The Eric Metaxas Show - Howard Edington (Encore)

Episode Date: December 24, 2020

Who is the “Forgotten Man of Christmas”? Pastor and author Howard Edington has an illuminating conversation with Eric about this key figure of the Holy Season. (Encore presentation)

It's the show you've all been waiting for. Until now, until literally right now. Now, literally right now. Literally right now. Literally. Now your host, Eric Mataxis. Folks, welcome to the Erickman Taxis show. You know, in this Christmas season, we like to do something genuinely spectacular.

There's evil in the world. And every now and again, we get to partner with CSI, Christian Solidarity International, to combat evil in a way that is palpable, that is... absolutely possible. We can free people from slavery. Doesn't seem real, does it? It's real. We in America, anyone who's listening to this program can do something about it. It is a spectacular opportunity. And I wanted my friend, Kevin McCullough, to tell us more about the opportunity because he knows about this stuff. He's worked with CSI. Kevin, welcome. Hey, Eric, it seems like I'm on your show every day these days. Why not? It's good to be back. Hey, it's fun. Let's keep going. It's more fun to talk about.

what great things we can do then about, you know, how difficult everything is in the United States and all our problems. This is something I keep saying. It's like what, you know, the Jews call a mitzvah. You can do a good act. It is just a spectacular thing that you can just do this thing. With a certain amount of money, you can do this good thing. And there's nothing to say about it. It's just all good and wonderful. And I think when you have that opportunity, you're sort of obliged to take it. Well, you know, it's funny, Eric, because you know, you and I live in the New York area, and we rub shoulders with people that a lot of times disagree with us on a lot of things

from the basis of our faith and worldview. But one thing I've never found any of them willing to criticize for is the involvement that I've had to talk about CSI and tell others about CSI and the releasing people from slavery. And I don't know if this will come through on the camera, but I wanted you to see this picture of a woman named a book. I want you to notice something about her face. Eric, what is that right there in the middle of her face? It looks like pure joy as expressed in a smile,

but it's more than a smile. I mean, that's kind of an amazing. It's one of the most happiest expressions, I think, that has ever been captured in photography. And for those that are listening, she has this huge smile. And if you knew what this woman had been through, prior to taking that picture, you would say that that smile is in fact a miracle because that woman had no reason to have a smile that big on her face.

She's also holding in this same picture a bag that says CSI on it. And people may be wondering, well, what is what is that bag? Why does it have CSI plastered on it? Well, that is a part of what's called the sack of hope that is given to these women that are liberated from slavery. and when they are begun to be relocated back to where their family originated from or where their family is at. And we've never talked about this element of it, Eric, but when you go and retrieve the slave and you bring them to the recovery camp at the border of South Sudan, and then they have some time to recover, then there's this last part of the journey, which is the going back home. But it is unlike any homecoming you've ever seen in your life. You know, this year, Mr. Fauci is saying, don't do Christmas.

He's saying no Christmas for you. And we're holding to just the opposite of that in CSI. We're saying let's make Christmas big for these slaves. And when they come in, they hold a party like you've never seen. The entire village comes out. There is a huge, enormous gathering of people that come out and they sing hymns. They sing hymns praising God for the return home of this loved one that they had. And it is absolutely unlike anything that has ever been conceived of.

in this particular slave's heart. Because for the years previous to that, all they have known is heartache. All they have known is indentured labor. All they've known is sexual abuse and verbal abuse and physical abuse. And at the end of the day, to come home, to have people who love you that sing praises to God because you are free and capable of living your life again.

It is that mitzvah that you were talking about. It is unlike any other good that I've ever witnessed. And it just makes my heart so full. I mean, I keep having to step outside myself. You know, you think this can't be real. It's so hard to communicate these things because we live in a country. We are so blessed with freedom. We can't begin to imagine what it would be like to live in a place where slavery is possible.

It just doesn't. It seems like, you know, talking about living in the Iron Age or something, it doesn't seem possible from where we are. And yet right now it's happening. Right now, women like the woman you just showed on camera. And again, there's a radio show, but we also are on YouTube. So go to our YouTube channel, the Yer Quintaxa show, and you can see these things. But that photo, it just knocks me back because I think that's a real person. Yeah.

