Jeff Andras's Blog

This week’s Torah portion is called Yitro which means “Jethro”.  It comes from Exodus 18:1 through 20:23.

This Torah portion begins with the re-introduction of Jethro who is Moses’ father-in-law.  He has come with Moses’ wife and two sons to meet them after hearing “all that the Lord had done for Moses and the people of Israel.”

Moses shares the details of the Exodus with Jethro and they rejoiced over all the goodness of the Lord.  Jethro offers a burnt offering to the lord, he, Aaron, and all the elders share in the meal, they all get a good night’s sleep, and the next day Jethro observes Moses sitting before the people as judge from morning until evening.

In that Jethro suggests to Moses that he was incapable of performing this duty, that this will wear him out, and that he needs to appoint others to assist him.  He suggests that Mosses set up men to judge over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.  

In this way a judicial system would be established where only those matters that could not be settled at the lower levels would move up to the higher levels.  Ultimately if the matter could not be settled by the rulings of the “thousands” it would be brough to Moses.

Moses agrees and follows the suggestions of Jethro.  Jethro leaves and heads back to his own land leaving behind Moses’ wife and children.

Chapter 19 opens with the sons of Israel reaching the wilderness of Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt.  They set up camp at the base of Mount Sinai.  Moses goes up the mountain and God speaks to him.

In this, God reveals to Moses His plan to make the people of Israel into a kingdom of Priests.  The Lord tells Moses that He wants to enter into a covenant with the people and that if they agree to His covenant, He will make them his own possession. 

Moses calls the elders of the people together and shares what the Lord had told him.  The people all proclaim together “All that the Lord has spoken we will do!” And Moses returns to God and shares that the people have agreed to the covenant.

God shares that He will come to the people and speak to them and that Moses should prepare the people for His visitation. 

Moses prepares the people according to God’s command and on the third day God appears in a thick cloud with thunder, flashes of lightning, and a loud trumpet call.

This made the people in the camp tremble.  But, Moses brought them out and had them stand at the foot of the mountain where God had told Moses to bring them.

Ultimately God began to share His statutes, Laws, and ordinances.  After He shared only the first ten, the people interrupted Him by speaking to Moses.

They told Moses that they had become scared that if they heard any more they would die, they asked for Moses to go to speak to God directly about all that He had to share and for Moses to bring back to them what God spoke.

Moses gets alone with God, and God enters into the balance of what He had started to share with the people.  This ends the reading for this week.

The first would be that there is a tendency within people to do the same thing with God’s ways that the sons of Israel did so many years ago; to stop God at the end of the first ten commandments and not want to hear anything else.

The second thing is that we tend to want to have God speak directly to someone else and then allow that person to share what God showed them to us.  I think this is more than just laziness. 

I think there is a tendency to believe that thinking if we are taught by someone else it somehow makes us less responsible than if we would have heard God direct. 

This false sense of security allows us to avoid the very death that the sons of Israel were so fearful of encountering.

The third thing I want to consider is what this “fear of death” really is, and why we should not fear it but instead embrace it.

I am going take a moment and read from Romans Chapter 8:9-8:15:

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.  If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.  So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.  For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"

Did you catch the connection to this week’s Torah portion?

Here is the connection and why this is so important.  The connection is “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again” …..  

Fear of what?  Fear of death… this is not a physical death.  This is a deep fear of change.

This is what the sons of Israel did.  They were slaves, that slavery led them into fear, and the fear stopped them from hearing God.

Why is it important?  Because fear of death silences God’s voice.

Paul is telling us that we don’t need to follow in their footsteps.

This entire chapter is Paul encouraging the readers to open up their hearts to trusting that they can, through the Holy Spirit, have a one-on-one personal relationship with God.

At the same time, he is pointing out that this relationship will lead to a death.  But, the truth of this death is that we should not fear it.  In reality, what we should fear is the fate of those that do not experience this death.

What Paul is getting at is that we are born into sin.  Sin is death so, in all truth, we are dead men walking.  The only solution to this death is to die to it.  When we die to a life of sin and pride, Yeshua raises us from the dead and delivers us into life.

The point is, WE CAN NOT EXPERIENCE THE FULLNESS OF LIFE WITHOUT BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT INTO DEATH.  Yeshua said that one must be “born of the water AND born of the Spirit”.

I would argue that being born of the water references adoption into the family of Messiah in a physical way.  In other words, through baptism we commit to a way of life put forth in the Torah.  But this is not enough unto itself.  Yeshua wants more of us. He wants more for us.  He wants us to live and life comes through death.

Ultimate death does not come through simply being taught the Word and obeying it.  Ultimate death comes when we allow our souls to be stricken by the Torah, to let Torah reveal our pride, and to lead us into a place of dying to our sin nature and our pride.

Sadly, most of us continue to lean on our religious teachers instead of truly seeking dialogue with Him.  I believe at the bottom of this is the same fear that the children of Israel suffered and that same spirit that Paul speaks of.  

Ultimately, God will give us new hearts and make us into the bride that He chose us to be, we will join Him when He sets up His kingdom, and we will rule with Him from Israel.  At the same time, we have a choice to become those kinds of priests today. 

I pray that as we allow these concepts to work their way deep into our souls, that we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us where we too are walking in the fear of death, still being held hostage to the desires of the flesh, and pulled away from a deeper relationship with God through the sin natures we were born into.  I pray that as He reveals these things to us that we step up in courage, become expectant of what is possible, and chase after the life that is available on the other side of death.  In and through this, I pray that we become a testimony and a blessing to the world as we demonstrate the freedom of embracing Torah, dying to the flesh, and being His bride NOW.  Amen Amen

Deuteronomy 31:1-30, Vayelech, “And (Moses) went”

This week’s parsha comes during the ten days of awe which is the ten days that separate the feast of trumpets and Yom Kippur.  This time period is dedicated to reflecting on our relationship with God, how dedicate our walk has been with Him, and how in tune we have been to His voice.

At the same time, this year, we found ourselves being somewhat distracted by the threat of a very large hurricane.  As I wrote this blog I couldn’t help but thinking how many of us thought more about the storm and “what might happen” than we did the ten days of awe or what Yom Kippur is all about?

You see, this is really the point of this week’s parsha.  As I have pointed out previously, I see the entire book of Deuteronomy as “the Law” that God is subjecting Himself to regarding how He will interact with us as He brings us into the full fruition of the image of His Bride and His people.

Last week’s readings focused on the blessing and the curse.  Next week’s parsha is God giving Moses the “song of Moses” which he subsequently gives to the nation. 

In that parsha we will see the entire prophetic journey of the nation being given in the form of a song.  The purpose of the song is so that “in the end days,” after all the prophecy it speaks of has been fulfilled, the nation will call it to mind in the lands where God has scattered us, and it will be a witness against us.

The image is, God will somehow use this reminder that “He told us so” as a catalyst to finalize the transformation of our hearts just prior to His return.

This kind of reminds me of the generation that was given the opportunity to rebuild the temple after the Babylonian exile.  When I read about this generation weeping bitterly when the Torah was read to them, I cannot help but imagining that their weeping had something to do with the fact that they saw the worst of the curses first hand.

What do you think that would have been like?  Many of those who were alive to hear the Torah read, would have been alive years early and seen the children lead into captivity, the women sold into slavery, and the men killed in war.  In the reading of the Torah they would have read the very things we are reading today? 

At that point, they would have known that all those things could have been avoided if they only would have taken God at His word, listened to the prophets, and trusted in all that they were saying.  In this image I can see how deeply the sense of “He told us so” would have impacted their hearts.

The point I am getting at is this:  At some time in the future, prophecy tells us that we will all be “remembering” the words of the song of Moses that will be read next week.  We will hear in our spirits “God told us this would happen,” and this will deeply impact our hearts.

Four times in this week’s parsha Moses commissions Joshua and the people to “be strong and courageous” and to not “fear.”  At the same time, twice he commissions them to “fear the Lord.”  Right now, we are at a pause between the feast of trumpets and Yom Kippur.  It is called the ten days of awe.

The feast of trumpets is often recognized as the time that the King is among the people.  So, we can look at this time as a recognition that He is with us spiritually. 

At the same, we can see this as rehearsal for the day that He will return to set up His kingdom here on earth.  This will be the time that we will be called to step into battle with Him, establish His kingdom with Him, govern the world His way, and be His priesthood.

Yom Kippur is traditionally thought of as the day on which God decides what His intervention in our lives will be for the upcoming year.  At the same time, it is considered as a rehearsal for the day when we stand before His throne, at the completion of all things, when those destined for the new heaven and earth are separated from those who are destined for the lake of fire.

When I think about rehearsing for something, I think about putting myself into that place and considering what it will be like for me then.  In the case of Him coming to set up His kingdom, I would like to believe that I will be looking back at a lifetime of learning to be courageous through the battles of this world, to not trust what my eyes see or my intellect understands, but to trust in Him, the one who will be leading us into battle and the one who will be trusting us to be His priesthood.

In the case of standing before His throne, I would like to believe that first and foremost I would remain thankful for His forgiveness, for His choosing me to know Him, and for all that He has delivered me from and through. 

Secondly, I pray that I will not feel the heart wrenching pain of knowing that I did not take “fearing Him” seriously, that I had not pursued loving Him with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, or that I had not loved others as I love myself.

These are the things this week’s parsha should led us to considering. 

Just like the nation, we know that God is for us and not against us.  We know that through Him all things are possible.  We know that what we see, understand, and acknowledge about this physical world are true.  At the same time, we know we walk in a power that is above these things and we are the children of a God who is sovereign and knows what is best.

In the end, we know what God has said about how He will parent us.  We know what He has said about why He will protect us from discomfort, and why He will not. 

