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Prayer Request (for site updates, see below)
I was laid off from my full-time job several years ago when -- after a lot of prayer, soul searching and discussion with my wife -- we decided to operate the Hebrew for Christians ministry entirely by faith in God's provision through the love and kindness of His people. I am not paid for doing this work, and therefore I ask you to consider supporting us. If you can help, please offer a donation or purchase some of the Hebrew study materials offered here. Encouraging other web sites to link here also helps us become more visible on the web. Above all, agree with us for the Lord's will to be done in our lives. Todah, chaverim.
    
Note: My wife and I have have three young children (Josiah, Judah, and Emanuel David ). The LORD has graciously provided for us as Adonai Yireh (יְהוָה יִרְאֶה), "the One who sees [our need]." We are living one day at a time by the grace and mercy of God, and I want to publicly praise Yeshua and acknowledge His faithful love in caring for my family -- despite the trials during this time. The LORD God of Israel is faithful and true! And to those of you who have sent us a word of encouragement or donation during this difficult time, please accept our heartfelt appreciation! Your chesed truly helps sustain us.
יהי שׁם יהוה מברך - "May the Name of the Lord be blessed."
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I want to offer a word of thanks for all your kindness and encouragement over the last 20+ years, chaverim... I could not be in ministry apart from the grace and love you have shown to me and my family. Thank you so much and may the great and unsurpassable blessings of the LORD God of Israel be upon you always. -John
Jewish Holiday Calendar
Note: For site updates, please scroll past this entry....
The Torah divides the calendar into two symmetrical halves: the Spring and the Fall, indicating the two advents of Messiah. The Biblical year officially begins during the month of the Passover from Egypt (called Rosh Chodashim, see Exod. 12:2), and the spring holidays of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits both recall our deliverance from Egypt and also our greater deliverance given by means of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah, the great Passover Lamb of God. The holiday of Shavuot (i.e., "Pentecost") both commemorates the revelation of the Torah at Sinai as well as the revelation of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) at Zion, in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord....
The intermediate months of summer end with the advent of the sixth month of the calendar, the month of Elul, which recalls the time Moses interceded on behalf of Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf. To commemorate this time of our history, we likewise focus on teshuvah (repentance) in anticipation of Rosh Hashanah and especially in anticipation of Yom Kippur, the great "Day of Atonement." In Jewish tradition the 30 days of Elul are combined with the first ten days of the seventh month (called the "Days of Awe") to set apart "Forty Days of Teshuvah" leading up to the Day of Forgiveness for Israel. Immediately following Yom Kippur, the mood changes as we begin preparing for a joyous week-long celebration called Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles") that concludes with the holiday of Simchat Torah.
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The Spring Holidays:
The spring holidays (i.e., chagei ha'aviv: חגי האביב) provide a portrait of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Messiah: Yeshua was crucified on erev Pesach (during the time of the sacrifice of the Passover lambs), buried during Chag Hamotzi (the festival of Unleavened Bread), and resurrected from the dead on Yom Habikkurim (the Day of Firstfruits). Fifty days after Passover, on the climactic holiday of Shavuot (i.e., "Pentecost"), the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) fell on the believers in fulfillment of the promise given by our Lord. Note that the giving of the Holy Spirit occurred precisely according to the calendar countdown given in the Torah (Lev. 23:15-16), and that it occurred after the resurrection of Yeshua -- just as our Messiah foretold (John 16:7; Acts 1:6-8, 2:1-4). This proves that the feasts of the LORD (מוֹעדי יהוה) were not abolished after the crucifixion. The meaning of the gospel is prefigured in the holidays given in Torah. See Luke 24:27, 24:44; John 5:46; Acts 26:22, etc.
![Spring Holiday Timeline (H4C]](../../About_HFC/Site_News/roshchodeshim-line.gif) |
Kindly note that in accordance with both Torah and Jewish tradition, the following holiday dates begin at sundown (ויהי־ערב ויהי־בקר; Gen. 1:5):
- Month of Adar (Thurs. Feb. 27th [eve]) - Sat. March 29th [day])
Dates for Passover Week 2025:
Free Seder Guide
- Month of Nisan (Sat. March 29th [eve]) - Sun. April 27th [day])
- Month of Iyyar (Sun. April 27th [eve] - Tues. May 27th [day])
- Month of Sivan (Tues. May 27th [eve] - Wed. June 25th [day])
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Note: For more information, see the Calendar Pages....
April 2025 Site Updates
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Sacrifice and Holiness...
04.03.25 (Nisan 5 5785) The book of Vayikra (i.e., Leviticus) presents two "overarching" themes. The first concerns the system of sacrifices (i.e., korbanot: קָרְבָּנוֹת) that were to be arranged in the Mishkan (and later, at the Temple). These include the daily sacrifice of the lamb (קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד), sacrifices for guilt and sin, thanksgiving offerings, and so on. The culmination of the sacrificial system, however, was expressed by the elaborate Yom Kippur service that was performed to obtain "kapparah" (כַּפָּרָה), or atonement for the people.
The second overarching theme of the book of Vayikra concerns matters of personal holiness (i.e., kedushah: קְּדוּשָׁה), including laws regarding what is "clean" (i.e., tahor: טָהוֹר) and "unclean" (i.e., tamei: טָמֵא) in matters of diet, sexual relations, personal health, and so on. In addition, holiness is connected with social relationships, such as the duty to honor parents, to give tzedakah (charity) to the needy, and to refrain from doing any harm to others. Indeed, the Ten Commandments are restated in Vayikra beginning with the words "You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy" (Lev. 19:1-2). Note, incidentally, that the order of the commandments appears differently in Leviticus 19 than what is written in Exodus chapter 20 (and also in Deuteronomy chapter 5), and that additional commandments are listed there as well.
These two major themes - sacrifice and holiness - are connected, though perhaps not in the way you might immediately think. Many people suppose the sacrifices were given as a ritual means of obtaining pardon for sin, but this is an oversimplification. The Hebrew prophets did not add or subtract from the laws given at Sinai, though they sometimes criticized the people for offering sacrifices without the desire to obey God's law. The sacrifices themselves were not the problem, but they were ineffectual apart from genuine teshuvah (see 1 Sam. 15:22-31; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 12:7; Prov. 21:3; Isa. 1:11. Micah 6:6, Jer. 7:22).
The point here is that offering sacrifice apart from a heart of obedience is meaningless mummery and ostentation, since the moral law of God was given first to the people and only afterward were the sacrifices described to Moses in the vision of the altar at Sinai. But it is obedience to God that imparts virtue to sacrifice, as the cross of Yeshua exemplifies.
The idea of sacrifice predates the giving of the law given at Sinai, of course, and goes back to the primordial Garden of Eden itself where God offered up the lamb for Adam and Eve's transgression (Gen. 3:21). This set the pattern, and later Adam brought sacrifice, as did Cain, Abel, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
We can learn from the account of Cain and Abel about righteous sacrifice. First note that Abel presented to God a sacrificed lamb - recalling the original sacrifice of God and the promise of the redemption to come given to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:14-15) - whereas Cain offered fruits of the earth. Their respective sacrifices present a study in contrasts, as God "turned to Abel and his offering" but he did not so regard Cain's offering. In a sense Abel (הֶבֶל), whose name comes from "vanity" or "vapor" (הָבַל) "re-presented" God's offering of the lamb that covered the sin of his parents, having faith in the promise of the Redeemer who was to come, whereas Cain (קַיִן) whose name means "to get" or to "take" (קָנָה), simply returned the gift of the fruits of the garden. Now there is of course nothing wrong with offering "first fruits" to God as minchah (מִנְחָה), or a gift, but God was looking for Cain to have faith in his promise. When God saw that Cain felt dejected, He rhetorically asked: "If you do well, will you not be accepted?" which indicates that being accepted is a matter of earnest faith in God, for that is what "doing well" truly means in the eyes of heaven. The Lord's words to Cain teach us that the basis for offering sacrifice to God is to express faith in his healing love and salvation...
This principle is essential to all true Torah: Those who trust in God's promises find divine blessing, as the LORD said to aged Abraham when he gazed upon the canopy of stars and believed the "impossible" promise that he would become the father of a multitude of people. Yet Abraham trusted God for the miracle: "And he (Abraham) believed in the LORD; and he (the LORD) counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). Abraham believed in God's righteousness -- his blessing, power, and lovingkindness -- that would fulfill the vision, certainly not in his own merit or strength.... This is the very first commandment, after all, namely to believe in the Lord as your Savior, Healer, Blessing, Life, Destiny, and so on. "I AM the LORD your God" (אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ) is the first word of faith (Exod. 20:2).
We have to be careful about what we think makes us right with God. Do we trust in ourselves or in God for our righteousness? Abel saw the vanity of human effort to attain righteousness, whereas Cain sought to acquire it through his own effort. The Holy Temple was destroyed because false religion offered sacrifices as a way to excuse their sin and consequently to disregard the call to turn to God and live a life of holiness. Walking by faith means understanding the sanctity of life itself, to accept that we are called by God to be set apart to know Him in all our ways (Prov. 3:5-6). Offering a sacrifice as "payment" for sin misses the point. True holiness means being "separated" from the profane to know and love God, but too often religion can serve as a false god that promotes sin by promising forgiveness apart from the need to walk in the obedience of faith. Therefore God said through the prophet Hosea: "I desire goodness and not sacrifice" (Hos. 6:6). "Sacrifice" from a faithless person is an abomination to God (Isa. 1:11; Amos 5:21; Prov. 15:8).
The two great themes of sacrifice and holiness are therefore connected by faith in God's promises, and there can be no true sacrifice apart from heartfelt faith. Indeed, this is the ultimate purpose of the sacrifices - to honor God's heart and redeeming love given in Yeshua, the great Lamb of God (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7). The blood of "bulls and goats" could never take away sin, but the sacrifice of God given of his own love for us does, and that is the message of the cross (Heb. 10:4-10). The sacrificial system with the daily offering of the lamb foreshadowed the Substance of the promise fulfilled in Yeshua. It is not our sacrifice that is the focus, but God's sacrifice of Christ given on our behalf, and our only response to this exceedingly precious gift is to offer thanks for God's kindness and mercy. "It is the kindness of God that leads you to repentance" (Rom. 2:4). As it written, "Through Him (i.e., the sacrifice of Yeshua) let us then continually offer up the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess the truth of his Name" (Heb. 13:15). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 9:10 Hebrew reading (click):
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Your Life is from God...
"God abides for ever in an eternal present, His knowledge, also transcending all movement of time, dwells in the simplicity of its own changeless present." - Boethius
04.02.25 (Nisan 4 5785) The name of the Lord is YHVH (יהוה), which comes from a root word meaning existence (i.e., hayah: היה, to be). It is this name that gives existence to creation, as it says, "in him all things hold together" (τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν; Col. 1:17) and by his power "all things are carried" (φέρων τε τὰ πάντα; Heb. 1:3). Relative to our consciousness, the name is also connected with time: God is LORD hoveh (הוה), hayah (היה), and yihyeh (יהיה); He is the one who is, and who was, and who will forever be, the LORD over all possible worlds, and therefore He is rightly called the faithful God (יהוה הנאמן), since his promise and his will infallibly sustains all states of being. This implies that there never was nor ever shall be a moment of your life that was not given to you from God.
God is the LORD over the "eternal present" and therefore he is Yah hoveh (יָה הֹוֶה). In God we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28) and "from him and through him and to him are all things" (Rom. 11:36). Some people think of "eternal life" as unending life or immortality of the soul, but eternal life (i.e., chayei olam: חַיֵּי עוֹלָם) transcends the idea of time and is centered in relation to the Living God, right now, wherever we are... Therefore Yeshua says to his followers, "Live in me and I will live in you" (John 15:4). We need not fear death, then, because we partake in the overcoming life of God given in Yeshua: there is no ultimate separation from his love. We have the "now" covenant with our Lord forever!