That is obviously a person who is experiencing a kind of joy that doesn't seem possible in this world because we've never experienced the evil that she's, experience and you're able to do something about it. And I want your listeners to understand something here. You've, you've been in coordination with CSI. There are negotiations underway for 350 slaves, just like a book, to be released. And those negotiations are well down the path of ready to be liberated. And I'm thinking, what better Christmas present could you give a human being than to literally give them the gift of life back that they had robbed from them. Many of these women were kidnapped as teenagers or even younger. They have seen the worst dark side of humanity, repetitive

rape, female genital mutilation, things that you and I wouldn't even say in front of our daughters, much less ever expect them to occur. And yet, that's what the life of these women have endured over and over and over again. When CSI finds them, when they, talk to the slave owners and they say, hey, here's a cattle for your vaccine that you desperately need and can't get. Just let me have the freedom of this of this woman in exchange. And then they make that exchange. That's a powerful thing. But then to go back and to be given the sack of hope, which includes everything they need to start their new life, enough grain to feed them for a year, enough seed to plant for future years, fishing tools, micro-commerce abilities with a she-goat and the ability

to not only produce milk and dairy products, but also to then breed other goats. You've got you've got an opportunity to literally give this woman who's in all likelihood for the past number of years not had anything of her own, no personal possession, no dignity, no privacy, no ability to even keep her own name. Most of these women are given an Islamic name by the Islamist slave owner, and they are told if you even repeat your name, if you remember your name, name, we'll kill you. This is the opportunity to literally give them back everything that their life has had robbed from it. And for only $250? I mean, I mean, you know, Kevin, I just, I just thought

two things real quick. First of all, anybody old enough to remember the mini series roots in the 70s, we remember that famous moment where Kuntakintay is insisting that is his African name. and the slave owner is forcing him doing a horrible thing. I won't even bring it up on the air, but to take your name from you. And these are Christians being told, you are now going to be Muslim. You're never going to be able to say your Christian name.

I want to say, by the way, anybody listening, if you want to share your faith with someone, can you imagine if you're able to say to somebody in your name, I gave enough money to free someone from slavery in Africa, Africa. You want to talk about what a witness of the love of Jesus that is, to somebody who maybe doesn't know anything about the God of the Bible or thinks Christians are just a bunch of cooks or something, you express your love in that way with your own money and do it in the name of someone, even if you can't do $250, whatever it is. That says something really important about what it means

to be a person of the book, a person of the Bible, a person who worships the God that died for, us. So I mean, that's why it's such a wonderful thing to do around Christmas. Well, and I think that if you, if you ask yourself today and maybe you're somewhere on the spectrum, maybe maybe you said, well, I can't do 250, but could I give a monthly gift of $25 for the next 10 months? Hey, that that would work. You would liberate one human life. But I know that there are a few people, Eric, listening within your listening audience, that could do $25,000 and literally liberate, uh, a thousand or a hundred slaves and the the joy that you'll get whether you're on one end of that

spectrum another by taking the step to do it oh my gosh is really undes I'm going to give I'm going to give the phone number folks you can call right now 888 253 3522 go to our website metaxis talk dot com you'll see the CSI banner or call 888 253 3522 thank you Kevin The snow is snowing and the wind it is blowing. But I can weather the storm. What do I care? I must hit me storm. I've got my love to keep me warm.

All right, folks, this is Dean Martin, and it sounds like he's just fine. He's got his love to keep him warm. I have a radio program to do. I have a guest on a friend, the Reverend Howard. Eddington has written a book called The Forgotten Man of Christmas. Reverend Eddington, just great to have you. The opportunity to visit with you is a real treat. Well, listen, I don't have guests on here lightly.