This week’s parsha is a pause between God giving His instructions and the nation entering the land to possess it.  It is a pause between the giving of the blessing and the curse, and God sharing with the people exactly what their destiny will be as He looks down and understands the condition of their hearts.

Ultimately, the purpose of this pause is duly noted in what Moses is emphasizing.  “Be strong and courageous, and fear God.”  When we come to realize that we were not “chosen” for our own personal salvation, but that we were chosen to be a part of a nation that God will ultimately use to lead the world to Him and His ways, it kind of changes everything.

In this context, we come to understand that He is a loving father who has seen who we are and believes we are capable of becoming all that He has chosen us to be.  Like a great coach who can see the potential in a great athlete, so too can we think of God and His choosing us to be a part of this nation that Peter refers to as a “royal priesthood.”

Ultimately, our loving father will use everything in His power to make us and mold us into the priesthood that He has chosen us to be.  This is why fearing Him is so important. He uses the pain and suffering, the temptations, and the battles to speak to us.

The point is, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”  Simply put, when we fear other things, we end up distracted from what God is attempting to communicate.  We miss His voice and are left prone to the voice of the enemy.  In this place we lose the battles to the physical challenges of this world, the spiritual battles that surround us, the emotional battles that seem to never end, and ultimately evil reigns.

Letting go of the fear of those things that make us uncomfortable takes a lot of courage.  It takes courage to trust Him in the battles that seem impossible to overcome, to face pain, sickness, or disease with a sense of peace. 

It takes courage to stop spending our time, talents, and money on the things that we think will deliver us peace and joy, and to start trusting that true joy and peace come from doing things for Him and for others. 

In other words, it takes courage to become selfless over selfish, to see the world revolving around Him instead of revolving around ourselves, to trust that being Holy is life, and unholy is death, to look different, talk different, eat different, celebrate different, and in all ways, trust in Him.  All these things take courage.

Walking in Torah and trusting all that we are commanded to do takes courage.  But that courage begins with a fear of the Lord.  When we move away from fearing anything but Him, we cut ourselves free from our greatest weakness in this spiritual battle.  We move into a place of trusting Him, become open to hearing His voice, and allow Him to lead us through the valley of what really is only a “shadow” of death. 

In this courage we are led to a place of doing the right things for the right reasons, we are not led by fear, but are led by wisdom.  In this the attacks of the enemy are silenced and we are protected from allowing fear to move us into a place of making bad decisions that only add to the problem that the initial fear steamed from.

This reminds me of the story of the children of Israel coming to the promised land for the first time, sending in the spies, and rejecting God’s promise in their fear.  When they heard what their destiny would be it was too late.  They attempted to go to war only to be slaughtered because God was not with them.

First evil reigned when they allowed the words of the spies to instill fear into their hearts.  Then evil reigned again when they listened to the words of God, feared the discomfort of what He was about to do, and attempted to go to war without Him.

I pray as we continue forward toward Yom Kippur that each of us grow in our ability to be strong and courageous, to trust Him in all things, and to not let the things that we “know” about this world to become a distraction from the plans that He has for us.

I pray this has been a blessing, that we all discover a new courage deep within, and that in and through this we all grow in our ability to hear His voice, understand what He is communicating, and walk in all that He is showing us. Amen and God bless.

 

This week’s parsha is from Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19, it is called Ki Tetse, “When you go out”.

This portion includes roughly 50 separate commandments. 

When taken unto itself, it is a bit difficult to summarize the parsha into a single concept.  The beginning of the parsha addresses how men of war are to transition any women they take through a proper and respectful time of mourning and preparation prior to making them their wives. 

It then takes us through a progression of the laws on how to deal with stubborn and rebellious children, honesty and integrity amongst each other, gender identity, sanctity of life, responsibility for protecting others from accidental harm, mixing of fabrics, wearing of tsit-tsit, adultery, embracing outsiders into the assembly, the charging of interest, harvesting of the fields, divorce, kidnapping, leprosy, justice, mercy, and the list goes on and on.

With all this in mind I want to simplify while at the same time expanding out in two directions.  First of all, I want to discuss what this parsha teaches us about identity.  Secondly, I want to focus on what it is that Moses saw when God gave him the words of Deuteronomy.  It is important to view what we share in the bigger image of what aspect of His law God was asking Moses to expound upon when He asked Moses to share these words with the nation.

From here, I want to look at how these two concepts encourage us as we remain strong, diligent in our pursuit of righteousness, focused on a future, and hopeful knowing that what has been promised will hold true.  In looking at the first concept which focuses on identity, the first scripture that comes to mind is Deuteronomy 6:7. In this scripture we hear God speaking through Moses these most famous words relative to teaching His ways to subsequent generations. 

He says, “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.”

Notice the concept of “teaching diligently” when in the home AND when walking by the way.  This scripture really resonated with me in regard to this week’s parsha. 

The “walking by the way” spoke to me in regard to the opening lines and the very name of this parsha “when you go out”.  At the same time, so much of the scripture included in this parsha addresses what life should look like within the communities.  These sections of the scripture make me think of that part of Deuteronomy 6:7 that says, “when you sit in your home”.

The next scripture that comes to mind is where God tells us that we are “to be holy”.  This comes up in Exodus 12:16, 19:6, 22:31, Leviticus 11:44, 11:45, 19:2, 20:7, and 1 Peter 1:16.  In each of these scriptures God gives us the image of being Holy because He is Holy.  In other words, He is our father, we are a part of His family, our identity is in His ways, and as such it is not in harmony with the ways of this world. By definition, Holy is “to be separate”. 

It is very easy to think about being holy in the context of avoiding unclean things while embracing those that God considers “clean”.  This is true, but we shouldn’t neglect the teachings of Yeshua when considering His definitions of clean and unclean.  In this I am taken to Matthew 23:23 where we read “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”

Herein, is our first lesson that we gather from this week’s parsha.  When we look at the big picture contained within these laws, we see one common them.  Holiness, but not holiness in a pious nature like that of the “religious” leaders of Yeshua’s day.

One of the Ten Commandments is to “not take the Lord’s name in vain”.  When looking at the Hebraic definition of this term we are given a much deeper understanding of what God is attempting to communicate to us.  In the true context, God is telling us that misrepresenting His holiness is misrepresenting His NAME.  He is not a God who is interested in outward appearances, He is a God who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin”.  Mercy and grace are at the center of who He is, and as His representatives, this is who we are called to be.  This applies to when we “go out”, and “when we stay in”, when we are “at war”, and when we are “at peace”, when we are “in the midst of world” and when we are in the midst of “the congregation”.  Everything about our identity as being Holy must revolve around these understanding of Holiness.

With all this said, it is important to keep our focus on the bigger context of what God is sharing through Moses. From the beginning, God chose Abraham to be at the center of His plan of redemption.  From Genesis 12:1-3 we read: “Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so, you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

From here I want to tie in something Paul teaches us in Galatians 3:17-18 where we read: “What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.  For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.”

What Paul is getting at is this.  The nation’s walking in the Law does not dictate “IF” God will honor the promises.  At the same time, the nation’s walking in the law does control “when” those promises will come into fruition.  In other words, from the beginning, God knew that He would hold true to the promises that He was making to Abraham, and that those promises would ultimately come to pass.  At the same time, through Moses, He gave us a much more deep and rich understanding of how the promises will be fulfilled, what our role is in the promises, what must take place prior to the promises being granted, and more specifically, how He will interact with the nation as He makes us into the priests, He “chose” us to be.

This is the overarching concept of the entire book of Deuteronomy.  In essence, God, through Moses is saying, “Yes, I am true to my word, I am “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin”.

But I am also “He who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

Ultimately, what Moses saw when sharing Deuteronomy with the nation is about the bigger picture.  It focuses on the dynamic of the God to Nation relationship.  It reveals the intimacy of the relationship and provides the backbone to the “Law” God applies to Himself when interacting with the nation as He transforms us into the image of “those that will see the fulfillment of the promises made to our father Abraham”. In this, we find not only our identity and our purpose, but we gain a sense of faith in the promises.  Just like the saints of old who are spoken of in Hebrews 11 who “by faith believed in the promises”, we too find faith in the same promises.  We can trust that someday the nation will be restored to the promised land, that we will be a part of that restoration, and in that time, we will be a part of the family that God uses to bless all the people of the world.  At the same time, we must understand that the “when” of these promises is deeply connected to what Moses is sharing in these scriptures. 

We must understand that the “blessing” of the nations is a direct result of our embracing our priestly role and living up to our commission as walking in harmony with what God defines as Holy as taught by our Messiah while resisting the temptation to fall into religious piety that “takes the Lord’s name in vain”.

This is what will lead the Nations to Him, to His ways, out of darkness, and into His marvelous light.  This is why all this is so important.  We simply are not a blessing when we are not doing Torah from our hearts, in love, and in His way.

I pray that the words that I have shared have been an encouragement, that they were of the Holy Spirit, and that in and through this time together we have all been moved into a place of deep contemplation.  I pray that as we allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, we allow Him to show us where we might be struggling in extending an image of “His name” that is in harmony with the Holiness that He asks us to walk.  I pray that in and through our brokenness to what He is revealing that He gives us the will, the strength, and the desire to be transformed more and more into His likeness from one day to the next.  Amen.

Numbers 16:1-18:32, Korach, "Korach"

Chapter 16 begins with the story of Korach (who was a Levi) leading a group of 250 men in a revolt against Moses and Aaron.  God threatens to wipe out all the people, Moses intercedes, and God brings judgment on Korach.  In so doing, He opens up a gorge in the earth that swallows Korach and his entire family (including Dathan and Abarim and their families).  Then the Lord sent fire and consumed the 250 who had joined the revolt. 