When we live in Messiah our true life is "concealed" and we pass over from the temporal world of shadows to the world of reality, from fear to comfort, from darkness to light. We "lose our life in order to find it" (Luke 17:33). The walk of faith surrenders all that this life may promise for the sake of finding true life in God.
Hebrew Lesson:
Psalm 139:5 Hebrew reading (click):
Teshuvah of the Soul...
04.01.25 (Nisan 3 5785) "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31-32). Every one of us has a "dark side" or a "shadow self" that has destructive and selfish urges. We try to conceal this truth from others (and even ourselves) but such denial doesn't change the reality within our hearts (Matt. 5:19; Jer. 17:9; Eccl. 9:3). Indeed, when we pretend to be something we are not we are more likely to be overwhelmed by dark forces hidden within us. We are most vulnerable when we think we are well, that is, when we deny our sickness our heart and minimize our need for deliverance.
Self-deception is so dangerous because it engenders double-mindedness (δίψυχος). Paradoxically if we hide the truth about the sin that "so easily besets us" and pretend that we are essentially good, we sin, as it is written: "If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves (ἑαυτοὺς πλανῶμεν) and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). God knows that a "divided house cannot stand."
We are delivered from chaotic inner conflict when we confess the truth. "Confess your faults one to another and you shall be healed" (James 5:16). Confession allows us to acknowledge the dark passions that sometimes overmaster our best intentions. We must give ourselves permission to allow the hurt, angry, and fearful voices to be heard and sanctioned within us - and then to bring these dark and hidden aspects of our selves before God for healing. The failure to do so will split the soul and cause the hidden aspects of the self to seek "revenge" upon the "public self" that censors their message. The struggle within our hearts is real and we should attend to it seriously. Denying evil by pretending that we are okay, or by blaming others, blinds us to the truth of our ongoing need for deliverance. May God help each of us to be honest with ourselves and to confess our great need before our Heavenly Father.
But why do we have such difficulty being genuinely honest with ourselves? Are we trying to justify ourselves apart from God? Despite the fact that we may profess that we are "sinners saved by grace," we often make excuses for our failures, rationalizing that we are not "that bad," and therefore we postpone genuine teshuvah (repentance) and trifle with our spiritual lives. We do this because we feel an almost irresistible desire or "need" to excuse ourselves, to "save face" by pretending that we are not "incurably sick," or by attempting to find something about us that makes feel valuable and worthy. As H.L. Mencken once wittingly noted, "the 'truth' that survives is simply the lie that is pleasantest to believe."
The LORD wants us to be truthful (אֲמִתִי) in the "inward being" (Psalm 51:6), though that truth will cost us something, namely the facade and worldly artifice we impose through our self-deception... Opening our hearts to divine examination (בחינה אלוהית) eventually means colliding with the world of men and their conspiracies, since the godly man no longer abides their presence (Psalm 1:1-2). The Apostle Paul said that there is an exclusive disjunction between seeking the approval of men and of the approval of God: "Do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of the Messiah (Gal. 1:10). Likewise we are told not to deceive ourselves (lit., "reason around" the truth, from παραλογίζομαι, from παρά, "around, beside" and λογίζομαι, "to reason") by merely hearing the truth of Scripture and not living it (James 1:22). God is not interested in "lip service" any more than he desires heartless sacrifice (Isa. 29:13; Hos. 6:6; Matt. 15:9). "Let your love be genuine (ἀνυπόκριτος, without a "mask" put on), abhor what is evil; cling to what is good (Rom. 12:9). God abhors those who pretend to know Him but who are really spiritual impostors (Matt. 7:21-23; 25:11-12; Luke 6:46).
Tragically (and paradoxically) many people can talk themselves into believing something without truly believing it, and that is perhaps the most dangerous thing of all (Matt. 7:22-23). On the other hand, some people can talk themselves into believing (or accepting) something that they know is untrue (or morally wrong), and that self-deception leads to inner fragmentation, chaos, self-delusion, and to the dissolution of the soul. A "double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). As I have said before, the word translated "double-minded" is dipsuchos (δίψυχος), a word formed from δίς, "twice" and ψυχή, "soul." The word describes the spiritual condition of having "two souls" that both want different things at once -- a state of inner contradiction and ambivalence.
The Hebrew word "shalom" (שלום) means to be made whole or complete. We are to love God with "all our heart," and that means both the "good heart" and the "bad heart" as well. The temptation to sin often feeds upon hidden disappointment, anger, fear, and so on. "Mortifying" the lower nature comes by accepting the truth that God is doing a miracle in you, despite the brokenness and sin that is part of your life.
One day our salvation will be complete and we will forever be healed and filled with God's shalom. Until then we will wrestle with our faith as we trust God to transform and deliver our souls, even healing the evil within us for the praise of his Name!
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 51:6 reading (click):
Postscript:
Dear friends, left to our own devices, we can't deal with the evil influences of this fallen world nor handle the raging impulses and fears that sometimes arise within our own sinful hearts. But take His heart and believe! Confess your need for God to fight for you, to shine his light in your darkness. Yeshua has conquered sin and death on the cross and now intercedes for you; therefore call upon his name for life - even if you need to scream out and cry! The LORD has promised to never leave nor forsake those who sincerely seek him...
Healing and Praise...
04.01.25 (Nisan 3 5785) It is good to praise the LORD despite our afflictions, since indeed, suffering itself presents an invitation to come before God in prayer (James 5:13). Suffering offers us a nisayon (נִסָּיוֹן), a test, for our hearts to be exercised in ways otherwise rendered impossible should the path of our lives be attended without real struggle...
"We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope" (Rom. 5:3-4). In other words, God allows suffering in our lives to refine us so that we trust in his salvation. "We are saved by hope," and this hope, given in God's love and empowered by the Holy Spirit, will not disappoint us or lead us to shame, but rather to the sure fulfillment of God's promises. Hope does not flail in impatience but leads to life: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame" (i.e., at peace: הַמַּאֲמִין לֹא יָחִישׁ).
In this connection I am reminded of a quote from Sadhu Sundar Singh, "Should pain and suffering, sorrow, and grief, rise up like clouds and overshadow for a time the Sun of Righteousness and hide Him from your view, do not be dismayed, for in the end this cloud of woe will descend in showers of blessing on your head, and the Sun of Righteousness rise upon you to set no more for ever" (Wisdom of the Sadhu).
It's been said that both the devil and God want your soul, but their approaches are diametrically opposite to one another.... God offers you a bitter cup that, after it has been duly tasted, will be turned sweet, whereas the devil offers you an artificially sweetened cup that, after it has been duly tasted, will be found bitter to the last of its dregs... When you accept your suffering as ordained by God - by the LORD of Glory who could easily deliver you from all trace of its presence in but the twinkling of an eye – your heartache is sanctified, and your praise becomes more dear to Him. Only the wise and loving LORD knows how bitter waters may be made sweet; only the great Refiner of our souls knows how to bring eternal beauty up from ashes... So heal me, O LORD (even if that means suffering and pain for my life), and I shall be healed; save me, O LORD (do whatever it takes to bring me to the end of myself), and I shall be saved – for you are my praise.
If you are afflicted, troubled, or in any kind of pain, you have a great opportunity to glorify your Father in Heaven by offering Him your praise.... Praising God is the appropriate response to all of reality; the affirmation of God's glory transforms everything. "Is anyone among you feeling bad? Let him pray. Is anyone feeling good? Let him sing praise" (James 5:13). Remember that regardless of how you presently feel, your emotional life is centered in the Presence of God... As George Mueller once affirmed, "Be assured – if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you."
Hebrew Lesson
Jer. 17:14 reading (click):
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Torah of Sacrifices...
04.01.25 (Nisan 3 5785) Our Torah reading for this week (i.e., parashat Vayikra) begins with the Lord calling out (קָרָא) to Moses to explain the "laws of korbanot" (תורה של קרבנות), or the way the people could pleasingly draw near to him. Note that the root of the word korbanot, often translated as "offerings" or "sacrifices," is karov (קרוב) which means to come close, to enter into, or to approach. The korbanot, or sacrifices, were meant to bring us closer to God, and the central sacrifice at the altar was that of a defect-free male lamb offered daily, called korban tamid (קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד), or the "perpetual sacrifice." Unlike other sacrifices that may be offered at the altar, the korban tamid was continually offered by God Himself in commemoration of the great Passover redemption wherein the blood of the lamb was offered on behalf of Israel. Like the cross of Messiah our Passover (משיח פסח שלנו), God provides the Lamb and by this grace He enables access to the divine presence for blessing and eternal life...
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Other sacrifices, such as the "chatat" (חטאת) or sin offering, required the offerer to place his hands on the head of the animal, leaning on it will all his might, as he confesses his wrongdoing and expresses his desire to return to God. This procedure is called "semichah" (סמיכה) and the confession is called "vidui" (וִדוּי). Immediately following this the animal is led away to be ritually slaughtered (i.e., shechittah: שחיטה) and the blood was caught in a basin and then dashed upon the altar by the designated kohen (כּוֹהֵן), or priest.
Various other korbanot are mentioned in our reading, including the "olah" (עולה), or "ascending" offering wherein the kosher animal is entirely burned on the altar; the "shelamim" or "peace" offering (קרבן שלמים) given for celebratory events or to give thanks (תודה); the "asham" or guilt offering (קרבן אשאם) which is a type of sin offering that is more serious and involves restitution for wrongdoing. Note that for each of these offerings, if an offerer is too poor to offer an animal for sacrifice, the "minchah" (קרבן מנחה), or prepared flour offering, or the "ohf" (קרבן עוף), a bird (i.e., pigeon or dove) sacrifice was acceptable.
Note that the original Passover sacrifice (קרבן פסח) was not given to the Levitical priesthood as a sin offering, since it preceded Sinai and the giving of the various laws concerning the Mishkan/Temple sacrificial rites. In the same way, Yeshua's sacrifice was directed from Heaven itself by means of the prophetic office of Malki-Tzedek (מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק) - a higher order of priesthood (Gen. 14:18; Psalm 110:4; Heb. 7). Yeshua both offered Himself up as the "Lamb of God" that causes the wrath of God to (eternally) pass over those who personally trust in Him, and He also offered himself as the "Goat of God" whose blood was sprinkled in the Holy of Holies to cleanse us from sin and give us (everlasting) atonement. (Other metaphors are also given in Scripture, for example, Yeshua offered Himself as a Snake lifted up (John 3:14-15; cp. Num. 21:4-9), as a Red Cow (parah adumah), and so on).
For Yom Kippur (יום הכיפורים), or the "Day of Atonement," two goats were required: one goat was for blood sacrifice in the Holy of Holies (the Goat of the LORD) and the other was used as a "scapegoat" for the sins of the community (the goat of Azazel). The Gospels emphasize the connection between Yeshua as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" with Passover/Exodus more than the connection between Yeshua as the "Goat of the LORD" whose blood was sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat with Yom Kippur - though the author of the Book of Hebrews explicitly makes this connection (Heb. 9:11-12; 24-ff).
It may seem like the details of the various sacrifices are tedious and even boring to read, but the deeper truth of what they represent is nothing short of amazing. Yeshua as the "Lamb of God" pictures personal redemption from slavery to Satan and freedom from the wrath of God. This is the greater Passover/Exodus connection. By means of Yeshua's shed blood and broken body, the wrath of God passes over us and we are set free to serve Him.... Yeshua as the "Goat of God" pictures both personal cleansing (i.e., "propitiation" or "expiation" for our sins: the Greek word (ἱλαστήριον) is used in the LXX for the kapporet (Mercy Seat) in the Holy of Holies which was sprinkled with the blood of the sacrifice on Yom Kippur) as well as national teshuvah and cleansing for ethnic Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation period. At that time Yeshua will function as Israel's true High Priest whose sacrifice is applied for Israel's Atonement. This is the Yom Kippur connection.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 4:5 reading (click):
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March 2025 Site Updates
Our Refuge in all Generations...