When I read things like your book, The Forgotten Man of Christmas, which is the story of Joseph, I said, this is tremendous because nobody knows this. People need to know about this. So the first question I have to ask you is what led you to write a book about Joseph? Joseph is a figure about whom we know ostensibly very little, but you have discovered all kinds of extraordinary things that I had never seen until I read your book. You don't mind. I will give you at least a little personal, deep personal,

22-year-old son, John David, several years back. Death, and the pain of that marked our Christmas then, obviously, but it marked every Christmas since to find a way to turn what was for us unbearable grief. At one point, Trisha said to me, you know, you love Christmas and John David loved Christmas. I think you ought to write a Christmas book. It'll be a way for us to honor and remember him, but it also tried to find our way through the Valley of the Shammoth extent in the midst of the... Well, it's obvious that a lot of people have pain at Christmas. We're not alone in that.

But once I began to dive in, it was obvious to me that all of the other primary figures in the Christmas research studied, written about, and understood even. Joseph, however, not so much. And I discovered that the reason obviously is in the Bible, not a single word. And yet, and so then once I began to look at that, I began then to dig to the side in the whole Christmas celebration. It's extraordinary, first of all, to hear you say a number of things. I mean, first of all, that Joseph never spoke a word. The idea, most people think they know the Christmas story, but to think that Joseph never said one word, it strikes me. I've never noticed that, although it's the kind of thing you wouldn't notice, but it's extraordinary that there's not a word that he spoke.

He's the silent figure. And then you tell about these four dreams. If somebody had said to me, how many dreams did Joseph have or how many dreams it's one of those things that's kind of a blur when you, lay it out, it's stunning to see what's really there that we've all missed. It's really, that's one of the things I loved about this book. It's just you're reading something. It's clear as a bell and you never see it. It's stunning. I've been preaching for 50. I spent dealing with Christmas. Four dreams escape my attention as well. Your passages, I did all of the heavy lifting in order to preach. All came together, and that's why I don't think it could have occurred otherwise. Well, I love it when

something comes out that we've we've not seen before you know it's just an amazing thing uh it's it's it's initially embarrassing to realize that somehow i've missed this uh but then you know you say well now i don't have to miss it anymore thanks to dr howard eddington so i really am i'm just so glad when i read the book to see that uh that you decided to home in on joseph and and you do you call him in the title you know the forgotten man of christmas that's quite right that and i if nothing else occurs. Honestly believe was a truly extraordinary man. I labeled him the... So many of us forget about Joseph. We think who's the father of Jesus? Well, God, the father is the father of Jesus. And yet, no, no, no, no, no. He had a father, an earthly father named Joseph.

And you think, you know, Mary must be pretty incredible, chosen by God to bear the son of God. She must be the most amazing woman who ever lived. And she is. And yet, who was chosen. chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus. Joseph, well, he certainly must be one of the most extraordinary human beings who ever lived, and yet we know so little. So tell us, what can we know about him that we don't know? Let me just start by saying, and that combination you see right from the very beginning when he has to deal with then union until the reason for betrothed myself into his apologize for. Holy imagination. I have sections in the book that I called how it must have been, where I try to put myself into Joseph's circumstance.

Right. And right from the very beginning, the genealogy in Matthew, which comes first, that the Messiah would come from the line of David. His lineage takes him back to Solomon, the firstborn son of David. And so the implication is, I'd miss this for you, more than likely, would have been the king of Israel. I mean, this is extraordinary stuff here. We're also talking about, I mean, this is a big question, but it's always so confusing when they talk about the lineage of Jesus going through Joseph. I think most people think, wait a minute, who cares?

Joseph was not a blood relation. How does that work? The reason is I think that Matthew was writing primarily the Jewish people. And so the genealogy in Matthew is designed to demonstrate that Jesus was in fact. the Messiah. And in order to be the Messiah, you had to have the proof of that line back to David. Another little aside that I have here is that Titus, Bespassian, in 70 AD, invaded the Holy Land. Oh, you know what, Dr. Eddington, hang, hold that thought. We're going to go to a break. We're going to have a little Burl Ives' Christmas music, and we'll be right back talking about this wonderful new book, The Forgotten Man of Christmas.

story by Dr. Howard Eddington. Stick around. Yes, sir. Hey, there, folks. It's the Eric Metaxos show. Hey, guess what? It's Christmas. We're talking to Dr. Howard Eddington, who wrote a book. I'm holding it in my hands called the Forgotten Man of Christmas Joseph's story. And Dr. Eddington, I was asking you about the genealogy. In other words, when we're talking about Jesus, the genealogy, people always say that Jesus is the son of David, and you can trace him back and on and on and on. But it's traced back through Joseph, which of course is confirmed.