The next day the people of Israel come against Moses and Aaron and blame them for the loss of these lives.  A plague breaks out and 15,000 die before Aaron's intercession stops the plague.  Chapter 17 covers the story of God proving His choice of Aaron for the priesthood through the blooming of Aaron’s rod.  In the story, God instructs Moses to have the head of each of the 12 families of the Sons of Israel bring a rod to him with their name engraved on it.  God informed Moses that the rod of the man that He chooses for the priestly role would sprout. 

The next day, when Moses checked the rods, he found that Aaron’s rod had put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore “ripe” almonds.  Moses returns the rods to the heads of the individual families, and put’s Aaron’s rod before the testimony as a sign to those who may think about rebelling against Aaron’s authority.  The chapter ends with the sons of Israel speaking to Moses regarding their fear of approaching the tabernacle of God as it seemed as if everyone who approached the tabernacle would die.

In Chapter 18 we find God telling Aaron that from this point forward, he and his household would bear the guilt of any sin that is committed in connection with the sanctuary or the priesthood.  Then, God instructs Aaron to extend some of the services of the tent of meeting to other families within the family of Levi.  At the same time, God clarifies that those services are limited and do not provide those families access to the alter or the furnishings of the sanctuary.

The parsha concludes with God declaring how the families of Levi will have no inheritance of land but that their portion will come from the food and proceeds given from the people.  This parsha has a lot packed into it and there are many things that we could discuss.  This morning I would like to share on a few that I see coming together to create a common theme.

The first is in regard to Korach approaching Moses and demanding equality based on his perceived view of things.  In Numbers 16:3 we read: “They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”

The major fallacy I see in Korach’s thought process is this:  He makes the assumption that Moses believes that his role within the leadership of the people is dependent upon his own holiness and that in this view of himself he has lifted himself above the rest of the people. 

This mentality is the biggest difference between Korach and Moses.  Moses is humble enough to realize that He is only worthy of being used by the Lord in the ways he is being used as the result of God’s holiness.

This is what actually qualifies Moses to be lifted above the people and positions him to be used by God in that role. 

When we begin to act like Korach and believe that “our holiness” somehow qualifies us for something and that in that we begin to lift ourselves up relative to others, that thought and that process of self-exultation actually disqualifies us. 

None of us are “holy enough”.  Only God is and only He lifts up or exults.

The next thing that came to me was how Moses continues to intercede on behalf of the people when the people continue to rebel, move in pride, and/or sin against him and/or God.

In Numbers 16:20-22 right in the middle of the ordeal with Korach we read….  Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one-man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?”

Then again, later in the story when the entire congregation comes against Moses and Aaron as we read in Numbers 16:45. “Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then (Moses and Aaron) fell on their faces.”

In both of these cases, Moses and Aaron were under attack from the people. Their authority was being held in question, and they were being falsely accused. 

In this God tells them to “separate themselves”. 

Holy is to stand apart.  So, with that, God is basically telling them that they “deserve to be treated differently” than the rest of the people and tempting to exult themselves based on this understanding.  

God is basically telling them that it is OK to view themselves differently, more holy, to “set themselves apart” from the people, to see themselves as “higher” and “deserving of a different destiny”.

This reminded me of Exodus 33:24-17 right after the sin of the golden calf.  In this we read:

And (God said to Moses), “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.”  Then (Moses) said to (God), “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.  “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”  The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”

All of this ties back into the parsha I presented two weeks ago relative to leading and following. 

Back at the time of the sin of the golden calf, Aaron was just as much a part of the problem as the rest of the people.  At that time, Moses was given the opportunity to lift himself up above the people and be treated differently.  Instead, he challenged God to walk with all or none, and to not treat him any different than any of the people. 

Two weeks ago, we read about Miriam and Aaron attacking Moses' authority, God putting leprosy on Miriam, and Moses, in resisting the temptation of an “I told you so”, intercedes and Miriam is ultimately healed.

In this parsha we see Aaron joining Moses as they together resist the temptation to use the sin of the people and God’s anger toward them as an opportunity for preferential treatment and self-exultation.

From there we move into the story of “Aaron’s rod” blooming and producing “ripe” fruit and then into the imagery of how Aaron and his household would bear the guilt of any sins committed against the sanctuary or the priesthood.

Isn’t this exactly what Moses had been doing since the time God sent him back to Egypt to lead the people out of Egypt?  Isn’t this what Moses demonstrated to Aaron in the parsha we read two weeks ago?  Isn’t this exactly what Moses and Aaron just did when the people were sinning against the priesthood and God’s appointed?

When I think about Aaron’s rod blooming and producing “ripe” fruit at this point in time, I can’t help thinking about the calling on our lives to produce fruit, and how connected that is to allowing ourselves walk out this journey in the image of Yeshua as the ultimate High Priest that we follow. 

He was willing to humble Himself by coming down out of the heavens and taking on the form of a man, to live with us, and be subjected to the temptation of “lifting Himself up”.  He allowed those that persecuted Him to nail Him to a cross and “put Him up” alongside two criminals.  He allowed God to put the sin of us all on Him so that we may live in Him. 

In this, He moved into the position of His greatest calling, defeated sin and death, and returned to the right hand of the father where He would produce the greatest fruit as our lord and savior.

With all this said I want us all to think about a few very important questions: 

What would have happened if Moses and Aaron would have failed God’s test?  What if they would have become what Korach was accusing them of being?  What if they would have done just as God said and “separated” themselves from the people? 

Wouldn’t this have flipped things around and made it so that the congregation would have been right in blaming Moses and Aaron for everyone dying?  Afterall, that would have been the outcome.

I pray that each of us can see where we might have some areas of potential growth, that we allow God to help us move beyond the tests of allowing the failures of others to build us up, and where we grow in our ability to intercede for even those that persecute us.  I pray that in and through this, He bless each of us in our ability to blossom, to produce “ripe” fruit, and to live lives that truly honor Him.

Beha'alotcha, Numbers 8:1 – 12:16, "When you raise"

In this week’s parsha we find ourselves in a time period of the very first few months into the first year after the nation was set free from Egypt.  This unusually long portion is crammed full of intense imagery, complex situations, divine intervention, and opportunity for personal application.

If you remember, Numbers 1 begins in the second month of the first year after escaping Egypt.  Now, in chapter 9 we go backwards to the first month in the second year to before the census referenced in chapter 1 was even taken.  Here we are told about how the children of Israel would follow the cloud that descended upon the tabernacle but later in chapter 10 we are told that it wasn’t until the 20th of the second month that they actually set out to follow the cloud.  This back-and-forth theme is a bit hard to follow, but once figured out, the timeline flows as it should.

In summary, the parsha starts out with a discussion on the golden lampstand. The imagery is of a single lampstand, while at the same time creating an image of the seven branches out in front of it.  At first this didn’t make much sense to me, but as the parsha continued the concept falls into place.

The second theme we encounter is that of Moses cleansing Aaron, his sons, and the Levites for their priestly roles.  We go through a short section on the age of priestly service and retirement before moving into a recap on the Passover observance. 

The next section takes us through a summary as to how the Lord made His presence known through the perpetual presence of a cloud covering the tabernacle by day which became like the appearance of fire by night.  It is here that we are told that when the cloud would lift and move, the children of Israel would pick up camp and move to follow it.  Wherever the cloud would settle, so too would the children of Israel.

The next section of the scripture tells us about how the Lord commanded Moses to make two silver trumpets.  These trumpets were to be used to signal the children of Israel for different reasons based on how the trumpets were to be sounded.

In verse 10:11 we are told that during the second year, in the second month, on the 20th of the month, the cloud of the Lord moved for the first time.  As noted earlier, putting the book of Numbers into succession, this would have been right after the census of Numbers 1 was taken and the assignments outlined in Numbers 2-4 were given.  

In chapter 11 we find the children of Israel becoming disgruntled and complaining.  The Lord brings fire to the outskirts of the camp and Moses intercedes.  Next, the people complain about not having meat.  By this point Moses is getting fairly frustrated with the people and cries out to God to just kill him and put him out of his misery with these people.  God responds by telling Moses to get 70 men from the various tribes who He (God) would give the same spirit which He had put upon Moses so that these elders could help Moses govern the people.  From there God responds to the complaints of the people and their desire to eat meat which was really a desire to go back to Egypt and what was familiar.

In verses 11:18-20 we read about God telling Moses to address the people.  He tells Moses to “Say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore, the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.  ‘You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

Moses questions God, God responds, and Moses goes and tells the people.  The next scene is God putting the Spirit upon the 70 elders, two remain in the camp and continue to prophesy, a young man tells Moses, and Moses responding with joy and not jealousy.

 

From there the story picks back up with God sending in droves of quail and allowing them to fall all around the camp.  We are told that they fell about a day’s walk from the camp in all directions and that the depth of the birds was about two cubits deep.  One cubit is about 18 inches, so we can figure that the qual were piled up about 3 feet thick.

We are told that the people gathered the birds all one day, all that night, and all the next day before brining them (a days journey) back to the camp and cooking them.  We are also told that the one who gathered the least gathered 10 homers which totals about 11 gallons. 

Can anyone else see the total lack of Torah observance in this?

The story continues with the anger of the Lord being kindled against the people while they were just getting started with their eating.  We are told that He sent a sever plague upon the people.  Truly, they had returned to “Egypt” in more ways than just their hearts.

Moving into chapter 12 we find Miriam and Aaron murmuring against Moses.  The basis of their argument is that Moses had married a Cushite woman.  In reality, their argument was one of comparison.  In essence, they were saying that they had the same relationship with God that Moses did because Moses wasn’t any better than them as evidenced by his choice in a wife.  In other words, they were attempting to elevate themselves through the process of putting Moses down.  God responded by putting leprosy on Miriam.  Moses interceded and God said he would leave the leprosy on her long enough for her to properly bear her shame and then he would remove it.

So, what is the common theme that runs through all what I have shared and what do I believe the Lord has given me to share with you all on this parsha?