03.31.25 (Nisan 2 5785) Don't let worry blind you to God's ongoing care; don't live as those without faith. You have a place in your Father's heart; you have a share in his house above. See the Lord as your Dwelling Place "in all generations"; behold his unchanging glory despite the fleeting shadows of this world.
We must first look to the Eternal to rightly see the finite; we must look upward before we look downward. As we contemplate God's Eternality and power, we realize the wonder and sanctity of our short time here. The Eternal is our refuge, our "dwelling place," in all generations, and that means in the present generation as well, on the other side of fleeting appearances of this world. When we pray to God as Avinu She-bashamayim, "Our Father in Heaven," we are calling to the One who (ש) is in the midst of the waters (מים) of Life.
The psalmist says (Psalm 118:17): "I shall not die but live." In order to live you must give yourself to death, but when you have done so, you discover that you are not to die, but live. "Giving yourself to death" means surrendering to God's will, accepting the yoke of heaven, and trusting in His governing "flow" over all of creation. This is the deeper meaning of "baptism" as we are immersed into God's care for us. Yeshua gives us abundant life.
The bloom of every flower is by eternal purpose, and not one common sparrow is forgotten by your Heavenly Father (Luke 12:6). God's irresistible providence comprehends and orders all things, from the realm of the subatomic to the cosmic motions of the heavenly bodies. The Lord is the Center of reality: "All things were created by Him, and for Him, and in Him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16-17).
In light of this, Blaise Pascal asked, "What is left for us but to unite our will to that of God himself, to will in him, with him, and for him the thing that he has eternally willed in us and for us." In other words, what else can we do but learn to trust, accept, and to say "yes" to life – even if we may feel like strangers in exile during our sojourn here...
All our days are ordained; recorded in God's scroll. Therefore may God "teach us to number our days to get a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). So don't lose heart, friend; He who cares for you is a Good Shepherd, and you shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 90:1 reading (click):
Note: We don't rejoice because things may go well for us, since our worldly circumstance may change at any time, but rather we rejoice because our names are written in heaven. "For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's" (Rom. 14:7-8). Amen.
The Gospel of Leviticus...
The following is related our Torah reading for this week, parashat Vayikra...
03.31.25 (Nisan 2 5785) From a "macro" or high-level view, we can understand the book of Leviticus to provide a spiritual map that points the way to connect with God. It was written to speak to our need and desire to enter into the holy space of his reconciliation...
Recall that the book of Genesis explains our origin, the fall of our souls into sin and our subsequent alienation from God. It also foretold of the coming Redeemer who would heal us from our fallen estate and establish the kingdom of God upon the earth.
The book of Exodus further reveals the LORD as our Deliverer who saves us from bondage to olam hashkerim (עוֹלָם הַשְׁקְרִים), the false world, and who then graciously leads us to freedom by awakening our souls to divine truth.
The Exodus from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) serves as a parable of the salvation experience (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11). First, faith in God's promise is expressed by sheltering under the blood of the lamb of God as a "passover" sacrifice (as it was with Abel's offering), and through it we are delivered from the plague and curse of death. We are then graciously led by the Spirit of God through the waters into newness of life when we begin our journey to our true homeland. We begin to understand the covenant promise to be God's people. The revelation at Sinai pulls back the curtain of the phenomenal world to disclose the underlying and overarching spiritual reality. Hearing the divine voice imprints us with God-consciousness. We are awed and overwhelmed with the divine presence and desire to enshrine it within our hearts forever.
The building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) "reifies" the vision to create a habitation of the divine Presence. It embodies our gratitude to God. As Solomon later said as he dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, however: "Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this Temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today" (1 Kings 8:27-28). Nevertheless, the desire to know God to be present calls for a sacred place to be made within the heart...
And this is what the book of Leviticus, or Vayikra, is really about: hearing the call of God to draw near to Him. Therefore the Mishkan was structured with inner chambers or "gateways" that led ever closer to the throne of God himself. We come to the first gate by faith: the Curtain of the outer courtyard is opened and we enter. We see the outer altar where the Lamb of God was continually offered, reminding us of the original sacrifice and promise given at Eden. We wash ourselves at the basin and enter the Holy Place where we behold the divine light of the Menorah. We eat of the "bread of Presence" (לֶחֶם פָּנִים) and offer prayer at the golden Altar of Incense. At the appointed time, we reverently open the veil to enter the Holy of Holies, appealing to the blood offered on our behalf to make atonement for breaking God's heart. In a cloud of smoke we descry the blood sprinkled seven times over the broken tablets stored in the sacred Ark. We confess the Name of the LORD and sense His blessing and acceptance...
The great and overarching lesson of Vayikra is that God delivers us so that we can know his heart. And this is the message of the Cross of Messiah as well -- the great Altar of God, the Tabernacle "made without hands," where Yeshua entered the Holy of Holies to willingly offer up his blood in intercession for our brokenness (Heb. 9:11-12). Amen, and may His Name forever be praised.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 26:8 reading (click):
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Preparing for Passover...
03.30.25 (Nisan 1 5785) To prepare for the holiday of Passover, we first must remember why it is so important for us. We must understand how the great exodus of Israel from Egypt (יציאת מצרים) constitutes the central parable (or story) of the Torah, and indeed of the entire Bible. The bondage of the Israelites to Pharaoh represents humanity's slavery to sin; deliverance from cruel bondage is effected by trusting in the blood of the sacrificial lamb of God; the exodus from death to life symbolically comes through baptism into the Sea of Reeds; the journey to truth represents the pilgrimage to Sinai, and so on.
We must further recall that the redemption in Egypt led directly to the revelation given at Sinai. When God personally manifested his glory to Israel, he did not begin by saying he was our Creator, but rather our Redeemer: "I am the LORD your God (אָנכִי יְהוָה אֱלהֶיךָ), who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exod. 20:2). God began with these words because the purpose of the creation itself is to demonstrate God's redemptive love and to be known as our Savior and Redeemer, just as Yeshua is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9).
"All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). Creation therefore begins and ends with the love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our Redeemer, the great Lamb of God and our Savior... He is the Center of Creation - the Aleph and Tav - the Beginning and the End (Isa. 44:6; Rev. 1:8). All the world was created for the Messiah: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36).
Understanding the Calendar...
Although it may be a bit confusing to understand the overlap and sequence, the Torah instructs us to prepare for Passover by first noting the first "new moon" of the Spring (aviv), which is called the first day of the month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. This is called "Rosh Chodashim," meaning the "head of the months," and it therefore serves as the start of the new year as well (Exod. 12:2). From the outset of the new moon until the full moon of the same month marks 14 days, which at sundown marks the appointed time or holiday of Passover. Technically speaking Passover runs only one day, from the evening of the 14th until the 15th, but since it begins concurrently with the first of the seven days of unleavened bread (Exod. 12:15-20), Passover is often regarded as week-long holiday.
Now to make matters even a bit more complicated, the Torah instructs us to count 49 days – "seven weeks of days" – from the day following Passover until Shavuot (i.e., Weeks or "Pentecost"). This period of time is called Sefirat HaOmer (סְפִירַת הָעוֹמֶר), or the "counting the sheaves" (Lev. 23:15-16; Deut. 16:9-10). Of particular interest to us is the second day of the count, on Nisan 17, called Yom HaBikkurim (יוֹם הַבִּכּוּרִים), "the Day of Firstfruits," which marks not only the "first of the harvest" but the resurrection of Yeshua from the dead - the "firstfruits" of redeemed humanity secured by his sacrifice for us as the Lamb of God.
The festival of Shavuot ("Weeks, "Pentecost"") marks the culmination or "jubilee" of the redemption, and it is sometimes called Atzeret Pesach (עצרת פסח), or "the Gathering rally of Passover." According to the traditional sages the new moon of Nisan (חודש ניסן) marks the start of sacred time, the Passover remembers the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, the first day of Unleavened Bread remembers the Exodus from Egypt, the seventh day of Unleavened Bread remembers the crossing of the Red Sea, the counting of the Omer recalls the days before the giving of the Torah at Sinai, and Shavuot (Pentecost) remembers the giving of the Torah exactly seven weeks (שבעה שבועות) after the Exodus (on Sivan 6 in the Torah's calendar). Followers of Yeshua understand Pentecost to the appointed time for the advent of the Holy Spirit as was promised by our Savior (see Acts 1:3-2:4; John 15:26, John 16:7).
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In a sense Shavuot stands in contrast to Passover that requires unleavened bread (matzah), since two loaves of bread made from the first fruit of the wheat harvest were baked with chametz (yeast) before being "waved before the LORD" (Lev. 23:15-21 which pictures the "one new man" (both Jew and Gentile) gathered before the altar of the LORD (Eph. 2:14).
Getting Ready for Passover...
Some Christian traditions observe a 40 day period of repentance and preparation leading up to "resurrection day" (which they reckon to always fall on a Sunday based on an exegetical error). This tradition may have been derived from the 40 days of teshuvah observed by the Jewish people during the time of the High holidays in the fall, and some theological correspondences can be made between Passover and Yom Kippur regarding atonement. That said, there is no indication given in Scriptures that we should fast or otherwise undergo dietary restrictions in preparation of the holiday of Passover, though of course we are instructed to remove all "chametz" from our homes and to abstain from eating any during the days of unleavened bread. We need to use the "good eye" with those who may differ with us regarding the observance of the holidays, and we must be sure to keep focused on what is most essential regarding all of this heart of the Lord...
From the Jewish perspective, we get ready for the Passover today by planning for a Passover Seder, or commemorative meal, that remembers the great Exodus from Egypt and that retells how the Lord faithfully saved Israel with a "mighty hand and an outstretched arm."
The traditional Passover Seder that has been developed over the centuries has more or less been distilled into a formulaic text recited during the commemorative meal by a designated seder leader (or leaders). This text is called the Haggadah (הַגָּדָה, "telling") and it was designed to guide the order of the Passover service... Everybody gets involved in the seder and often discussions can be lively and intense. And while there is no "official" Passover seder, most haggadot (seder guides) will set forth the traditional sequence of 15 "steps" (or activities) that we will do to commemorate our deliverance from our bondage in Egypt...
So one of the first steps to prepare for Passover is to select a Haggadah that you will use for the family service and familiarize yourself with its content. You then can make a checklist of needed items for the meal. If we make some time to do this, we will feel more comfortable as we go through the Passover service with our family and friends.
To help you get started, you can download the (free) Hebrew for Christians Passover Seder and to print a copy for yourself and for each participant at your Seder. The seder is guide is called "Worthy is the Lamb," and it will guide you through all the 15 steps of the traditional seder with constant reference to the ministry of Yeshua as the Lamb of God.
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"Worthy is the Lamb"
H4C Passover Seder Guide (pdf)
Removing Chametz
The Torah tells us to remove any trace of leaven or "chametz" from our houses before the Passover begins (Exod. 13:7; Duet. 16:8). Because of this we clean our homes of all possible chametz (products or residue which might contain leavening such as bread, crumbs etc.) before the holiday begins. The cleaning culminates in the Erev Pesach ceremony of Bedikat Chametz, when the last vestiges of leaven are removed from the house. For the entire week of Chag HaMatzot we are not to have any leavened products in our homes, nor are we to consume any leavened products outside our home. We are to be "leaven-free.
The process for removing chametz from your house is a bit involved, and frankly very few people have the time and energy to perform a thorough cleaning in the traditionally prescribed manner. Nonetheless, the traditional steps include:
- Cleaning all possible locations where chametz might have been eaten or might be found in the house. This means searching for crumbs under the cushions of your sofa or stuffed chairs, in the pockets of your coats and pants, on closet floors, and so on. After a room is entirely cleaned and declared chametz-free, it is called "Pesachdik" and no further eating in that room is allowed until after Passover.