because we all know that Joseph was not his biological father. Not his biological father, but the term that I use, Eric, is the designated father of Jesus, designated by God, chosen by God, to be the father of Jesus. It had nothing to do with the biological process in everything to do with who Jesus became in his human life and his journey on this earth. Well, right, because he was raised by Joseph. And again, we forget this. We forget that he was raised. It's such a strange thing for us to forget, because what could be more important than who raised Jesus?

I mean, we just act as though he, you know, came out of the brow of Athena, and he didn't. He was born of a woman, and he had a father who raised him. And, you know, so that's why it's so extraordinary to read this book and to get into the stories of who Joseph was. You were saying something about Titus. I didn't pick it up just when we went to the break. It's a critical thing for this Jewish people. He destroyed all the genealogical. Oh, my gosh.

But Jesus was clear. And, of course, he was related to Bathsheba. Yes. I mean, that's just incredible. That is. Right? Absolutely. If you just want to know, what good can come out of that.

Well, Jesus, for starters. Exactly. And that's a pretty good starter for that. I mean, right? But that's the lesson. Okay, so tell us more about, what we don't know about Joseph? Well, I think the

important thing that believe it's important is circumstances that he was confronted with, never invited. Journey, get in the center, and people just bedded down on the floor. It's kind of like a lean-to on the Appalachian Trail. Exactly. The animals were and that's the midwife,

the mother. It's it's just unbelievable, really, when you look at these things. And again, it's always fascinating to see that it's there, but I never saw it before. I never thought of this before. I'm so glad you decided to dig into this and to bring it out. I think a lot of sermons are going to be preached on the back of your

book, Howard Eddington, because people are going to say, this is tremendous. I've got to tell my people about this. There's just so much in here. So, okay, so tell us there are four dreams. Tell us a little bit about that. The angel speaking for God says to Joseph, Joseph, son of God, The child in Mary is up against, and as we know it, and then you go from there to Bethlehem, and then at Bethlehem the birth occurs, and then the shepherds come. We can be reasonably certain that they arrive at the very night because the kind of glory of God is being so overpowering that you cannot look at it. Moses, God says, you can't look at me. Right.

It's that stunning. Let's hang on there. We're going to go to some more Christmas music. We're going to be back. Folks, the new book is called The Forgotten Man of Christmas, Joseph's Story by Dr. Howard Eddington. We'll be right back. Into man, Christmas line. All got run over by a reindeer walking home from our house Christmas Eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa. But as for me and grandpa, we believe. Hey, folks, that's right out of scripture. Look it up. It's hidden there in the Luke narrative, but Grandma got run over by reindeer. That just, that happened. You need to deal with the facts. Actually, that's not true.

But what we're talking about is true. We're talking about the story of Joseph in the Gospels. The new book about it is called The Forgotten Man of Christmas. Joseph's story absolutely fascinating. The author's Dr. Howard Eddington, who's on the line. Dr. Ardington, again, it's just, I cannot get over how much is in here that we missed. You just shared about probably Joseph, was the one who delivered Jesus. Wow. Incredible. God comes into the world, and Joseph, he's the man. There he is.

Remember, he was very young. He was probably no more than 19 or 20, Mary being 15 or 16. He was just a carpenter at that point in his life. A simple, ordinary guy, and yet suddenly he's having to deal with all. It's amazing. We know that he was around when Jesus was 12. But we don't. know beyond that how long he lived. We know that he died by the time Jesus begins his ministry at age 30. So he died quite young. Of course, we don't know how he died. The Lord when I get to heaven. Yeah. You can ask Joseph. That's right. I intend to do that. That is also part of the reason, I think, that he kind of destroyed. Once the wise men came, came to the house, Pideon, which means and so Jesus infant Jesus. Right. So when we picture the wise men standing at the crash,

that's just fiction. They came about a year later or more. Exactly how much, but security. Right. You have to assume that. Right. Okay. And is that, go ahead. Sorry. He handled it. And what is that? And his mother, Bertigard, or his own, other than his own resource across the deserts. down to Hebron and then over the Sinai to the Gaza Strip journey. And how long do we think they were in Egypt? It's about that, Eric, that are just fascinating to me in the time and the time of Herod's death. I've never, I can't, this is what I'm saying. I can't believe I've never heard this, that Jesus, the legend says he was in Cairo.