Here is what I am seeing as the common theme.  At the very beginning, the light of the golden lampstand was to be out in front of itself.  This gives the images of:

Being a light,Being out in front, andThe concept of leading and following

 

This sets the tone for the entire parsha.

The theme is repeated in the imagery of the priesthood.  They are called to be the light of the nation, spiritually going out before the people as God goes out before them.  Again, the theme of being a light, being out in front, and following God is repeated.

We then come into a brief summary of the observance of the Passover.  In this summary Moses was approached by a few men who, because of various issues, were unable to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time.  Moses responded by telling them “Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you”.  Again, the theme is repeated.  Moses demonstrates what it is like to live in harmony with God, to properly respect His place, and be humble before the Lord.  Moses fully respects God and knows that it is not his place to simply provide an answer that he derives.

This leads us into the imagery of God’s presence amongst the people as a cloud by day and a fire like cloud by night.  In this we are again given the imagery of God leading His people and the people following as they respond to the movement of the cloud by following it wherever it went.  Again, the theme of the priests leading the way behind the light of God while being followed by the nation is repeated.

From there we are told about the silver trumpets who’s entire purpose is to summon the people to “follow” based on a particular sounding of the trumpeter.  In this the people would have had to have been educated so that they could respond in the proper way to the particular blast being sounded.

All of this leads us up to the point where, during the second month of the second year, on the 20th day of that month, the cloud moved for the very first time.  Everyone fell into harmony. The trumpet players blew their horns, the priests fell into harmony and performed their duties, and Moses led the people as he followed God’s leading until they settled in to where the Lord led them.

Then, from first glance, everything changes.  The next three stories appear to be totally different.  But are they?  The first comes with the people grumbling, the Lord sending fire to the outskirts of the camp, Moses praying, and the Lord ending the fires. 

The next is the people grumbling against the manna and wanting meat.  Moses complains to God, God sends the birds, the people pick up dead birds, bring them back to the camp, and a plague breaks out.  In the midst of this story, God feels for the burden that the people are to Moses so he assigns 70 elders to help Moses lead the people. 

Ultimately, Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses, Miriam is struck with leprosy, Moses intercedes, and God heals her after allowing her to bear the shame of her guilt.

In conclusion, I want to point out how Moses responded in each of these situations.  Ultimately, his example is the one we are to follow.  When it comes down to the “rights” that Moses may have had, I can easily see how he could have had a bit of a chip on his shoulders when Aaron and Miriam came out to judge him and make a power play against his authority.  I can easily see how there could have even been a bit of a “you are getting what you deserve” attituded when Miriam was struck with leprosy.  It kind of reminds me of how people talk about what will happen when Yeshua returns and has His day of vengeance against those that persecute us, who don’t believe what we believe, and who don’t appreciate the light we are following.  

I think we need to remember what Yeshua did for us while we were still sinning against Him and how Moses interceded for Miriam and the children of Israel when they were doing nothing but making his life miserable.

Even though Moses had his moments, got frustrated with God, and went before Him with his complaints, he always stayed true to being the light and intercessor before God.  He never argued for God to wipe out the people or repay them for the wrongs they committed against him.  Moses never put himself above the people.  It was either God with all of them, or God with none of them.  Moses simply did not let God treat him any different than the people he was leading. 

I think there are some things that we can learn from Moses as we look to being a light worthy of being followed.  I think it begins with his humility and his true love of those that God put into his care.  Maybe that is a good place to start.

 

I pray that this has been a blessing to you.

 

Leviticus 12:1-13:59, Tazria, “Conceive” or “Give Seed”

In this week’s Torah portion, we start out with a summary of the commandments surrounding childbirth.  In addition to the obvious commandment of circumcision of male children on the 8th day, there are other differences between what Hashem puts forth in regard to the commandments surrounding childbirth dependent upon the child’s sex.  In the case of a male child, the mother will be unclean for 7 days, and then remain in a place of purification for another thirty-three days.  In the case of a female child, she will be unclean for two weeks, and remain in a place of purification for another sixty-six days.  In either case, at the end of the purification period she is to bring a burnt offering and a sin offering to the priest.  The priest is to offer up the sacrifices and make atonement for her at which time she will be “cleansed form the flow of her blood”.

The next chapter focuses entirely on leprosy.  In this, we are given a detailed protocol on how the priests are to evaluate a person who might have leprosy, what they are to do with that person during the investigative period (lasting up to several weeks), what they are to do when the leprosy is confirmed, what they are to do if the concern over leprosy is proven false, and how to purify a person who had leprosy but was healed of it.

Verse 13:11 is a bit confusing.  It reads “it is a chronic leprosy on the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean; he shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.” (NASB)

At first glance we might think that for some reason, in this particular case, the person is to no longer be required to live in harmony with what is put forth in verses 13:45-46 where we read “As for the leper who has the infection, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’  “He shall remain unclean all the days during which he has the infection; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (NASB)

However, on a deeper reading, I am seeing these two scriptures working in harmony with each other.  Verses 13:1-45 are all focused on the time period of evaluation.  During the evaluation period the person whose leprosy is in question is to be put into or remain “isolated”.  I am understanding this to mean “isolated within the camp” as they have not been proven to have leprosy.  This is more of the form of being “quarantined”.  Once the leprosy has been proven, then the person is to be moved from “isolation” or “quarantine” within the camp, to “living alone” outside the camp in accordance with verse 13:46.  In this, the person who has been proven to have leprosy will no longer be allowed to “live in isolation” within the camp but be forced to abide by what is put forth in 13:46.

Seeing this led me into a concept that is allowing me to tie these two chapters together in a way that I previously did not see.  Here is what I am seeing:

Let’s imagine for a moment that we were alive back in the days when the priesthood was active and acting in harmony with God’s instructions.  Let’s imagine that we are one of the priests and one of our fiends had a sore and needed to be evaluated for leprosy.  He was brought to us and, based on what is outlined, we could not determine if he did or did not have leprosy.  As such, we put him into “isolation” for seven days where at the end of the seven days he would be brought back for further evaluation.  Now, let’s take the case of another friend.  This second friend comes to us just like the first.  But in this case, there is no doubt about it. He has leprosy.  In this case, we are not to put him into isolation but to treat him in accordance with 13:45-46 because he has been proven to have leprosy. 

Now, we have to put ourselves in the position of the priest who has two friends.  The second friend could easily argue that the other friend might have leprosy too and that the “isolation” within the camp is adequate for protecting others from the spread of the disease.  Afterall, if “isolation” wasn’t adequate, then God certainly wouldn’t have allowed it during the investigative process.  Right?  How hard would it be to make a good friend go through the formal relocation to the outskirts of town?  To force them to live alone?  To tear their clothing, uncover their head, cover their mustache, and tell them that they must cry “Unclean! Unclean!” throughout the days that they remain infected?

In cases like this we can so easily start forming opinions about God, about His commandments, and about His love.  It is so easy to rationalize that these commandments were based on some human understanding of the spread of disease, are pointless, or even evil.  We can do the same for last week’s readings on the food laws, about this week’s reading on the purification laws surrounding child birth, and about countless other statutes and ordinances provided by Him.  Questions of what is fair, too hard, or what just doesn’t make sense can easily get in the way of our embracing His ways with our full heart, mind, soul, and strength.

In this case, it is important to understand things from a Hebraic perspective.  I would argue that Hebraic thinking looks at God as always loving and always in control.  From this perspective, Hebraic thinking is foundationally rooted in seeing things from a spiritual perspective that always ties back to a loving father who is interacting in our lives in a way that fully expresses how deeply He loves us. 

This mindset sets a foundation for approaching Him from a perspective of asking Him to reveal to us the deep love and potential grace surrounding all of what He has given us in His Word and all the circumstances of our lives.  In the case of leprosy, it has been concluded by the sages, that it is considered to be a spiritual curse brought about through evil speech. 

From a Hebraic perspective this is nothing short of love.  Hashem gives, and Hashem can take away.  In other words, leprosy serves a very important role in leading the person who has it into a place of repentance, transformation, and healing.  The physical healing comes through the course of the spiritual healing brought about through a dying to sin and true repentance. 

Forcing the person to live outside town, alone, and to verbally speak of their own “uncleanliness” might just be a critical part of leading that person into seeing the error of their own actions.  Afterall, when we talk about other people, can’t that lead to their being isolated from others and looked upon in a way that they might find embarrassing at the least?  If leprosy truly is given or allowed by Hashem as a direct connection to His attempts to freeing us from a pattern of evil speech, what better ramification could there be then to put us into the same position that our actions caused in the life of another?  Wouldn’t this be the best way to help us see the errors of our ways, to lead us into repentance, and to be set free from a life of broken relationships and damaging the reputation of others?  After all, are we not to “love our neighbor as we love ourselves”?

The point is, there are many things that Hashem outlines in His statutes and judgments that under first consideration might sound unfair, outdated, pointless, or even evil.  For some people, it is very easy to look at some of the commandments and attach words like “ritual” to those things that don’t seem to make sense in this physical world.  In so doing, they become wise in their own estimations and shut down any communication in that regard with the Holy Spirit.

I would argue that all of what Hashem has provided has deep and profound spiritual implications, that nothing is simply ritual, and that everything that He has defined as life is in fact life.  I trust that everything that He has defined as death simply is death.  I trust that He is a loving father and that what He has given has been given in love.  In so doing, I trust that there is a reason that when a woman gives birth to a male child, she will remain in a place of impurity for thirty-three days and that if she gives birth to a female child, she will remain in that place of impurity for sixty-six days.  I know that Yeshua has replaced the priesthood and the sacrificial system for this time period that we are currently in.  As such, we can not walk in the fullness of these ordinances as they are written.  However, maybe there is something we should be meditating on that Hashem has for us in these commandments that we don’t fully understand.  Maybe there is something that we need to consider and that the Holy Spirit will reveal.  In other words, every thing should be looked at as a “seed”, something being “conceived” by the creator whereby new life will be born.  Afterall, isn’t this really all about dying to death?  About birth?  About new life?