- Emptying and scrubing down the entire refrigerator to remove all traces of chametz. This includes washing out the freezer as well.
- "Kashering" your stove and oven. This involves a thorough scrubbing of the entire oven, stove top, and racks and then turning the stove (and stove tops) on for over one hour at the highest temperature. A microwave oven can be kashered by boiling a bowl of water inside it for more than 20 minutes.
- Putting away all dishes, silverware, pots, utensils, etc. that are normally used during the year. Only dishes, silverware, pots, utensils, etc. that are dedicated for Passover may be used during Passover Week.
- "Kashering" your dining room and kitchen tables by pouring boiling water over them and then thoroughly scrubbing them down with soap and water. After kashering, the tables are covered until Passover.
- Scouring the sink, counters, and all other appliances with boiling water.
- Scrubbing down the floors, windows, and all other parts of the house.
The Hebrew word chametz (חָמֵץ) derives from the same root as the word "sour" (חָמוּץ), and is generally considered to be any corrupting influence, a hidden uncleanness that manipulates purer elements. Like the influence of a lump of leaven in a batch of dough, "spiritual" leaven functions as an evil impulse within us that corrupts and sours our soul. As such chametz is considered a metaphor of sin which we are commanded to put away from us. The removal of chametz is a metaphor of our sanctification. Part of observing Passover, then, means being careful not to eat anything with chametz (yeast) during the entire seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (i.e., from Nisan 15 through Nisan 22).
Note that the search for hidden chametz is not unlike the soul searching we do before the fall High Holidays, when we perform chesbon hanefesh (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ) by taking inventory of our spiritual condition before the LORD. In other words, we are commanded to search and remove sources of inner impurity so that we might experience the truth that we area "new lump" - that is, a new substance that is untainted by the sour and rotting influences of our past lives. Since Yeshua has been sacrificed as your Passover Lamb, you are indeed a new creation (בְּרִיָּה חֲדָשָׁה) and are made "unleavened" by the power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 5:17). Therefore we are likewise commanded put away the "old nature" - the yetzer ha'ra - and purge from your life the old influences that inwardly canker you and make you sick. Walk without hypocrisy in the truth of the love of God for your soul.
Keeping the Feast...
Observing Passover is crucial for God's people. In the Torah we read: "And the LORD spoke to Moses in the desert of Sinai, in the first month (בַּחֹדֶשׁ הָרִאשׁוֹן) of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 'Let the people of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time. On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall keep it at its appointed time; according to all its statutes and all its rules you shall keep it' (Num. 9:1-3).
Ultimately all true Torah points to Yeshua, who is the divinely appointed Redeemer and the beginning and goal of all of creation... "When the fullness of time (τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου) had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the Torah, to redeem those who were under the Torah, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5). As the psalmist later declared: "He made the moon for the appointed times" (Psalm 104:19). And since Yeshua came to perfectly fulfill the meaning of these appointed times, it is clear that he observed this calendar as well (Gal. 4:4-5).
Therefore, friends, let us keep the feast of Passover according to the appointed time of the LORD, namely, on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the Biblical calendar, at twilight, as a time to be remembered and guarded for all generations (Exod. 12:42). As the Apostle Paul wrote: "Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened for Messiah our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for" (1 Cor. 5:7-8). Amen! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!
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The LORD Calls Out - ויקרא
This week we begin a new book of Torah, sefer Vayikra (i.e., the book of Leviticus)...
03.30.25 (Nisan 1 5785) Chodesh Tov v'shanah tovah chaverim. The first Torah portion for the new Biblical New year is parashat Vayikra ("and he called") which is the first "section" from the Book of Leviticus (ספר ויקרא). In Jewish tradition, Leviticus is sometimes called the "Book of Sacrifices" (i.e., sefer ha'zevachim: ספר הזבחים) since it deals largely with the various sacrificial offerings brought to the altar at the Mishkan ("Tabernacle"). Indeed, over 40 percent of all the Torah's commandments are found in this central book of the Scriptures, highlighting that blood atonement is essential to the Torah. Moreover, since the revelation of the Tabernacle was the climax of the revelation given at Sinai, the Book of Leviticus reveals its ritual significance, as it is written: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement (kapparah) by the life" (Lev. 17:11).
Unlike narrative portions of other books of the Torah, the Book of Leviticus begins with the LORD himself "calling out" (i.e., vayikra) to Moses to explain that the way to draw near to Him is by means of atoning sacrifice. It is noteworthy that throughout the book, only the sacred name of the LORD (יהוה) is used in connection with sacrificial offerings, and never the name Elohim (אלוהים). This suggests that sacrificial offerings were given to draw us near to experience God's mercy and compassion rather than to simply appease His anger.... In other words, the Name of the LORD represents salvation (i.e., yeshuah: ישועה) and healing for the sinner, not God's judgment (John 3:17). Indeed, the word korban (קרבן), often translated as "sacrifice" or "offering," comes from a root word karov (קרב) that means to "draw close" or "to come near" (James 4:8). The sinner who approached the LORD trusting in the efficacy of the sacrificial blood shed on his or her behalf would find healing and life...
In this connection we note that the ancient Greek translation of the Torah (called the Septuagint) translated the Hebrew word kapporet (i.e., כפרת, "mercy seat") as hilasterion (ἱλαστήριον), sometimes translated "propitiation." The New Testament picks up this usage in Romans 3:25: "God put forward Yeshua as a propitiation (ἱλαστήριον) through faith in His blood." In other words, the shedding of Yeshua's blood - represented by His Passion upon the cross - was "presented" upon the Heavenly Kapporet, before the very Throne of God Himself for our atoning sacrifice (i.e., kapparah: כפרה) before God.
Hebrew Lesson
Opening words of Vayikra (click for audio):
To a Happy New Year!
03.28.25 (Adar 28 5785) As I mentioned earlier this week, the new moon of Nisan is the most significant of the Jewish calendar since it initiates the first month of the Biblical Calendar - and therefore represents the Biblical "New Year's Day." Of all the various Rosh Chodesh celebrations, then, Rosh Chodesh Nisan is foundational, since it presents the starting point for the cycle of the yearly festivals (mo'edim) that reveal prophetic truths about the LORD God of Israel and His beloved Son, Yeshua the Messiah, blessed be He.
Blessing for the New Year
The following prayer (or blessing) is customarily said during Rosh Hashanah, but it is equally applicable for the New Year of Nisan and the Season of Passover:
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ
וֵאלהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ
שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה
בַּאֲדנֵינוּ יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ אמן
ye·hee · ra·tzon · meel·fa·ney'·kha · Adonai · E·lo·hey'·noo
ve·lo·hei · a·vo·tey'·noo
she·te·cha·desh · a·ley·noo · sha·nah · to·vah · oo·me·too·kah
ba·a·do·ney'·noo · Ye·shoo'·a · ha·ma·shee'·ach [a·men]
"May it be your will, LORD our God
and God of our fathers,
that you renew for us a good and sweet year
in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah." [Amen]
Shabbat Hachodesh Shalom and Happy New Year chaverim!
Secret Places of Prayer...
03.28.25 (Adar 28 5785) Yearning, wish, hope... The inner groan of heart, the "private language" of our secret fears, sorrows, and delights. Prayer is bound up with the mystery of who we are and who God is - it is our "word" combined with his in covenant conversation. It is the voice of "neshama yeterah," our redeemed soul in God's presence.
Often we find our voice to pray when we are desperate, or when we are in a state of heart that has abandoned itself in search of an answer to our question. For our need evokes the question and reveals our insufficiency, our frailty, and the vastness of our finitude.
Asking God for help is the confession that we are not-God, that we are powerless to remedy the sickness, that we cannot take away the pain, or assuage the fear, or raise the dead - either of our own hearts or the hearts of others. Asking God for help is to connect with who we really are - lost, afraid, confused, sometimes sad, lonely, insecure, lustful, impatient, and so on.
In our desperation we may feel hopeless and exhausted, or even (secretly) rageful at God for the sorry mess of our lives (or indeed, the sorry mess of the universe itself). We may struggle to trust or understand why or for what reason our heart is broken and made desolate. But despite all this, our prayer confesses the goodness of God and believes that he listens to us in the groans and sighs of our lives.
I mentioned recently that we should be careful what we wish for, because we just may get it... Can we secretly pray for something that would destroy us? This is why it is so important to know what it is that we are asking or praying for in the first place. "Search me O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts, and see if there is any idolatrous way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting truth" (Psalm 139:23-24).
"Lord, teach us to pray," the disciples once asked Yeshua, and he answered by saying first "enter into your closet," that is, make space to get alone with God and appeal to him as your heavenly (or true) Father who knows all about you but who loves you just the same... It is in the sacred place where you know yourself as beloved and chosen...
That's part of the paradox of prayer: in our apparent nothingness and our misery we are transformed into God's very children. It takes courage to let God know the secrets of your heart - your fears, disappointments, your faithlessness, and so on. It takes honesty and a desire to be who you really are before the LORD.
"Your Father knows what things you need before you ask Him." This is another paradox. If he knows already, then why ask at all? What's there to talk about? But we ask because he already knows what we need. We don't pray to change God's mind but to empty ourselves of our fears and to know that we are his beloved. Though he knows the number of the hairs on your head, you confess your need to him, you open your heart to him and acknowledge the secrets he knows. "And your Father who sees your secrets will reward you openly."
"Real speaks to real," which means that we can't talk with God if we are hiding the truth from ourselves. "Thank you, God, that I am not like other men..." is a prayer God hears but does not answer, for it is based in self-deception and illusion. People who are "content" with their lives and don't yearn for deliverance from themselves cannot know the power of God. We need God to even know that we need him, but once we understand our great need for him we know that he will meet our true need....
Some people may say they need God but they don't really want to know him after all. What does God need? Does he have a "prayer" within his own heart for us? Yeshua teaches that he does. His prayer is that you would know the love of God revealed in his life given for you, that is, for you "to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19). As he prayed: "This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Yeshua the Messiah whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
People pray to God, but to whom does God pray? And for what might He pray? Or do you think that the Almighty has no desires of His own, no yearning of heart, no prayer? The sages of the Talmud believed that God indeed addresses himself: Yehi ratzon milfanai, "May it be acceptable before me, may it be My will, that my compassion overcome my anger, and that it may prevail over my justice when my children appeal to me, so that I may deal with them in mercy and in love" (Berachot 6a). This is the deeper unity of the Name YHVH (יהוה), the Savior and LORD, revealed to Moses after the sin of the Golden Calf (Exod. 34:6-7), and this is the essential meaning of the cross of Yeshua, where the LORD passionately "prayed within Himself" so that His compassion would overcome His fearful judgment for our sins.
Only the cross of Yehsua allows God's righteousness and mercy to "kiss" (Psalm 85:10; 89:14); only the cross reveals the true Holy of Holies where the blood was placed over the Ark of the Law; only the cross intimates the Inner Sanctum of God's heart. Because of the cross, a holy God is able to truly love and help the trusting sinner (Rom. 3:26). It is written: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne (צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט מְכוֹן כִּסְאֶךָ); steadfast love and faithfulness go before you" (Psalm 89:14). Because of Yeshua, God is vindicated as entirely just - and the Justifier of those who trust in His redemptive love (Rom. 3:24-26). Yeshua is the prayer of God the Father's on behalf of His children...
The will of God - his heart's yearning and desire, his very prayer - is for his children to receive his love (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:4; John 3:16; Ezek. 18:23). As Yeshua prayed, "Holy Father, keep them in your Name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one... I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (John 17:11,23). Yeshua died on the cross to bear the shame for your sins, to be sure, but he did this so that you could be accepted and securely loved forever.... It is the love of God that is the goal of all things, after all. When Yeshua cried out, "It is finished" and breathed his last breath as He died for our sins upon the cross, the greatest exhalation of the Spirit occurred, the greatest sigh, the greatest utterance was ever declared. The sacrificial death of Yeshua for our deliverance was God's final word of love breathed out to those who are trusting in Him.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 116:1-2 reading (click):
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Perseverance of Hope...
