| אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים הִוא “This is the finger of God!” (Exod. 8:19)[1] |
I became interested in the words of Jesus when I gave my life to the Lord in the summer before my sophomore year in high school. Although I was enamored with the words of Jesus, I found many of his sayings difficult to comprehend. It was only later, after I had studied a few years in Israel, that I realized this difficulty was a result of my lack of knowledge of Jesus’ Jewish culture and Jesus’ native language.
During my junior year of college, my father, J. C. Bivin, a Rotarian, kept urging me to fill out the application forms for a post-graduate scholarship offered by Rotary International. This grant, known as a Rotary Foundation Fellowship, provided for a year of study abroad. I knew I had little chance of winning this fellowship, but to get my father “off my back,” I submitted the application.
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This essay is based on a talk David Bivin delivered at the “Entering the Kingdom of Heaven: The Legacy of Dr. Robert Lindsey at Narkis Street Congregation in Jerusalem” conference in 2015. Play the video below:
Notes
- It truly is “the finger of God” that a hog farmer from Oklahoma and an Armenian from California met in Israel almost 50 years ago, still live in Israel, and now have four Jewish (Messianic) grandsons. ↩
![David N. Bivin [1939-2026]](https://www.jerusalemperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/userphoto/4.jpg)
Comments 3
I just discovered this website and David Bivin’s rich legacy yesterday, the day after his burial. I am honored to be able to continue to read his contributions. I loved this article.
I had a similar experience with regard to David Flusser. I had never heard of him until a few months after his death, when I arrived in Jerusalem for a semester abroad program at JUC early in 2001. Nevertheless, David Flusser and David Bivin, in their different ways, changed the course of my life. May they enrich yours as well.
Beautiful story, David, poignant and inspiring! Thank you ever so much for sharing with us!