What I do know is this:  If we make the assumption that these things do not apply to us in any form, that they are simply rituals attached to the physical temple and a physical priesthood, we shut the door for the Holy Spirit to reveal something deeper and more profound into our understanding.  At the same time, if we trust that Hashem provided these instructions for a purpose, that the purpose might have some validity in our lives today, and that if we seek a deeper understanding, He will provide the understanding we seek.  After all, in Jeremiah 33:3 we are told “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (NASB).

I think the important thing to realize in all this is that when we approach life from this perspective, we must be careful not to expect that spiritual growth will lead to physical change.  One of my favorite expressions is this:  I seek where Hashem is intending to grow or transform me through the circumstances of life.  I know that in the process of change I will draw closer to Him and in and through this I will grow in my ability to be His disciple.  This is enough.  If the physical manifestations that led to this growth change for the better it is simply a bonus.  Nothing else.  The physical changes are never the goal of change.  The goal of change is simply the growth, my relationship with Him, and to become more in harmony with the man that He created me to be.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you, that you have discovered a few new perspectives, and that in and through this your approach to life will forever be changed in a way that will grow you in your relationship with Him, His Word, and others.  Amen Amen.

Leviticus 9:1-11:47, Sh’mini, “Eighth”

This week’s parsha picks up at the end of Moses taking Aaron and his sons through the process of being ordained into their role as priests for the nation.  In last week’s parsha we read about how detailed Moses was in following all that the Lord had commanded him in this process.  In this, Moses was acting as a priest as he conducted all of the priestly duties associated with the very first sacrifice service conducted in harmony with what Hashem had provided.  The purpose of this service was to ordain Aaron and his sons into their place as priests for the nation. 

The reading ends with the following verses:

“You shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for He will ordain you through seven days.  The LORD has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on your behalf.  At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the LORD, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.”  Thus, Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had commanded through Moses.  (Leviticus 8:33-36 NASB)

This week’s parsha picks up on the 8th day, the day after “Aaron and his sons did” what the Lord commanded through Moses.  The first chapter, chapter 9, of this week’s reading moves along beautifully with Moses guiding Aaron and his sons as they performed the same sacrifices for the people as Moses had done for them.  Moving into chapter 10 we find things suddenly going completely astray.  It is here where we read about two of Aaron’s sons presenting “strange fire” before the Lord and the Lord responding by consuming them with fire whereabout they died.

From there Moses calls two of Aaron’s sons along with Aaron’s uncle to “come forward, carry your relatives away from the front of the sanctuary to the outside of the camp” (Leviticus 10:4 NASB).  After the bodies have been taken away, Moses says to “Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the LORD has brought about.  You shall not even go out from the doorway of the tent of meeting, or you will die; for the LORD’S anointing oil is upon you.””

It is from these sections of the parsha that I am feeling compelled to share.  This scene led me to thinking about Lot and his family leaving Sodom and Lot’s wife looking back and being turned into a pillar of salt.  I was also led into contemplating the blessing and curse as outlined in Deuteronomy 28 & 29 as it relates to the nation as a whole.  It is stories such as these that can lead us into seeing Hashem as unforgiving, ruthless, demanding perfection, and intolerant to Sin.  The question is, do these situations properly represent His entire nature and the nature by which He interacts with sinful man and/or His people?

On deeper examination, I would argue, that these stories do not represent the fullness of who He is or the fulness of how He interacts with us.  Afterall, the entire sacrificial ceremony begins with offering a sin offering on behalf of the priests and the people.  This, unto itself should tell us that Hashem understands that even the priest will continue in sin and that through the sacrificial system that He has put into place, their sin would be atoned for just as is the case for the nation.  So, then what is it about these particular stories, and ones like these, that make them different.

I believe that as we fully grasp the concept of “guilt”, “rebellion”, “repentance”, and even "innocence", we can gain a better understanding on what makes these particular situations different.  In this situation, Aaron and his sons had just spent seven days in the tent of meeting.  How is it possible that after spending seven days with the Lord, immediately after the very first sacrifice ceremony, and in a place of what should have been complete awe, that they would emerge from the tent and offer a “strange fire”?  This strange fire is reconned to some form of incense that may have been offered to the Egyptian gods and something that the people of the nation may have been exposed to while living in Egypt.  With this in mind I think it is reasonable to ask just how seriously these two sons took the ordination process, the sacrifices, and the magnificent robes they had been dressed in.  Did they really believe that what was going on was really that special?  Did they really believe something different was happening?  Did they really distinguish between Hashem and the Egyptian gods?  Not only had they just spent seven days in the tent of meeting presumably to get right with God, but just prior to presenting this “strange fire” they had witnessed Hashem sending fire down from heaven to consume the sin offerings that had just been offered in behalf of themselves and the people.  If they hadn’t taken the last 7 days seriously, certainly Hashem was providing them with one last opportunity to see His glory and get their hearts right before Him.

Moving into the story of Lot, his family, and his wife leads me into the same kind of thing.  In this case, Lot and his family were living in a land of horrific sin.  Not just a little sin, but really bad sin.  Sin so bad that Hashem had decided it was time to wipe everyone out and to destroy the cities.  The night before this all took place, two angles visited Lot and his family.  It was a horrific experience.  Any person in their right mind would want nothing more than to escape such a place.  As the story unfolds, after a night of the city men attempting to abduct the two angles so that they could sexually assault them, lot offering the men his virgin daughters to assault instead, the city men refusing the girls and insisting on the angles, and the angles blinding the men so that all were safe, the angles told Lot and his family to get out because they were about to destroy the city.  In this process, the angles told Lot and his family not to look back because if they did, they would be “swept away”.  Ultimately lot, his wife, and his two daughters are given enough time to escape all the way to another city.  It is form here that Lot’s wife “looked back” when the cities behind them were being destroyed.

There are a couple things I see in common about these stories.  When Lot, his wife, and their two daughters left Sodom, they left behind the two daughters’ prospective husbands.  The night before the cities were destroyed, Lot attempted to warn his future sons-in-law.  But they did not heed the warning and as such were destroyed by the fire sent down by God upon the cities.  I’m not sure exactly why Lot’s wife looked back.  Maybe she was mourning the loss of the cities, her past life, old friends, and the sinful life she, Lot, and their daughters were to leave behind.  Maybe she was just mourning the loss of the two future sons-in-law.  Maybe she was just looking back to see the awesome power of the Lord being released on the cities.  I don’t see anything in scripture that tells us exactly why she looked back, but very simply, they were told not to.  In the case of Aaron and his sons, we are given a similar picture.  Through Moses, Hashem instructs Aaron and his family to not enter into any form of mourning, but to simply dispose of the bodies and move forward with the sacrificial ceremony as if nothing had happened. They are warned, that if they would enter into mourning from within the tent of meeting or even leave the tent of meeting they too would die and bring wrath upon the congregation.

Both of these stories seem to imply that Hashem simply has no concern for our human response to pain, suffering, and loss.  This led me back to Deuteronomy 28-29 where Hashem appears so matter affect about the explicit details of the curses that would befall the nation should they not live in harmony with all the statutes and commandments that He was putting before them.  As I read these chapters of Deuteronomy and progress into chapter 30 it hits me that this is not an “if/then” statement on Hashem’s part.  By the time we get to Deuteronomy 30:1 we come to see that the entire structure has become that of a prophetic statement.  Here we read “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you…”  (Deuteronomy 30:1 NASB)

Ultimately, this reality did befall the nation in approximately 70AD when the temple was destroyed and the last of the nation were killed, captured, sold into slavery, or exiled.  The horrific details of the siege upon Jerusalem are exactly as Hashem foretold in Deuteronomy 29.

When I think about how Hashem responds in these moments of apparent coldness, I like to think of the story from John 11 when Lazarus died and Yeshua brought him back to life.  By verse 11 we know that Yeshua already knew the basics of what Hashem was calling Him to do.  He knew that ultimately Lazarus was going to die, that He was going to raise him from the dead, and that in the process Hashem would be glorified.  Yeshua made no effort to return to Lazarus and heal him before he died.  After a two day wait, He informed His disciples that “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.” (John 11:11 NASB).  In verses 13 & 14 we discover that, when speaking of sleeping, Yeshua was using a heavenly perspective of what we would consider death.

There are two aspects of this that are really important to understand.  The first is that from Hashem’s and Yeshua’s perspectives, death is nothing more than sleeping. They have an eternal perspective.  For us to understand how they interact in our lives and for us to reconcile the pain, suffering, and loss, we must be able to see things from that perspective.  The second is explained in the next few verses.

As the story unfolds, Yeshua returns toward Bethany where He is met by Martha (Lazarus sister).  They talk and she sends for Mary her sister.  Mary, and several of those who had been with her in her home, come to where Martha and Yeshua are meeting.  Mary falls at Yeshua’s feet.  Mary and those that followed her were all weeping.  In verses 33-35 we see that Yeshua was “deeply moved in spirit and was troubled” and that He “wept”.

When I read this, I ponder what was He troubled about, and why was He weeping?  Ultimately, we must recognize that He already knew that Lazarus would live.  As such, for me, the only thing that makes sense is that He was deeply moved by the simplicity of the pain, suffering, and loss that these people were all experiencing as the result of their perceived loss of their dear friend and brother.  Taking this one step further, it must have been very hard on Him to know that He could have protected them from this grief if He would have immediately returned or even healed Lazarus from afar as He had already proven He was capable.  In the end, we must accept that Yeshua understood that Hashem knew that using this situation to bring Himself glory outweighed the temporary pain and suffering of these people.  Simply put, it gives me comfort to know that in these moments, He does feel our pain, He does sympathize, and in this, He is troubled and weeps.