03.28.25 (Adar 28 5785) There's an old story of the ancient philosopher Thales of Miletus who fell into a well while he was contemplating the heavenly bodies. All his grand intellectual aspirations resulted in a pratfall of humility. Kierkegaard likewise tells the tale of notable professor who, in the pontification of grand ideas of the cosmos, was oblivious to a drop of sweat that dangled from his nose. And there have been times in my life when I have meticulously studied Scripture and was so engrossed in theological matters that I somehow forgot that God was really present! In such moments, if I were suddenly interrupted, I would likely fall into a moment of peevishness and irritation. It would be comical if it weren't so sad and disappointing, and yet there is a message in the pain that should not be missed....
What do we do with our inconsistencies, those "lapses" of faith that expose what we are actually believing at the time? These are gaps or incongruities between what we might say is true and what our behavior otherwise reveals. For instance, we may say that we trust God with our lives, and aver that we believe that the Almighty works all things "together for our good," but inwardly we are filled with impatience, anxiety, and even dread. We are vaguely conscious of our dissimulation at times; we feel the tension that something is not right about us; we sense that we are not who we want to think we are. We may even suspect that we are inwardly divided, unstable, and afraid of what is hidden within our deepest hearts. But we tolerate our pretenses. We may ask ourselves "what would Jesus do?" and then find reasons to excuse ourselves; we may affirm: "When I am weak, then I am strong," and then "think twice" in fear over circumstances that we do not understand...
So how do we deal with this contradiction between what we are and what we ought to be? How do we reconcile what "is" with what "ought" to be? In other words, how do we "practice what we preach?" We all experience the "gap" between the real and the ideal not only in the social and political world around us, but also - and more profoundly - as duplicity within our own hearts. Alas, how can we no longer be "two-souled' or double minded? How can we be set free from the influence of the "shadow self"?
These are not questions about theology or doctrine, but about emotional and spiritual maturity, that is, they are matters of personal character. When Yeshua said that the truth would set you free, he didn't mean that you would find freedom by studying theology as much as by undergoing transformation of the heart. He was talking about reality - namely the reality of God's righteousness healing your sick life... Theology is important, of course, but primarily as a means to the greater end of knowing God "bekhol levavkah," with all your heart, "bekhol nafshekha," with all your soul, and "bekhol me'odekha," with all your might. The essential reason for learning about God is be in heartfelt relationship with him, after all, and that will lead to transformation of the way we live - that is, how we think, talk, and make decisions. Spiritual truth is "existential." How we live life reveals what we truly believe. But all of it comes from the miracle of God's truth that declares and makes us who we really are...
When we are born from above, we are given a new nature, and the "seed" of eternal life is implanted within the soul. Heart transformation, experientially speaking, comes through time, as a matter of undergoing "reproof" and "correction." This is sometimes called the process of "sanctification," which means walking uprightly in the way of holiness. The Lord is likened to a potter and we are as clay in his hand (Isa. 64:8). Life on the "potter's wheel" can be messy, unsettling, and sometimes excruciatingly hard, but it is God's sovereign work to form your life according to his design and purposes. From our perspective it seems so tedious and difficult, but from God's perspective it is "already done," it is the finished work of Christ that he sees.
God gives us the Scriptures to help us know his heart, as it is written: "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16). Here we note that the Hebrew word for "reproof" is tochechah (תּוֹכֵחָה), from a root (יכח) that means to test or judge the quality of something. God's reproof reveals the gap between our behavior and his standard of moral and spiritual truth, and when we are reproved by God, we understand how we fall short of his will. The Hebrew word for "correction" is mussar (מוּסָר), from a root (יָסַר) that means to chasten or punish, though always with the aim of developing godly character. God will sometimes allow us to undergo affliction, for instance, to teach us patience or humility. "Training in righteousness" means being instructed, as a child, in what is upright, true, and honorable. The life of faith is "education for eternity" where we "catch up" with the reality of God's power within us.
Narrowing the gap between what we say that we believe and how we actually live is therefore an ongoing process for us in this life. The world, the flesh, and the devil are forces that weigh us down to keep us profane and fallen, but God provides his Spirit and he instructs us to walk in the victory of faith. If we ignore or rationalize the gap, however, that is, if we allow the inner conflict and dissonance to become deeply rooted within our souls, we run the risk of becoming either self-deceived or embittered over the struggle. Bitterness is especially dangerous because it can result in abandoning the life of faith altogether (Heb. 12:15). We can fight against these temptations by affirming that what is "really real" about who you are is what God says and does on your behalf in Yeshua. We look to Him, not to ourselves...
The test of faith is a matter of the heart more than the head. Things such as fear, pride, or ungodly desire can overrule our profession of faith, and we "forget" our calling before the Lord. The battle is found within the heart. Courage and moral allegiance is more powerful than intellectual conviction regarding matters of temptation.
The inner conflicts are real. The battle is for our souls. Many of us have truly felt or experienced the glories of God's love, and we want to believe and to walk in the light of that love... So we try various things to know God or recapture our hope. We study, read, think hard, pray, attend services, and so on. But as we try again to be spiritual or religious or self-assured, we may become bound, weary, and feel like a failure... We suspect that we have failed God, failed ourselves, and failed others. We go dark, ashamed, and anxious, but we try yet again, and again, until we are distraught and in agony of heart.
Yet this cycle or undulation is part of the test of faith, this agony of trying and failing, encountering our shadowy duplicity of heart, descrying yet again what we really are on the inside, and crying out for deliverance from our faithlessness, our hypocrisy, our fecklessness, and our despair... Paradoxically, because we cannot help ourselves, we continue trying, lamenting, confessing, and persevering - despite ourselves - and in the lament of the struggle to be who God says we are, we begin to surrender to a deeper heart or way of being - broken, humbled, brought face to face with our powerlessness and need - and it is then that we discover the healing hand of God is at work... God alone saves us, not we ourselves.
"You do not know what spirit you are of..." (Luke 9:55). Yeshua's words imply that each of us has the responsibility to know ourselves (γνῶθι σεαυτόν), and to learn to endure (and overcome) the natural motives and focus of our hearts. We collide with the truth of our spiritual condition in the midst of our daily frustrations, as we experience conflict, opposition, and the inner groan that arises from pressures and disappointments. Spiritual growth means learning to transcend our negative reactions, to stop cursing our conflicts, and to awaken to the blessings that surround and pervade our way. It requires a miracle. It demands faith.
If we are able to find the courage, our failures and brokenness may be used by God to purify the intentions of the heart by helping us to be more honest with ourselves. We begin to realize that we are more vulnerable than at first we thought; that our faith is not as strong as we imagined, and that our motives are often mixed and unconscious. Illusions are striped away; idols crumble; deeper levels of selfishness are uncovered; and the gap between our words and our deeds is exposed yet again... It is one thing, after all, to intellectually think about faith or to idealize spirituality, but it is quite another to walk out faith in darkness. Yet it is only there, in the rawness of heart, that we discover what we really believe and how our faith makes traction with reality... And there we will discover, if we persevere, the truth that Paul affirmed: "I have been crucified with the Messiah. It is no longer I who live, but Messiah who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in God the Son, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness (i.e., salvation) were through the law, then Yeshua died for no purpose" (Gal. 2:20-21).
There is a "hidden blessing" (ברכת סוד) that comes from our troubles. When we learn to accept that we are accepted despite ourselves, we find God's Presence and can breathe in his peace and love, despite the sorrows and grief of our lives. When we come to the light, and do not deny the truth about our condition, we can honestly confess the Lord is our healing (Heb. 4:16). When we seek the good - and even bless the struggle - we express our trust that God is using our trials to help us grow and to bring beauty from our ashes (2 Cor. 7:10). "O Lord, I need you for everything, every last thing. Please meet my great need for You, for without you I am nothing." Amen, "turn us back to you, O LORD, so shall we be turned..." (Lam. 5:21).
Contrary to the assumption that the life of faith should always be triumphant, we all will experience various setbacks, pratfalls, troubles and various challenges in our lives. This does not mean that God does not care for us however, because on the contrary, this is by his design; a plan supervised by God's love and blessing, and the afflictions we therefore encounter are part of his work for our good (Rom. 8:28; Heb. 12:6). We "descend in order to ascend"; we go down to go up (לרדת כדי לעלות). It seems counterintuitive to the flesh, but the heart of faith gives thanks for all things - the good as well as the evil (see Job 2:10). We affirm: "This too is for the good," yea, even in the midst of our struggle, no, even more -- precisely in the midst of our struggle -- for this, too, is for our good. Faith is the resolution to trust in the reality of God's goodness even during hard times when we feel abandoned or lost (see Isa. 50:10). The Lord uses the "troubles of love" (יִסּוּרֵי אַהֲבָה) for our good - to wake us up and cling to him all the more, since this is what is most essential, after all...
God forbid we should give up now, friends. Faith "sees the unseen" and believes that the day of our ultimate healing draws near. You are in good hands as the Lord forms your soul for the glory of his purposes... Stay strong and keep your hope alive. !מחיל אל חיל
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 86:11 reading (click for audio):
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Accounting for the Lamb...
03.27.25 (Adar 27 5785) In our Torah portion for this week (i.e., Pekudei) we read that Moses consecrated the Mishkan (Tabernacle) on "Rosh Chodashim," that is, "the first day of the first month of the second year [since the Exodus]" (Exod. 40:17).
Note that this date (i.e., Nisan 1) marks the start of the Biblical year and "Chodesh Yeshuah" (חודש הישועה), or the month of the Passover Redemption (Exod. 12:1-12). The Torah's calendar therefore begins with the advent of the Lamb of God (שׂה האלהים), just as the central sacrifice of the Tabernacle was the daily sacrifice (i.e., korban tamid: קרבן תמיד) of a defect-free male lamb offered with unleavened bread and wine. The LORD calls this "My offering, My bread" (see Num. 28:1-8).
In other words, the service of the earthly Tabernacle (and later, the Temple) was intended to constantly foreshadow the coming Lamb of God who would be offered within "greater and more perfect Tabernacle (משׁכּן גדוֹל וּמשׁלם) not made with hands" to secure the eternal redemption (פדוּת עוֹלמים) for us (see Heb. 9:11-12).
Hebrew Lesson
Exod. 12:2 reading with comments:
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As I've mentioned over the years, the climax of the Torah given at Sinai was the revelation of the Tabernacle. The two tablets of the law, summarizing the Ten Commandments, were stored inside the Ark of the Covenant (ארון ברית יהוה), the innermost place of the Tabernacle, a sacred "three-in-one" box. As such, the ark served as a symbol of kisei ha-kavod (כסא הכבוד), the very Throne of Glory. It stood entirely apart as the only furnishing placed in the Most Holy Place, or the "Holy of Holies" (קודש הקודשים).
Upon the cover of the Ark (i.e., the kapporet: הכפורת) were fashioned two cherubim (i.e., angel-like figures) that faced one another (Exod. 25:17-18). According to the Talmud (Succah 5b), each cherub had the face of a child - one boy and one girl - and their wings spread heavenward as their eyes gazed upon the cover (Exod. 25:20). God's voice would be heard only in the midst of innocence, humility, purity, and hope...
Each year during the Yom Kippur (יום הכיפורים) ceremony, the High Priest would sprinkle sacrificial blood seven times upon the cover of the Ark of the Covenant to dramatize cleansing from the law's verdict and the atonement of sin that would be secured through the blessing of the Messiah.
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"But when the Messiah appeared as the High Priest (הכהן הגדול) of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tabernacle (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place (בקדשׁ הקדשׁים), not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing for us the eternal redemption" (Heb. 9:11-12). Amen. The Scriptures teach that there is no Passover without "pekudei," that is, accounting for the blood of the Lamb of God!
