grandfather streamed into the funeral home. I met quite a few new people, many of whom gave accounts of my grandfather’s kindness and generosity. Of course, I had always known that my grandfather was kind and generous, but it was only in the past two days that I found how many people’s lives he had touched. Yesterday at the memorial service, the funeral home was packed.

On Easter Sunday, 2002, both my grandparents received Christ as their Lord and Savior and were baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. My grandfather was eighty years old. I look back on that day with joy, because it is the only source of hope that we have for those who have gone ahead. Because we who are in Christ do not grieve as those who have no hope.

1 Peter 1:22-25

Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

A man’s life is but a breath. It is soon over. But those who are in Jesus Christ have an eternity to live for, since they are born of an imperishable seed. The word of the Lord remains, and his promises are sure. My grandfather will be missed by many today, but for us, our reunion is only a breath away.

But even that is not the end. For we were not saved to be with God only as disembodied spirits. The same body that I saw lying in that casket will one day rise again, in a glorified state. Just as my grandfather shared in Christ’s death and burial in baptism, he must also share Christ’s resurrection and glorification.

1 Corinthians 15:17-23

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.

Ephraim My Dear Son, My Firstborn

Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the LORD.
~Jeremiah 31:20

There have been some interesting discoveries in archeology recently. The ossuary of James the Just is a curiosity; the so-called “tomb of Jesus” is a farce. Most recently though, has been a discovery that actually informs and helps to fill out the picture of what the first century Jewish context might have looked like. The Hazon Gabriel (Revelation of Gabriel) tablet isn’t garnering as much attention as the previous two discoveries mentioned, but in my view it’s a more important find.

First I want to take a brief look at prophetic language in the Bible itself, particularly references to Ephraim. A professor of mine once suggested that the apparent special affinity of Yahweh to Ephraim in the Old Testament is simply because the tribe of Ephraim lies at the heart of Israel geographically. So speaking of Ephraim is a sort of poetic short hand for referring to Israel as a whole. Sure. Sounded plausible at the time, and I didn’t have any better explanation, so I accepted that. It sort of makes sense of passages like Jeremiah 31:20, though it doesn’t necessarily make sense of the fact that Judah and Ephraim are often mentioned side by side. It also doesn’t explain why Ephraim would seem to be singled out as opposed to the rest of Israel in passages such as Jeremiah 31:9:

I will make them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Poetic language? Perhaps. But when we begin to look at the literature of the period, we find that those of Jesus’ time did not read references to Ephraim as simple prophetic short hand. As messianic expectations intensified under first Greek then Roman occupation, the name Ephraim came to be closely associated with Messiah.

In the Hazon Gabriel, Ephraim is even portrayed as ranking above David. We see phrases like “My servant David, ask of Ephraim [that he] place the sign; (this) I ask of you.” The current issue of Biblical Archeology Review does a good job of highlighting messianic references to Ephraim in the literature, and brings them to an interesting conclusion. The reference to Ephraim here in a messianic context ties in with post Second Temple Jewish sources that scholars had always attributed to Christian influence. For who is Ephraim of the Old Testament?

Genesis 46:20
In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph . . .

That’s right. Ephraim is the son of Joseph and a type of Christ. He is Joseph’s younger son, specifically. However, Jacob blessed Ephraim before his older brother Manasseh (Genesis 48:14-20), echoing the blessing of Jacob before Esau.

Because of the messianic references to Ephraim throughout the Old Testament, many Jewish scholars began to look for and refer to the Messiah as the “Son of Joseph.” The BAR article theorizes that the Messiah the Son of Joseph historically becomes associated with a suffering servant Messiah, whereas the Son of David is the conquerer.

Until recently, many modern scholars had dismissed “son of Joseph” references as Christian corruptions of or influences on Jewish texts. But artifacts like the Hazon Gabriel are making them think again.

Another interesting feature of the Hazon Gabriel is the reference to “three days.”

77. Who am I? I am Gabriel …….. [ ]
78. You will rescue them………….. for two [ ] …[ ]
79. from before of you the three si[g]ns three .. [ ]
80. In three days, live, I Gabriel com[mand] yo[u]

It’s the first known pre-Christian and extra-biblical reference to a resurrection on the third day. Biblically, third day resurrection has its roots in Hosea 6:1-2.

Come, let us return to the LORD;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.