In contemplating the last 2,000 years of the history of the Jewish people and the gross persecution that we have been subjected, I only find peace in the understandings put forth in the preceding discussion.  As I read Isaiah 54:5-8 I find the same kind of heavenly perspective being used that Yeshua used when talking to the disciples in John 11.  Here Hashem is explaining through Isaiah, at what I would argue is a time in the future looking back at “the time of the gentiles”, that He had “hidden His face from us for a moment”.  I believe this conversation will take place between Hashem and His people right before He re-gathers us from exile and establishes His kingdom here on earth.  I believe this is the fulfillment to Deuteronomy 30.  In short, from a heavenly perspective, He looks back at the past two thousand years as a “moment” just as Yeshua looks at death as sleep.  And the purpose I believe is again the same.  All for His glory.

Ultimately, His word tells us how to understand Him from this heavenly perspective while at the same time helping us to see that He understands us from our human perspectives.  As we walk out this life and become more and more like Him, we can fall into a tendency of becoming so heavenly minded that we lose contact with the reality of the pain, suffering, and loss of this world.  In this we lose contact with our fellow human beings and actually become less like Him in the process.  The point is to be able to comprehend things from an eternal and heavenly perspective so that we can remain in peace, while at the same time never losing the flesh perspective that leads to our ability to remain compassionate, empathetic, and sorrowful when the pain and suffering of this world is revealed.  In and through this this we remain powerful examples of what it is to be in unity with Him, trusting that He knows best, while allowing ourselves to experience the longsuffering associated with a fallen world.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you, that you have come to know Him in a new way, and that in and through this, you will grow in your relationship with Him.  Amen Amen

 

Leviticus 6:1-8:36, Tzav, “Command”

Over the last several weeks I have come to see the pattern of how these sections of the Torah were prepared by Moses.  First, he shares with us what the Lord shared with Him, then he tells us about what he did in following all that the Lord had told him.  I really like how this pattern has unfolded in the preparing of the priestly garments, the preparing of the tabernacle, the preparing of the tabernacle coverings, and ultimately, here, in the starting of the sacrificial system.

In previous readings I kind of missed the impression that this was the first time that any of this, all of this, had ever been done.  This time through it really hit me.  This is the first time.  God just gave this all to Moses, and Moses, for the very first time, is showing Aaron and his sons what to do.  All the people have been gathered to observe, and they too are observing all of this for the very first time.

As I moved into chapter 8 of the reading, I started coming into the significance of some important aspects of what was taking place.  The chapter starts out with the Lord speaking to Moses and having him “take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread, and the assembling all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”  Leviticus 8:2-3 (NASB).  After telling the people that he was doing what the Lord commanded him to do, he washed Aaron and his sons with water.  Then he dressed Aaron in the priestly garments.  After that, he “took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.  He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. (Leviticus 8:10-11 NASB)

As I read these lines, I started considering just how serious Moses was in all of this.  This led me to understanding just how serious he took his relationship to be with God.  I started thinking about how deeply Moses must have loved God and how intent he was to trust Him and follow His commands.  As I read these verses, I began to see just how holy Moses saw God to be, and how deeply Moses understood to respect Him, honor Him, and uphold Him with the reverence He deserves.  As I read these verses I began to wonder how much of these understandings and attitudes were meant to be passed along to Aaron and his sons through this very process. 

As I got to this point in the reading, I started considering how sometimes I hear people talking about how the veil was torn when Yeshua was on the cross.  I started thinking about how this is represented as being all about giving each of us direct access to Hashem in the Holy of Holies and how we can approach Him “just like we are”.  This led me back to where I was in the last paragraph and into wondering how many of those understandings and attitudes were meant to be passed along to us through what Yeshua did on the cross 2,000 years ago.

As I moved deeper into the reading, I discovered how Moses went on to anoint Aaron and consecrate him.  Then Moses dressed Aaron’s sons in the priestly garments just as he had dressed Aaron.  From there Moses had Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering as he slaughtered it.  I found it interesting that all that Moses allowed Aaron and his son’s to do was to lay their hands on the bull and that from there, Moses did all the slaughtering, he is the one who put the blood on the alter and “purified” it, and he is the one who poured the blood at the base of the alter and consecrated it, “to make atonement for it”. (Leviticus 8:14 NASB).

Again, this was a reminder that something new was taking place.  The alter was being purified, consecrated, and being atoned for.  Aaron and his sons were not yet acting as priests, and Moses, not even dresses as a priest, was doing all the work.  I began to realize that this was all about discipleship. 

Moving deeper into the reading takes us through Moses performing the sacrifices for the burnt offering, the offering of ordination, his ordaining Aaron and his sons with the placing of blood on the lobe of their right ear, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot.  We then read about Moses preparing Aaron and his sons for the wave offering and having them perform the wave before taking the unleavened cakes and oil from their hands and offering them up to the Lord again as a part of their ordination.

From there Moses took the breast of the offering, waved it before the Lord, and offered it up as his portion of the ordination sacrifice.  From there Moses mixed anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the alter and sprinkled it on Aaron, his sons, and on their garments.  This consecrated them and their garments.  Then Moses told them to boil the remainder of the meat from the ordination sacrifice along with the unleavened cakes and oil and eat at the doorway of the tent of meeting.  Once they had eaten and been satisfied, they were to burn what was left of these things and not save them.

The final stage of their ordination was to remain in the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven says.  Moses told them to remain there day and night, and that if they left for any reason, they would die.  He concluded in saying that through this “ordination” process, the Lord would be making atonement on their behalf.

Moving a little beyond this reading and going into the first 9 verses of chapter 9 helps bring what I am seeing to a proper closure.  In these first 9 verses of chapter 9 we see Moses commanding Aaron and his sons to do for the children of Israel just as he had done for them.  Maybe not to the same extent, but to a very particular degree and to the degree that led me to seeing things with a prophetic eye.

In these verses we find Moses telling Aaron and his sons how to perform the sacrifices for their own atonement and then move into the various sacrifices for the people.  This all took place on the 8th day of the sacrificial process.

Going back to the veil being torn when Yeshua took his final breath on the cross has led me to a very important concept that I believe we all should take into consideration when thinking that the veil was torn so that we all have access to the Holy of Holies.  One of the points that we fail to consider when thinking about this is that the veil that was torn was the veil that separated the Holy Place, from The Most Holy Place.  The Most Holy Place is also known as the “Holy of Holies”.  The “Holy Place” is the room that is portioned off from the rest of the tabernacle with another veil.  Furthermore, the rest of the tabernacle is still separated from the people with another set of curtains through which they were only allowed through for the point of offering sacrifices. 

In essence, if we want to really understand what Hashem may have been implying with the tearing of the veil, we must keep in mind which veil was torn and to whom access to that veil was extended.  In short, the average people of the “nation” were only allowed through the curtains of the outer court for the purpose of offering sacrifices.  Even then, they were not allowed to move beyond the alter and toward the Holy Place or that veil.  This area was set aside for the priesthood.  The priests were then allowed perpetual access in the remainder of the outer court area.  During set times they were allowed through the veil of the Holy Place to minster to the various articles that were kept there.  This included the access to the show bread, the morning and evening burning of the incense, and the other various tasks that were performed on a regular schedule.  From there, there was the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.  Only once a year was the High Priest allowed to move through this veil and into the area where the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat were to be found.

What I am getting at here is this; Yes, when Yeshua took His last breath something very important shifted in the heavenly realms.  When this shift occurred, Hashem gave us a sign through the tearing of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.  In interpreting this I do believe that Hashem was telling us that Yeshua Himself, from that day forward, would forever be our one and only High Priest and that as His People, we would have access to Him.  At the same time, I think it is very important to note that the veil that stood between the Holy Place and the outer court did not tear.  Furthermore, the walls of the temple did not fall down.  In other words, was Hashem attempting to communicate that from the beginning, His intent has been to create a nation of people who would become a royal priesthood that would ultimately be His bride and through whom the world would be blessed?

This concept is supported in Exodus 19:3-6: “Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.  ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.” (NASB)

Within the context of the New Covenant, I think Peter really captures what I am attempting to communicate in 1 Peter 2:9-11 when he says: “But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.  Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”  (NASB)

Before I go too far, I want to cut off any concept of the gentile church replacing Israel as God’s chosen people.  The above verse is a direct reference to Deuteronomy 32 where Hashem gave Moses the “song of Moses”.  This is a prophetic song that, together with Deuteronomy 28-30, provide the entire prophetic image of the journey of Israel from that time through the return of the Lord and the setting up of the millennial kingdom.  Paul references this song when he speaks of how Hashem will use the gentiles to move the people of Israel to jealousy in Romans 11.  In this section of scripture Paul clearly states ultimately “all of Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26) and that it is through this partial hardening of Israel’s heart that gentiles would be grafted into the very olive tree through which the people of Israel come.  This is a grafting in, not a replacement.

With that said, going back to the point and the prophetic implications I will share what I am seeing.  Moses, following God’s commandments, ordained Aaron and his sons to serve as the priests to the “nation of Israel”.  They spent seven days going through a process of ordination.  I would argue, as I will substantiate next week, that this was intended to be a time of deep contemplation, reflection, and repentance.  I would argue that the blood of the animals and all the physical things that Moses did, unto themselves, did nothing for the atonement.  The true atonement came, and was to come, through the heart felt repentance and getting right before God in harmony with the sacrificial system that He instructed Moses to facilitate.  At the end of the seven days, Aaron and His sons were presumably “ordained” and ready to be the priests they were called to be.  As such, moving into their 8thday, they began something new.  They were now to be priests for the people. The first thing they were to do in this new role was to start the sacrificial journey for the people in the same way as Moses had done for them.  This was to sacrifice an animal for sin.  From there, it was only after the sin offering that Moses could move into the sacrifices associated with the ordination. So too was the process for Aaron and his sons relative to the people.