Hebrew Lesson
Rev. 5:12 Hebrew reading:
Trusting God's love for you...
03.26.25 (Adar 26 5785) "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). Yeshua's intercession is not just for the sins we have consciously committed but to the sins done in the blindness of our unconscious; his sacrifice was offered not just for our known acts of sin, but for the wayward condition of our darkened hearts... "Heal me from hidden faults..." (Psalm 19:12).
This is essential. When God forgives our sin, it goes beyond forgiveness of the sinful behavior to the innate sickness of the heart. Divine forgiveness is remedy for our alienation, our lostness. It is healing of our deepest self, our secret heart, wherein we become a new creation. If God accepts us at all, he accepts us completely, and that means we are made righteous by means of his love and grace.
Teshuvah ("repentance") is not about becoming better but about becoming different. It is about newness of life. As Yeshua said, "Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of heaven." Believe that you have received it and it will be yours (Mark 11:24).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 63:3 Hebrew reading:
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If there's hope for eternal life, it is found in the one who "loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). I put no trust in religion, nor in the reformation of my character, nor in my will to believe, but solely in the kindness of the one who heals me from the ruin of my self.
Torah of Eternal Life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם)
"The object of our faith is not the teaching but the Teacher..." - Kierkegaard
03.25.25 (Adar 25 5785) Yeshua reveals the heart of God to us, teaching us about the meaning of life and death and why we suffer... Most radically, however, he offers us the cure for the sickness of "spiritual death" (i.e., separation from God) by offering the gift of his life for us. Yeshua heals us from alienation and separation from the Eternal by means of spiritual regeneration (Eph. 2:1,5; John 3:3-7). Your relationship with Messiah constitutes eternal life (חַיֵּי עוֹלָם), for it is He who "makes you alive together with him" (i.e., συζωοποιέω, the Greek word here means you are brought into a new realm of existence by participating in the life in Messiah). He offers us daily deliverance from the power of sin by means of the Spirit of Faithfulness (רוּחַ הָאֱמֶת), though we must remain receptive to the message of hope and be transformed by the renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10).
We must be careful not to "drift away" from the truth, since that forfeits the integrity of our lives and leads us into darkness and despair: "For what benefit is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his life?" (Mark 8:36). Faith is the means or agency of connection with what is real, though we can lose that connection by hardening our hearts and returning to our former illusions (Heb. 3:13). Exile from God is therefore self-imposed; the gates of repentance are always open to those who seek God's compassion; everyone is welcome to find life in the blessing of Messiah (Luke 14:16-23; Luke 15:11-32). Therefore, draw near to God and God will draw near to you. "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 18:31 reading (click):
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Seeking and Finding...
03.25.25 (Adar 25 5785) At its deepest level prayer is a groan of the heart, a sigh for life, a cry for love and connection. Our desires and yearnings are like prayers, and indeed the verb "to pray" in the New Testament means to wish or to hope.
Whatever the heart genuinely seeks, it will find. Most people seek what they want, and what they want is based on what they believe is ultimately for their good. They may be mistaken about what is truly for their good, however, which is the nature of tragedy.
There's an old saying, "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it," which is meant to warn us that since our heart's desires are always taking us someplace, we should be careful about our where our dreams may lead lest later we find ourselves in a nightmare.
The deeper question is not about whether we will pray, but for what we are praying... What are we seeking from the depths of our being?
"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD." The person who pursues righteousness will find it, just as evil comes to the person who searches for it (Prov. 11:27). Therefore the voice of wisdom cries out, "I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me" (Prov. 8:17), and the prophet shouts, "Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him while he is near" (Isa. 55:6).
This is the time to seek the LORD, for he is found near to us in Yeshua who calls us to receive God's love. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." As you believe, so you receive (Matt. 21:22).
This is the "like for like" reciprocal principle of faith. Forgive us as we forgive; judge us as we judge; love us as we love; make us righteous as we take hold of righteousness, give us courage as we believe, and so on. As Isaiah said to fearful king Ahaz: "If you will not be firm in faith, you will not be firm at all" (Isa. 7:9). Your "amen" echoes the "amen" of heaven: "Let it be done for you according to your faith" (Matt. 9:29).
The principle of "let it be according to your faith" is profound and is a two-edged sword, since it applies not just to matters of desire and hope, but also to murmurs of the heart and discontent. The sages said that the manna in the desert would taste good or bad depending on the heart attitude of the person. Likewise, when the people arrived at Marah, they could not drink the water because it was "bitter" (מָרָה), though the Hebrew text allows us to read that it was the people themselves who were bitter - ki marim hem (כִּי מָרִים הֵם), and their bitterness made the waters seem bitter as well (Exod. 15:23).
It is written in our Scriptures: "Whoever pursues righteousness and mercy will find life, righteousness, and honor" (Prov. 21:21). Notice that the verb translated "pursues" in this verse, "radaf" (רָדַף), means to chase after or to pursue, as in a hunt. This same verb is used when King David exclaimed, "surely goodness and love will pursue me (יִרְדְּפוּנִי) all the days of my life" (Psalm 23:6). King David understood that as he pursued God, so God's love would pursue him! In other words, as we seek, so we are sought by God; as we draw near to God, so He will draw near to us (James 4:8).
Notice further the repeated use of the word "righteousness" (i.e., tzedakah: צְדָקָה) in this verse. When we pursue God's righteousness, we will find it, and we will be declared righteous (i.e., tzaddik: צַדִּיק) and given life (i.e., chayim: חַיִּים) and honor (i.e., kavod: כָּבוֹד). "In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death" (Prov. 12:28). Therefore Yeshua calls us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (Matt 6:33).
The prophet expresses hope: "Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth" (Hos. 6:3). This is his righteous prayer.
Salvation is "of the LORD." May God help us pursue him b'khol levavkha - with all our heart - because the He has promised, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13).
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 21:21 reading (click for audio):
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Choosing to Belong...
Taking the Exodus Story to Heart
03.24.25 (Adar 24 5785) The theme of the Book of Exodus (סֶפֶר שְׁמוֹת) essentially turns on two great events, namely, the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage in Egypt (i.e., yetzi'at Mitzraim: יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם) and the subsequent revelation given at Sinai (i.e., mattan Torah: מַתַן תּוֹרָה). Both of these events, however, are grounded in the deeper theme of God's faithful love (chesed ne'eman: חֶסֶד נֶאֱמָן) expressed by the blessing of blood atonement (i.e., kapparat ha'dam: כָּפָרָת הַדָּם). With regard to the former, the blood of lamb (as foreshadowed in Eden) was required to cause death to "pass over" (לִפְסוֹחַ) the houses of the faithful of Israel; with regard to the latter, the sacrificial system represented by the Mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle") was designed to teach what I call the "korban principle" (i.e., ikaron ha'keravah: עִקָרוֹן הַקרָבָה), that is, that the only way to draw near to God is by means of sacrificial blood offered in exchange for (or in place of) the trusting sinner, as stated in the Torah, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life" (Lev. 17:11), and likewise in the New Testament we read: "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Heb. 9:22).
Jewish tradition tends to regard the giving of the law at Sinai to be the goal of the entire redemptive process, a sort of "return from Exile" to the full stature of God's chosen people. Some of the sages have taken this a step further by saying that God created the very universe so that Israel would accept the law. Such traditions, it should be understood, derive more from rabbinical thinking devised after the destruction of the Second Temple than from the narrative presented in the written Torah itself, since is clear that the climax of the revelation at Sinai was to impart the pattern of the Mishkan (תבנית המשכן) to Moses. In other words, the goal of revelation was not primarily to impart a set of moral or social laws, but rather to accommodate the Divine Presence in the midst of the people. This is not to suggest that the various laws and decrees given to Israel were unimportant, of course, since they reflect the holy character and moral will of God. Nonetheless, it is without question that the Torah was revealed concurrently with the revelation of the Sanctuary itself, and the two cannot be separated apart from "special pleading" and the suppression of the revelation given in the Torah itself... The meticulous account of the Mishkan is given twice in the Torah to emphasize its importance to God. This further explains why Leviticus is the central book of the Torah of Moses. (For more on this, see "The Eight Aliyot of Moses.")
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As we consider these things, however, it is important to realize that underlying the events surrounding deliverance and revelation is something even more fundamental, namely, the great theme of faith (אֱמוּנָה). This theme is our response to God's redemptive love. God's love is the question, and our response - our teshuvah - is the answer. The great command is always to "choose life!" We must chose to turn away from the darkness to behold the Light... Jewish tradition states there were many Jews who perished in Egypt during the Plague of Darkness because they refused to believe in God's love. Likewise, the revelation at Sinai failed to transform the hearts of many Jews because they despaired of finding hope.
As glorious as the redemption and revelation was, then, there was something even more foundational that gave "inward life" to God's gracious intervention. You must first believe that God loves you and regards you as worthy of His love; you must "accept that you are accepted." It is your faith that brings you near... This is the "Cinderella Story" of Exodus.
These themes of the Book of Exodus - and really of the Bible itself - will mean little to you unless you willingly identify with the calling of the Jewish people, and that implies that you reckon yourself as worth saving... You must see yourself as the recipient of divine affection and love. After all, without this as a first step, how will you make the rest of the journey? This is similar to the First Commandment revealed at Sinai: "I AM the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt..." Notice that the statement, "I AM the LORD your God" (אנכי יהוה אלהיך) was uttered in the second person singular, rather than in the plural. In other words, you (personally) must be willing to accept the love of the LORD into your heart, since the rest of the Torah is merely commentary to this step of faith. Therefore the Book of Exodus is called Shemot (שְׁמוֹת), "names," because it sees every person as worthy of God's redeeming love and revelation. "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16).
The midrash says that only one out of five of the children of Israel made it out of Egypt; some say one out of fifty, and some say one out of five hundred (see Mechilta). As Yeshua said: "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matt. 22:14). Those who directly experienced God's deliverance in Egypt first of all believed they were redeemable people. Before anything else they made a decision to receive hope within their hearts. The blood of the original Passover lamb was a smeared as sign of their faith that God would accept them. We also must begin here. This is the start of the journey. We step out by faith, leaving behind the familiar - including the dark familiarity of our sin and shame - and venture out into the unknown. We venture out in hope because we trust the promises of God (הַבְטָחוֹת יהוה).
The journey of faith (מַסָע הַאֱמוּנָה) is marked with testing (בְּדִיקַת אֱמוּנָה). Being called out of the world leads you into the desert places. Faith is not something static, like a church creed or theology handbook. There are stony places, dangers, and difficulties that attend the way. We move out from "walled cities" into tents, traveling as "strangers and sojourners" on our way to a promised heavenly city. Therefore the Scriptures state that "by faith Abraham went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Heb. 11:9-10). The way back home is the same for all who "cross over" from this world to the next. It is the way of hope, trust, and surrender.
The story of divine deliverance is not the story of "other people"; it is not a story told in the "third person." You must choose to belong. Again, your faith draws you near. That is why the sages teach: b'chol dor vador - in each and every generation an individual should look upon him or herself as if he or she (personally) had left Egypt. It's not enough to recall, in some abstract sense, the deliverance of the Jewish people in ancient Egypt, but each Jew is responsible to personally view Passover as a time to commemorate their own personal deliverance from the bondage of Pharaoh. The same must be said regarding Shavuot. Each person should consider himself as having personally received revelation at Sinai. The altar of the Mishkan was set up for you to draw near to God - you, not some people who lived long ago... This is why non-Jews who turn to the God of Israel by putting their trust in the Messiah are regarded equal members in the covenants and promises given to ethnic Israel. It is a brit milah (בְּרִית מִילָה) - literally, a "covenant of the word" - that makes us partakers of the covenantal blessings given to Abraham (Eph. 2:12-19; Gal. 3:7; Col. 2:11, etc.).