Yes. I mean, we know theoretically they go to Egypt. It says it, but we don't know where in Egypt. You're telling me that for 2,000 years these legends have been kept alive that Jesus was in Cairo. Yeah. And the Coptic Christians, our sisters and brothers in the Egyptian Coptic Church, are the ones who have preserved that through the centuries and hard for them. Now, is that in the book because I read the book, but it's so long ago now that I forget everything? Yes, there.

Okay. In the part about where I traced the journey to Egypt. Well, no, I've got the book right here, but I read it when it was still in manuscript form. I read things and I forget them, so I need to be reminded. Well, it's not like you don't have other things to read. Well, that's the problem. But it's just so fascinating to me to suddenly think, yeah, Jesus was in Cairo and we think we know exactly where he was, and he was about one and a half years old.

I mean, it's amazing, absolutely amazing. And the other reason that I'd take a deep dive into King Herod, because I think it's important to realize not only what a monster he was, but the power of his military. military reach. And when you journey to Egypt to serve as the protector and the provider during that time in Egypt, and then all... Here it is dead. You can go home. Yeah. Okay, we're going to go to another

break here. But this is, it's just extraordinary to think. First of all, we have to say, before I go to the break, I have to say that what makes Joseph so great is he was a man of faith. He believed in God. So when you get a dream from an angel, if you believe it, you know, everything can be fine. But if you don't believe it, so this was a man that God knew he could trust him to do the right thing. We're going to be right back talking about the forgotten man of Christmas by Dr. Howard Eddington. Stick around. Oh, the bliss of peace, you'll start turning.

Torch you start burn. Old wise men, churn it from the east. Bring the people. Hey, folks, that is the band. That is a song you might not know. Beautiful Christmas song by the band. I actually covered it. I think you can find my version of it on my website, but what a beautiful song.

We're talking to the author of The Forgotten Man of Christmas, Joseph's Story, Dr. Howard Eddington. Dr. Eddington, just a few minutes left. What must we tell my listeners before we go? I think this in the last part of the qualities and the character of Jesus, and then impute that trace how undoubtedly have emerged from his experience with Joe, a man of extraordinary. He didn't need to speak a word. He did what God told him.

And the things that he stood for and the things he did in his life and ministry on earth, then you look back and you can see. It is wild. And again, just to think God, chose Joseph. We forget. God chose this man. How great must he have been? What a man of character. We focus too little on him, which is, again, another reason I'm so excited that you wrote, that you wrote the book. And the book is just out, correct? Yes. Brand new. Yeah. So people can, you know that sermons are going to be preached. I don't know if people are going to get this in time for

Christmas. I hope they do. And they can get a couple of great sermons out of it. It is just so rich the information in here. Are you going in a tour to talk about this book? Or are you going to stay home this Christmas? I'm staying homebound in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and loving it here. Opportunity to do some interviews like this that you have afforded me.

Well, it is, I mean, it's the sort of thing again when you find something so central. I mean, the Christmas story doesn't get more central than that. This is not, you know, something you found in Habakkuk or something. This is the Christmas story, and there's so much in it that we've missed. So thanks to you, we haven't missed it. I'm just, I'm really excited about it. I hope the book goes far.

It is so many people, Rich DeVos, read it and gives it a wonderful blurb and a number of other authors that I know, the eldest daughter of Billy Graham, Gigi Graham. Who Must Live Near You, Correct? She's got to live near you. Great friend. And it's just really a wonderful, wonderful thing that you got this out. So Howard or Dr. Eddington, I got to tell you this is a great work. Congratulations on it. Thank you very much.

Bless you. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Folks, that's the program. Get a copy of the Forgotten Man of Christmas, Joseph's Story by Howard Eddington. Just amazing. Stick around.