As I contemplated this, I saw that, in accordance with Exodus 19 and 1 Peter chapter 2, the entire nation is called to be priests.  As such, I got the image of Aaron and his sons “ordaining” the people in the same way that Moses had “ordained” them.  This leads me to seeing Yeshua’s blood as the “ordination” of the grafting of the elect gentiles into the “nation” through the New Covenant. 

In the end, I have no choice but to recognize that Peter was clearly speaking to the gentiles who had grafted themselves into the “nation”.  I have to accept that he was calling them to embrace the calling of living priestly lives.  I have to allow this to speak deeply into my soul.  I have to ponder what this means and I have to share what I believe I am being called to share.  All of these implications help me understand what God may have been attempting to communicate when He tore the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. 

Maybe what He was saying should be more understood as Him saying that atonement would no longer be offered once a year through a physical High Priest as our only representative but instead would be offered perpetually through Yeshua being our spiritual, and more perfect, High Priest.  At the same time, only priests are allowed access into the Holy Place, and as such, this may be why it is so important to see ourselves as such.  Maybe, we should see what He did on the cross and the blood that He spilled as our ordination.  Maybe if we approached Him with this understanding, we would tend to approach Him with the same reverence that Hashem was calling Aaron and his sons to as He spoke through Moses and the protocol He established through their ordination.

With all this said, we must remain in balance.  We must keep in mind is that being a priest is about heart attitude, repentance, transformation, faith, dedication, trusting Him, intercession, sacrificial service to others, and walking in His strength and not our own.  We have to remember that it was only a year earlier that Aaron built the golden calf and lied to Moses about it.  We have to accept that Aaron and his sons did not instantly transform overnight or even in the course of seven days.  We have to accept and trust that the Lord is the one who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin” Exodus 34:6-7 NASB.

When we remain in balance we walk in faith, allow Him to be Lord, seek to grow daily, and understand that we belong to Him for a purpose in what He is doing in the lives of others.  As we walk out this journey there will be times where He will have to show us our selfishness, our self-righteousness, our lusts, and our destructive patterns.  At the same time, it is in His strength that we grow and we must embrace the journey and the process.  I believe this is what it is to be a priest.  Afterall, if we can’t apply this balance to our own lives, how will we ever be tolerant of the very people Hashem has called us to represent?  I guess it is no wonder that before the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies to meet with God on behalf of the people, he first had to get right with God himself, and then intercede for his family.  Maybe there is something to be learned just in that.

I pray that this has been a blessing, that it has been challenging yet not weighty, I pray that it has been revealing and encouraging.  I pray that in and through the time you have dedicated to what I have shared that the Holy Spirit has quickened something into you soul that will lead to greater freedom, growth, and transformation.  Amen amen

When given the opportunity, one of the things that I like to share, is that we will never fully understand the New Covenant if we do not have a full understanding of the Mosaic Covenant.  This week’s parsha leads us right into the center of what I mean when sharing this concept.

First of all, it is kind of interesting to me that this book, the book of instruction, begins with the sacrificial system.  Before Hashem even tells us how we are supposed to live, and what His instructions are, He immediately tells us how He has set up a system of atonement so that we enter into our reading seeing His mercy, grace, compassion, and understanding.  The first three chapters are dedicated to this aspect of the instructions.  With this understanding, we should know that we are not judged based on performance, that He is on our side and not against us, and that there is no condemnation in failure.  We should be able to see Him as a loving father who is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7 NASB).  We should see that this is not something new in the “New Covenant” and that this is the foundation of who He is and has always been.

The next thing that really hits me is what is found in the very next chapter.  Again, before He even gets into the do’s and do not’s of the instructions, in chapter 4 He takes a pause to explain the difference between sin and guilt.   The concept of unintentional sin, guilt, repentance, rebellion, and blaspheme are absolutely foundational in our understanding of the Mosaic Covenant.  If we do not fully comprehend what Hashem is saying in these verses, we will totally miss one of the most important aspects of this covenant.  If we do not understand the differences between these concepts, we will never understand verses like “yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34:7 NASB) If we do not understand these concepts within the context of the Mosaic Covenant, we will never understand their context within the “New Covenant”.

The problem comes in when we assume that when we are in sin, we are also in a position of guilt.  This simply is not the heart of God nor is it the foundation of how He parents us.  I would argue that this is the point that Hashem was attempting to make to Cain when Cain did not bring Him a proper sacrifice.  The reality is, when we discover that we are in sin, we are the ones who bring condemnation upon ourselves.  He is a loving father who is true to His Word.  We can trust what He says.  And as such, it is important to understand these concepts so that we know that the only thing that moves us out of a right standing with Him is when we move into active rebellion.  This is what Cain failed to understand, it is why his countenance fell, and why He ended up falling into deeper sin.

In developing this concept, let’s take look at one of Yeshua’s teachings as He explains to His disciples how this concept can be applied.  In this passage, Yeshua is explaining to His disciples that they will be persecuted just as He had and would continue to be.  Within the context of this discussion, He points out that Hashem had used the religious leaders’ observations of Him to move them from a place of innocent sin into a place of fiduciary guilt.  Speaking of those who will persecute Him, He tells His disciples “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have guilt, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  “He who hates Me hates My Father also.  “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have guilt; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.  “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ (John 15:22-25 NASB)

In Numbers 15:30-31 (NASB) we are given a better understanding of the concept of guilt and what the ramifications of guilt are.  Here we read, “‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people.  ‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’”

In these verses it is critical to note that the concept of guilt is connected to “defiance” which is very different from sinning unintentionally.  I would even argue that there is a difference between “defiance” and backsliding.  When a person backslides, their heart is truly in the right place. They are not in active rebellion or acting in defiance.  Instead, they are working on moving into a place of full repentance, seeing truth, and attempting to change.  I would also argue that a person who has been in defiance or active rebellion who moves into a place of repentance and a true heart desire to change, is no longer subjected to the conditions of “rebellion”.  There are many New Testament writings that support this claim. 

With this understanding, we can now gain a better insight into what Yeshua was teaching when He said “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.” (Luke 12:10 NASB)

To better understand this key verse, let’s bring in one more scripture.  This concept is repeated on several different levels in Leviticus chapter 4 and in Numbers 15 as well as in a few other locations throughout the scripture.  When given, the context is specific for a priest, for a leader, for a member of the community, for an alien, and even for the entire congregation as a group.  Furthermore, this even gets broken down further for when the entire congregation becomes unaware of some of the things, or, as noted in Numbers 15:22-24 for when the entire congregation becomes unaware and sins against the TOTALITY of scripture.  In the following verse we find Hashem’s provision for atonement for when the entire congregation turns away from aspects of what He has provided.  Notice that guilt is specifically defined as “when the sin which they have committed becomes know”.

“Now if the whole congregation of Israel commits error and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly, and they commit any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and they become guilty; when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a bull of the herd for a sin offering and bring it before the tent of meeting.”  (Leviticus 4:13-14 NASB)

The question then becomes, why would speaking a word against the Son of Man not carry the same fiduciary responsibility as speaking out against the Holy Spirit? 

We need to make a few connections for this to all make sense.  If we look at all these scriptures, we discover a common theme.  The common theme is that guilt is connected to knowledge.  At the same time, sin is not connected to knowledge.  Sin is sin even if we are unaware of it.  When we remain actively in sin even after it has become made known to us, we are in rebellion which is defined as blasphemy against the Lord or the Holy Spirit.

From here, I want to go to Deuteronomy 19:15 where we read “A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.” (NASB)

This is restated in the Matthew 18:15-16 where Yeshua, tells us that “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.  “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.” (NASB)

With this, I think it is reasonable to consider that when we have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit speaking the same thing to us, we have no excuse and are moved into a place of having “every fact confirmed”.  For me, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are the only two truly creditable witnesses.  Someone telling me something does not quicken that fact into my soul.  Even if they can show me in the bible where it supports what they are saying. 

On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit speaks into our soul, we have no excuse and the facts of our sin are confirmed and we can no longer claim to be in a place of ignorance.  At this point we have a choice to repent, let our hearts be changed, and allow our restored heart to lead us into a transformation of the mind, which leads to a change in behavior.  The other choice would be to call good evil and evil good and continue pressing forward with the sinful behavior “despising” the ways of God and moving forward in “defiant rebellion”.

In this context we can understand why “speaking a word against” Yeshua does not carry the same fiduciary responsibility as speaking out against the Holy Spirit.  I am not going to attempt to explain exactly what Yeshua was communicating relative to accepting Him as Lord and savior in what He is saying here.  At the same time, understanding how sin and guilt are different relative to forgiveness helps us understand why Yeshua was making this point.  If we can accept Yeshua’s teaching on even the sin of “speaking a word against” Him as being a forgivable sin, so too must we accept the forgiveness of sinning against other aspects of Torah observance, for what else could carry a greater weight than “speaking out against” Him.

Now, the concept of being forgiven for “speaking a word against” Yeshua opens a can of worms within our traditional theology if we consider what could be implied in this statement.  For me, the simplest answer is that the entirety of scripture supports two major beliefs.  The first is that a person’s spiritual journey continues into the heavenly realms.  The second is that forgiveness does not imply protection from ramifications or the rod at the hand of a loving father. 

We are told that in the end, all people will be judged. Some will be destined for the lake of fire, and others for the new heaven and the new earth.    From how I see it, between now and then, He will continue to parent each of us as a loving parent who properly balances ramifications and guidance in harmony with how He created us, who He knows us to be, what He understand we are and are not aware of, and as He sees best for His plan of salvation for not only us, but for the world in general.  I am not saying that people who “speak a word against” Yeshua will have the same fate as those who embrace Him just because scripture tells us that they will be forgiven.  What I do believe He is attempting to communicate in all this is that how He interacts in our lives and how He choses to parent us will change based on where we stand in what He knows to be true relative to our awareness of sin.