The narratives of the Book of Exodus, like other narratives of the Torah, often function as parables of faith (i.e., mishlei emunah: מִשְׁלֵי אֱמוּנָה). "The deeds of the fathers are signs for the children." Signs of what? Of the coming Messiah, as Yeshua Himself attested and the apostles likewise affirmed (John 5:46; Luke 24:27;44; Matt. 13:52; 2 Tim. 3:14-17). The Mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle") itself was a metaphor of God's redemption (גְּאוּלַת יהוה) embodied in Yeshua. The Mercy Seat (kapporet) represented the Throne of God (Heb. 4:16; 2 Ki. 19:15) where propitiation for our sins was made (Rom. 3:25). Indeed, the word Mishkan (מִשְׁכָּן) is related to the word mashkon (מַשׁכּוֹן), a pledge or "promise on loan." The Tabernacle functioned as a "loan" to Israel until the Messiah came to establish the true Temple (הַאֲמִיתִי הַמִּקְדַשׁ) by means of His atoning sacrifice (Gal. 3:19). The law (ספר הברית) is called a "schoolmaster" meant to lead to the Messiah and His Kingdom rule (Gal. 3:23-26). The glory of the Torah of Moses was destined to fade away (2 Cor. 3:3-11), just as its ritual center (i.e., the Tabernacle/Temple) was a shadow (צֵל הַמִצִיאוֹת) to be replaced by the greater priesthood of the Messiah (כְּהוּנָת הַמָּשִׁיחַ; see Heb. 10:1; 13:10). "Now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit (הַדֶּרֶך הַחֲדָשָׁה שֶׁל הָרוּחַ) and not in the old way of the written code (Rom. 7:6). Yeshua is the Goal of salvation (מְטָרָת הַיְשׁוּעָה) and the "Goel" (i.e., גּאֵל, Redeemer) from the curse of the law... "For the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, and that is how we draw near to God" (Heb. 7:19). When the veil is taken away, Yeshua appears on every page of Scripture... (For more on this, see "Why then the Law?," and "Paul's Midrash of the Veil").
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Outside the Mishkan, beyond the outer court, are the raw, "natural" experiences of life. This is the realm of the carnal flesh and the "dust to dust, ashes to ashes" despair of olam ha'mavet (עוֹלָם הַמָּוֶת). Genuine spiritual life (חיים רוחניים) is found when you come in through the gate (בְּדֶּרֶך הַשָׁעָר). You must understand that the gate is there for you to pass through. The cross of Yeshua is the altar where He died for you, personally, for your atonement with the Father (מִזְבֵּחַ הַכָּפָּרָה). His blood was presented between the outstretched wings of the cherubim so that you could come before God "panim el panim," that is, personally, "as a man speaks to his friend" (Heb. 4:16). Your faith bridges the gap between the Holy of Holies of the Cross (הַקֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים שֶׁל הַצְּלָב) and the sanctuary of your heart...
Hebrew Lesson
Isa. 43:1b Hebrew reading:
Anticipating Passover:
Shabbat HaChodesh...
03.23.25 (Adar 23, 5785) The world system runs on a "clock" that operates under assumptions that are different than those revealed in the Scriptures.... The "wisdom of this world" (σοφία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου) is the prevailing cultural spirit that suppresses the reality of God's Presence and truth. Such "wisdom" is regarded as foolishness before God, and God has promised to "seize the so-called wise in their own craftiness" (1 Cor. 3:19). The life of faith, on the other hand, sees what is invisible. Faith (emunah) apprehends "the substance (ὑπόστασις) of things hoped for, the assurance (ἔλεγχος, conviction, "correction," "argument," i.e., hokhachah: הוכחה) of things not seen" (Heb 11:1). As the Scripture says, faith "looks not to the things seen but to the things unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).
The Sabbath that immediately precedes (and sometimes falls on) the Biblical New Year is called Shabbat HaChodesh (שבת החודש), the "Sabbath of the Month" (of Nisan). This Sabbath is significant because it marks the start of the month of Redemption (i.e., the first month called Nisan) which God called "the beginning of months" (i.e., Rosh Chodashim). We honor this event by reading an additional passage from the Torah concerning the sanctification of the new moon (Exod. 12:1-20), and we spiritually prepare for this month by studying about Passover and the coming spring holidays:
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The commandment to sanctify the first new moon of the year (i.e., Rosh Chodashim) reveals that it is our responsibility to sanctify (i.e., observe) Biblical time in general. In other words, when we observe "the beginning of months," we are acknowledging that time itself is rooted in the Biblical calendar with its divinely inspired cycle of festivals (i.e., the moedim). Note that this year the Biblical New Year begins on Sat. March 29th at sundown, and therefore Passover begins exactly two week weeks later, Sun. April 12th at sundown:
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Originally Rosh Chodashim was called the "first month" because it marked the month of the Exodus and other months were named in relation to it, similar to the days of the week in the calendar (i.e., the first day, the second day...). Later it was called Chodesh Ha-Aviv (חודש חביב) - "the springtime month" (because the calendar is reset in the spring) and later still as Nisan (ניסן), to recall God's faithfulness after the Babylonian Exile (Neh. 2:1; Esther 3:7).
The word "Nisan" (נִיסָן) might come from either the word nitzan (ניצן), meaning "bud" (Song 2:12), or the word nissim (ניסים) meaning "miracles," both of which suggest physical and spiritual resurrection in our lives. Others think the word comes from the verb nus (נוּס), meaning "to flee," both in relation to Israel's flight from Egypt and Egypt's flight from Israel (i.e., when the pursuing Egyptian cavalry fled (נָסִים) before the sea closed upon them (Exod. 14:25, 27). We also see this usage in the verse: "The wicked flee (נָסוּ) when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Prov. 28:1). The devil's power is found in the lie. If he can make you afraid, you will not think clearly. Establishing your faith in the truth will embolden you to deal with the lies and distortions that are intended to enslave you in fear. As Yeshua said, the truth will set you free (John 8:32).
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The new moon of Nisan is the most significant of the "new moons" of the Jewish calendar since it initiates the first month of the Biblical Calendar - and therefore represents the Biblical "New Year's Day." Of all the various Rosh Chodesh celebrations, then, Rosh Chodesh Nisan is foundational, since it presents the starting point for the cycle of the yearly festivals (mo'edim) that reveal prophetic truths about the LORD God of Israel and His beloved Son, Yeshua the Messiah, blessed be He.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֵיךָ יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ
וֵאלהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁתְּחַדֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ חדֶשׁ טוֹב
בַּאֲדנֵינוּ יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ אָמֵן
ye·hee · ra·tzon · meel'·fa·ne'·kha · Adonai · e·lo·hey'·noo
vei·lo·hey · a·vo·tey'·noo · she·te·cha·desh · a·ley'·noo · cho·desh tov
ba'a·do·ney'·noo · Ye·shoo'·a · ha'·mh·shee'·ach · a·men
"May it be Your will, LORD our God and God of our fathers,
that you renew for us a good month in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Amen."
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Glory Fills the Temple
Parashah Pekudei...
03.23.25 (Adar 23, 5785) Our Torah this week is parashat "Pekudei," (i.e., פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן, "accounts of the Mishkan") which is the concluding portion of the tremendously important Book of Exodus (i.e., ספר שמות). It begins with Moses' accounting of (פקודי) all the materials that were donated by the people for the construction of the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle). After Moses recorded the inventory of the building materials and furnishings, he carefully checked the special priestly garments. After all the work was confirmed to be in complete accordance with the LORD's instructions, Moses blessed the people. The LORD then commanded Moses to assemble the Mishkan on "the first month in the second year [from the date of the Exodus], on the first day of the month" (i.e., on Nisan 1, or Rosh Chodashim, Exod. 40:17).
Once the Tabernacle was completed and all its vessels were accounted for and inspected, Moses anointed all its components with the sacred anointing oil, called shemen ha-mishchah (note that the word "mishchah" (מִשְׁחָה) comes from the same root as "Messiah" (מָשִׁיחַ), indicating that the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle) would foreshadow God's plan of redemption given in Yeshua). Moses then formally initiated Aaron and his four sons into the priesthood, marking their hands and feet with sacrificial blood and "waving them" before the Lord to picture resurrection. God's Presence - manifest as the Shekhinah Cloud of Glory – then filled the Holy of Holies in the Tent of Meeting.
At the end of the portion we read, וַיְכַל משֶׁה אֶת־הַמְּלָאכָה / "Moses finished all the work" (Exod. 40:33), a phrase that has the same gematria (numeric value) as bereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית, "in the beginning"), the very first word of the Torah (Gen. 1:1). This suggests that the creation of the universe was for the sake of the building of the Tabernacle, and by extension, for the sake of the sacrificial love of God to be demonstrated to all of creation. The Talmud states, "All the world was created for the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98b) and indeed, Yeshua is called "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" in the New Testament (Rev. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:18-20; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9).
The Presence of the Glory of God that descended from Sinai upon the newly dedicated Mishkan represented a climactic moment for the fledgling nation, since the Sin of the Golden Calf had jeopardized whether the God would indeed dwell within the midst of the camp of Israel... Recall that it was only after Moses had returned from Sinai bearing the second set of Tablets (on Yom Kippur) that the glow of the LORD's redeeming love radiated from his face, and new hope was given to Israel (prefiguring the New Covenant). The King of Glory would accompany the people from Sinai to the Promised Land! (The narrative continues in the Book of Numbers, beginning exactly one month after the Mishkan was assembled.)
Turn to God and be Saved...
03.21.25 (Adar 21, 5785) "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!" (Isa. 45:22). Though the LORD graciously seeks and saves the lost, He calls us to return to Him and be saved. This is the challenge we face, and on a daily basis, to truly turn to the LORD... And yet when we do, when we center all our heart in him, we experience salvation. All that oppresses us, all our fears and troubles begin to fade from view and we find refuge: "And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, but Yeshua only" (Matt. 17:8).
Rouse yourself, therefore, and return to the LORD. Look to Him now and earnestly seek His face. If ever there was a time to believe that "the end is near," it is in our day, and in the course of this generation. As the LORD appealed to apostate Judah in the time of Isaiah, so the appeal resounds to our day: "Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers" (Isa. 1:5-7).
We only have this hour. Today is the day... No matter what may beset your way, no matter the buffeting gale of your shame, no matter the wound you have made of your life -- return to the outstretched arms of Yeshua's mercy extended for your salvation. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us," which is to say that He welcomes you into the utmost depths of his heart, to know and love Him forever... He promises that the one who comes to Him will never be refused (John 6:27). Friend, heed the Spirit's invitation and receive the salvation of the LORD.
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 45:22 reading (click):
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The Essence of Torah...
03.21.25 (Adar 21, 5785) The goal of the Sinai revelation was not to simply impart a set of moral or social laws, but rather to "accommodate" the Divine Presence in the midst of the people. This is not to suggest that the various laws and decrees given to Israel were unimportant, of course, since they reflect the holy character and moral will of God. Nonetheless, the climax of the revelation of the Torah - its goal or purpose or "end" - was the revelation of the altar which prefigured the sacrificial work of the Lamb of God.
The central sacrifice upon this altar was the daily sacrifice (i.e., korban tamid: קָרְבַּן תָּמִיד) of a defect-free male lamb with unleavened bread and wine. The LORD calls this "My offering, My bread..." (see Num. 28:1-8). In other words, the service and ministry of the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle) constantly foreshadowed the coming Lamb of God who would be offered upon the altar "made without hands" to secure our eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-12). The sacrifice of the lamb is therefore central to the meaning and purpose of the Torah.
The meaning behind the blood that was shed, the very life that was given, is to ransom us from the grip of death. It is the sacrificial love of God that is the essence of Torah; it is the heart of God that offers himself up in sacrifice so that we may belong to him... There is no point for "laws" or decrees apart from the love of God that redeems us from our sin (selah).