Ultimately, the point is, that Hashem is a loving father.  He wants to be in relationship with us, and just like Cain, He does not want our countenance to fall every time our sin is made known to us.  Just as He said to Cain, “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7 NASB)

One of the greatest sins against ourselves is to reject His forgiveness, not learn from our mistakes, and fall into a mindset where we feel like we lost His love and are no longer welcomed in His house.  When we feel like His children and that we are fully loved and forever welcomed to stay in His house we are protected from the attacks of the enemy.  Sadly, when we don’t understand the depths of our Father’s love we can tend to start believing that we are no longer welcomed in His home.  In this state we leave the protection of His home where the enemy is crouching just outside the door.  This is the image of where self-loathing and condemnation lead us into deeper sin.

Understanding that Hashem is a loving father who does not see us as “guilty” just because we sinned is really important.  Understanding what we are to do when we find ourselves in a place of guilt, when our sin has been made known to us, is also really important.  Understanding how repentance and true heart felt change impact our accountability to guilt is foundational to our relationship with Him.

Understanding that all of this was available within the context of the Mosaic Covenant helps us to understand how Yeshua did not change the nature of the God-man relationship.  This helps us reconcile that Hashem does not change, and it helps us see that His promises of love, grace, and forgiveness have extended across all the generations of His people.

I pray that this blog has helped you see things in a new way.  I pray that what you have discovered will encourage you in your relationship with Him.  I pray that what you have read will help you understand the New Covenant in a new way.  In and through all this, I pray that your relationship with Him will grow and that each day you will come to receive His love in a new and powerful way.  I pray that in receiving this love you will continue to become freer, more accepting of yourself, and more accepting of others.  Amen Amen

 

Exodus 38:21-40:38, Pekudei, “Inventory of”

There are a few things that stood out to me in this week’s parsha.  One was that we have been on the subject of the priestly garments and the explicit directions for the building of the tabernacle for several weeks now.  The other is just how many times in this week’s parsha the term “just as the Lord had commanded” is used.  Believe it or not, this term (or a derivative thereof) is used 19 times.  The next thing that hit me is how the dyes for the various fabrics and even the skins from some of the coverings for the tabernacle come from unclean animals.  Finally, Aaron putting on the priestly garments just kind of hit me.  Here is how it reads:

Exo 40:12-16 (NASB) “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.  You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.  You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”  Thus Moses did; according to all that the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

The reason that this hit me like it did, is that in Aaron’s life, it had only been one year since the following events had taken place:

Exodus 32:2-24 (NASB) Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt." Now when Aaron saw [this,] he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow [shall be] a feast to the LORD." ……….. Then Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought [such] great sin upon them?" Aaron said, "Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil.  "For they said to me, 'Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'  "I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.' So they gave [it] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf."

Even before coming to what I was drawn toward in the above, I was using the other images to lead me into a place of personal introspection.  What I was beginning to see is that “we are the temple” on earth, and that just as the tabernacle coverings were made of a multitude of materials, fabrics, colors, textures, and elements of a varying degree of properties, so to are we.  Again, I can look at this on the micro scale of us as individuals and on the macro scale of the body of Yeshua in general.

With this concept in mind, I started looking at those aspects of myself that I have been less than accepting of, less than loving toward, and even downright judgmental of.  I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I can be my own worst critic.  At the same time, I think it is very easy to treat others in the same way we treat ourselves.  So, if we are the kinds of people who are always “taking an inventory” of ourselves, are we also the kinds of people who are always “taking an inventory” of others?

I think this is why this verse hit me so hard.  What do you think it was like for Moses to “do just as the Lord commanded” concerning Aaron and his sons just one year after such a gross sin against God?  Not only did Aaron sin against God in the making of the golden calf, he was about as far removed from the image of a priest any man could possibly be.  First, when the people came to him with their fears, he became a people pleaser and gave them what they wanted.  Then he added to what they requested and multiplied the sin by holding a feast day that led them into even greater sin and debauchery.  Ultimately, when challenged by Moses, he deflected the responsibility, blamed the people, and lied about how the golden calf had come into existence.  One year later, God is asking Moses to wash him with water, anoint him with oil, and robe him in the priestly garments.  How much humility do you think it took for Moses to step into “doing just as the Lord commanded”?  Do you think you would have been able to do the same?  How about if you were Aaron?  Knowing what you did just a year ago, do you think you would have been able to let Moses wash you with water, anoint you with oil, and put the priestly garments on you?  Could have you worn the turban with the gold head band that read “Holy to the Lord” across your forehead?  Then what about the people?  If you were one of the people, what do you think you would have thought watching all this take place?  I mean, it was just a year ago that this guy, for all intensive purposes, didn’t appear any less prone to sin than the rest of them?

Well, the truth is, every single day we are asked to do these very things.  We are asked to do it with fellow believers, with our loved ones, and yes, even with ourselves.  Ultimately, the question comes down to our ability to stop “taking inventories” and simply do as the Lord has commanded us.

When I think about some of the key concepts of the New Covenant, one of the biggest that jumps out at me is one where the scriptures are somewhat ambiguous unless we truly understand how the scribes understood the base scriptures concerning what we are given in the New Testament writings.

In Galatians 3:16 (NASB) we read “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”—

In the context of dispensation theology that believes that the Jewish people were under a judgement of condemnation and that we are now in a time of grace, we can be led into believing that the “curse” referenced here is something imposed by God like the curses referenced in Deuteronomy 27-30.  However, when we understand that God does not change, and that He is parenting us today in the very same ways as He parented the people of Israel prior to Yeshua’s coming, we are forced to look at this scripture in a new way.

This scripture specifically references us back to Deuteronomy 21:22-23 (NASB) where we read ““If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.”

Doing a bit of research led me to an understanding of this scripture that I believe to be the real heart and soul of what God is getting at in this commandment.  The thing we must understand is that in the context of the commandment, the person is not being hung as a mode of their being put to death.  Instead, the commandment centers on the intentionally of hanging a person who has already been put to death upon a tree as a display.  There are many reasons that an entity would hang the one they executed up on display.  The reasons could include instilling a sense of fear or shame.  Neither of these two are the heart of Torah or what it is to be the people of God.  Ultimately, yes, we are to have a healthy fear of God, but this does not include a fear of death or a fear of shame.

In Romans 8:12-15 (NASB) we read: So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"

In Hebrews 2:14-15 (NASB) we read: Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

In Galatians 5:1 (NASB): It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

Finally, in Romans 8:1 (NASB): Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So, here is what I am getting at.  The curse that comes upon the land, that God is referencing in Deuteronomy 21 starts with shame and extends into fear.  These are the “curses” of the law when we approach the law from works instead of faith.  I would argue that these two mentalities, rooted in pride, are the two most challenging thought process that must be overcome in our desire to walk with Him in the true relationship He desires us to live.  The first way this “shame/fear” based mentality manifests is in a form where we attempt to earn God’s favor by being “good enough”.  The struggle is that the letter of the law along with the spiritual reality of it is far to great to ever fully walk in.  In the end, we always come up short, and the impact of the shame and fear drive us away from the law and from God.  On the other hand, when looked at the law through the lens of a works-based mentality, there is the chance we may recognize we will never meet its righteous standards, give up on it before we ever even start, and again push away from the law and God leading us into the same demise.

As an analogy, I like to look at a typical husband/wife relationship as an example.  All of us know that we will never meet the full righteousness of being a “perfect” spouse.  If we approach our marital relationship based on the faith that our spouse will appreciate us for who we are in our effort to be the best spouse we are capable, we are forever motivated to grow in our likeness of that unreachable perfectly righteous standard.  At the same time, all of us know it would be catastrophic to the relationship to not even try to be a good spouse simply because we know we will never meet the standards of the perfectly righteous model.  If we could simply apply this understanding to our relationship with God, we could easily move out from under a slave relationship to the law, and live with it as a foundation to a greater relationship with Him as sons and daughters.

In the end, the point is, Yeshua came to take the curse of the shame, condemnation, and fear of death that these emotions lead us to.  He nailed those responses to His perfect law to the cross and provided for us a way to enter into a relationship with Him where we no longer feel like slaves, but are set free to be His friends.  In and through this we are free to see ourselves how He sees us, see others as He sees them, and support and encourage each other in spite of the apparent flaws that we each still walk in.

The truth is, the body of Yeshua is made up of a lot of people who started out a whole lot less holy than they are today.  Just like the coverings of the tabernacle are made up of, to a certain extent, the skins of unclean animals and/or clean materials dyed from inks taken from unclean animals, we are His temple also made up of some stuff that was transformed from some less than clean events.  We could even say that those things are what we “died” to, and in and through that “dying” process, we gained a testimony that will bring Him glory and reveal His beauty. 

The truth is, this is the journey of Israel, the church, and each of us individually.  So, as we stop and look at each other and the state of the church at large, let’s slow down for a minute and remember that it is the very testimony of those death experience that make us approachable, that give credit to who He is, and that prove He is trust worthy.  Let us always remember where the color comes from in our testimony, and that without the “dye” of our “death” experiences, what we have to show the world just wouldn’t be that attractive.  Let’s slow down and remind ourselves to see ourselves and each other as whole beings, to stop taking inventory, and stop being so critical.  In and through this we can break the curse of fear and death, step into a new relationship with Him, and embrace our successes and learn from our failures.  In the end, this will help us to love ourselves and in so doing, love each other.

I pray that his has been a blessing to you.  I pray that these words have revealed something deep within your walk with Him, and in and through what I have shared, an opportunity has been created to step into a new form of freedom in your relationship with Him.  Amen Amen