The Talmud says "All the world was created for the Messiah" (Sanhedrin 98b). The Apostle Paul had earlier said the same thing: "All things were created by Him (i.e., Yeshua), and for Him" and in Him all things consist (συνεστηκεν, lit. "stick together") (Col. 1:16-17). Indeed, all of creation is being constantly upheld by the word of the Messiah's power (Heb. 1:3). Creation begins and ends with the redemptive love of God as manifested in the Person of Yeshua our LORD...
The Messiah is the Center of Creation - its beginning and end. As it is written: אָנכִי אָלֶף וְתָו רִאשׁוֹן וְאַחֲרוֹן ראשׁ וָסוֹף / "I am the 'Aleph' and the 'Tav,' the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Rev. 22:13). "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom. 11:36). In everything Yeshua has the preeminence (Col. 1:18), and his "work" is of first importance (1 Cor. 2:2, 1 Cor. 15:3-4). Yeshua our Messiah is called מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים / Melech Malchei Hamelachim: The "King of kings of kings." He is LORD of all possible worlds -- from the highest celestial glory to the dust of death upon a cross. Yehi shem Adonai mevorakh: "Let the Name of the LORD be blessed" forever and ever (Psalm 113:2).
So while we can agree with the Talmud's general statement that the world was created for the Messiah, we would insist that the Messiah is none other than Yeshua, God's Son, and indeed, the Messiah could be no other...
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 43:11 Hebrew reading:
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Note: For more on this subject, see the "Choosing to Belong" article.
The Tenth Red Heifer...
This coming Shabbat is called "Shabbat Parah," the Sabbath of the [red] Cow." Besides reading the regular Torah reading (i.e., Vayakhel), we read about the mysterious red heifer sacrifice....
03.21.25 (Adar 21, 5785) Jewish tradition says there have been nine Red Heifers (תשע פרות אדומות) historically offered on behalf of the Jewish people. The first was offered by Moses and Eleazar; the second by Ezra the Scribe; two more were offered by Simon the Righteous and another two by Yochanan the High Priest; a seventh was offered by the prophet Elijah; the eighth by Hanamel the Egyptian, and the ninth by Yishmael son of Piabi (15-16 AD). The tradition says that the tenth (and final) Red Heifer will be offered by the Messiah at the time of the rebuilding of the future Temple (Mishnah, Parah 3:5).
Many well-meaning Christians get excited over occasional reports that a new Red Heifer has been born, understanding this to be a sign from God that the time to rebuild the Jewish Temple is at hand. But even if a "kosher" Red Heifer be found and later sacrificed, how should we regard this -- especially in light of the Brit Chadashah and its clear teaching that Yeshua is the substance of the what the shadow of the Red Heifer represents?
It is important to remember that the red heifer that will be used for the Third Temple (i.e., the "Tribulation Temple"), and while there is prophetic interest in the ritual, it will be of no true consequence, since Yeshua embodies the Substance of the Red Heifer who cleanses us from the impurity of death... Yeshua will indeed establish the Temple of Ezekiel's vision during the Millennial Kingdom after His return in glory, called the "Fourth Temple," but that is not to be confused with the Third Temple of acharit ha'yamim ("end of days").
For more information about the Red Heifer sacrifice, see the "Gospel of the Red Cow" article as well as the "Tenth Red Heifer" (הפרה האדומה העשירית) page.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 51:7 reading (click):
The Gospel at Sinai...
03.21.25 (Adar 21, 5785) The tragic episode of the Golden Calf revealed that the Israelites were unable to keep the law, even though they had personally experienced the power of God's deliverance from Egypt and had heard God's Voice directly speaking the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The presence of the idol demonstrated that something more was needed, and that the law by itself was insufficient to change the heart (Rom. 3:20).
The poignant intercession of Moses on behalf of Israel - his willingness to die on behalf of the people - foreshadowed the need for a New Covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה), a deeper revelation of the righteousness of God in terms of mercy and grace (Exod. 34:6-7; John 1:17; Rom. 3:21). The (second) revelation of the Name YHVH (יהוה) therefore represented a "gospel" moment for Israel. Just as the first set of tablets, based as they were on the justice and holiness of God, were broken, so a second set was graciously restored based on God's forgiveness and love. Likewise, Yeshua was broken on behalf of the law but was raised again so that all who trust in Him can understand that God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and truth" (Exod. 34:6, Psalm 86:15, 103:8). Only at the cross of Yeshua are God's justice and love forever reconciled (Prov. 16:6; Psalm 85:10; Rom. 3:26).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 86:15 Hebrew reading:
For more on this subject, see the Ki Tisa article, "God's Stubborn Love."
Theology of Suffering...
This entry is also available on the H4C Substack page (click).
03.20.25 (Adar 20, 5784) How we answer the question of why we suffer depends on how we interpret its meaning and its potential purpose in our lives. For example, an atheist cosmologist likely will explain suffering in "mechanistic" terms, as a "brute fact" of life that has no intrinsic meaning or purpose. All that exists "naturally" comes into being and then disintegrates and dies. There is no reason for the existence of the cosmos and there is no discernible purpose in its random patterns and motions. There is therefore no answer to the deeper metaphysical question of "why is there something rather than nothing." Life is an "irrational given" and we must simply invent meaning and find the will to live until the inevitable end of life occurs.
People of faith, however, believe that a personal God created all things, including human beings, and therefore they regard such atheistic reductionism as simplistic and untrue to the lived experience and intuitions of spiritual reality. Life is regarded as a divine blessing be respected, and suffering and death are therefore regarded as tragic anomalies. Human conscience reveals transcendental moral truth and the consciousness of justice. The fact of suffering cries out for an explanation and therefore theological questions are raised for the heart of faith. For instance, does God sovereignly orchestrate suffering for our ultimate good, as part of his divine plan for our lives, or does God respond and intervene in our suffering, seeking to heal us from its influence? In other words, should we understand suffering as "inside" God's master plan for our lives, or somehow "outside" of that plan?
Such questions are surely not academic, since genuine suffering threatens our basic need to understand what is happening to us (and why), and therefore our heart cries out for a reason for our loss and pain. Indeed seemingly pointless suffering can lead to bitterness, chronic depression, the loss of faith, and even suicide, so it is vital to attempt to understand its function in our lives and to find hope in our struggles. After all, without some reason for suffering, some "why" that we can use to navigate and interpret our struggle, we may begin to feel victimized, prisoners of an absurd and pain-riddled world...
Most people of faith in the Hebrew Scriptures infer that there is a divine purpose for everything (i.e., the "principle of sufficient reason") which is grounded and determined in God's sovereign will. God is the Supreme Power who orchestrates history and its redemption according to a divine plan. The Lamb was slain from the "foundation of the world." The Lord is Ribbono Shel Olam, the "Master of the Universe," who directs all things after the counsel of his own will and in accordance with his sovereign good pleasure (see Isa. 40:13; Eph. 1:3-12; Rom. 8:28). This understanding implies that suffering is "inside" God's plan, not something "outside" of it, since by allowing suffering God in effect decrees its occurrence. Whatever touches our lives is bound up in God's overarching plan for creation, and since God is perfectly good, we can trust his plan for us, even if we suffer in this life (Jer. 29:11).
This exegetical approach to the question of why we suffer flows from various Biblical premises that God our Creator is infinite in power, wisdom, and love. Surely God can do anything he desires, and whatever He chooses is the best, which implies that this is the "best of all possible worlds," and - mystically accepted -- that everything is perfect -- even if we cannot fathom the deep purposes behind God's decrees (Isa. 55:8-9). Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37); God never makes mistakes; God is not unaware, asleep, or unable to intervene in our lives. Indeed, God's power sustains the world at every moment, from the realm of the subatomic to the realm of cosmic (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:16-17). And since God is supremely loving, compassionate, and perfectly good, we can trust his plan and feel secure that "all is well, and all manner of thing shall be well," even when we are in darkness (Isa. 50:10).
Perhaps the biggest objection to this optimistic view has to do with what appears to be "gratuitous" evil, such as senseless murders, "horrendous" evils such as wars of aggression and genocide, and "natural" evils such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and so on. It is difficult to fit such tragedies into a "perfect world scenario," and human outrage instinctively seeks for an alternative explanation. For instance, wouldn't the universe be better -- all other things being equal -- if just one child was not murdered rather than murdered? In other words, to successfully object to the idea that this is "the best of all possible worlds," we need to find only one logically possible counterexample which in turn would cast doubt upon the meaning of the original premises.... Put another way, are we prepared to say that it is necessary for God's perfect plan that every actual evil occurs, or can we say that it is at least possible that a world without one of these evils would be better than a world with it?
A different approach to the problem of why we suffer begins by rejecting the idea that suffering is "inside" God's plan, but instead should be regarded as "outside," as an alien force resulting from disobedience to God's moral will. Suffering is not an essential part of God's plan, but a derived part, a corollary to disobedience. Indeed, God's ultimate plan is to remove our suffering by means of our free response to his healing love. God "restricts" himself (tzimtzum) or "empties" himself (κενόω) to allow creatures some measure of real choice. Sin is the abuse of freedom for which God cannot be held responsible, and therefore suffering arises as a consequence for turning away from the reality of God's good will.
The appeal of this view is that it seems to make sense of the common "language of imperative" found in the Scriptures. Over and over we are commanded to love God, to love others as ourselves, to pursue justice, to walk in mercy, to do righteousness, and so on. We have a duty to serve God and follow the truth. "Ought implies can," and therefore the commands of Scripture imply that it is our responsibility to choose what is right and good, and to refrain from doing what is wrong and evil. In other words, it is up to us to turn to God and walk in his ways, and it's our failure to yield our will to God's direction (Torah) that leads to delusional thinking, and finally to suffering, pain, and death itself...
The "free will defense" (of God's goodness despite the presence of evil) as it's sometimes called, is not without complications, however. For instance, if we say that God cannot cause free moral agents to do what is right, and therefore that he must create them with the capability to choose evil, then this implies that God created the possibility for evil, and that when this possibility is considered in relation to God's foreknowledge, this further implies that God created moral agents knowing they would choose evil over good. However, if suffering is not "inside" God's plan, it is hard to understand why God wouldn't have created truly free moral agents who always choose the good in the first place. Certainly that is not a logical impossibility. Indeed, as Augustine said regarding the question of obedience and freedom, at first Adam and Eve were "able to sin" (posse peccare); but after they disobeyed God, they were infected with spiritual death and rendered "unable not to sin" (non posse non peccare). After regeneration through Yeshua, the soul is "able not to sin" (posse non peccare), though in heaven, finally, the soul will be "unable to sin" (non posse peccare), that is, free from the the possibility and presence of sin.
Let me explain this a bit further. According to Augustine, when God created man, he was in a state of "innocence" wherein he was entirely free to choose either to sin or not. After Adam sinned, however, death entered into the human race and the state of soul of all the descendants of Adam and Eve thereby became "unregenerated" (i.e., spiritually dead). Man's ability to choose was vitiated and he became enslaved to self-interest, driven by fear, and engulfed in spiritual darkness. His state of being as a "natural man" precluded him from apprehending the truth and living according to its light. After spiritual rebirth and "regeneration," however, the soul is "made alive" (ζωοποιεω) by the Holy Spirit and made free from the "law of sin and death," i.e., the power of sin. This does not mean, however, that the regenerated soul is able to attain a state of moral perfection and entirely cease from sinning, since the process of sanctification involves apprehending the soul's new identity through the ongoing practice of faith. Finally, the state of soul in olam haba -- the world to come -- is one wherein the soul is "glorified" and accorded the power both not to sin and the everlasting grace to be unable to sin against God. This is the heavenly state - the Holy Mountain - where the very presence of sin will forever be eradicated. If God will orchestrate such and end, why could he not have done so from the beginning?
A troubling implication of the classical "free will" defense, however, is that the possibility for doing evil seems necessary to be a free moral agent, which seems to suggest that evil is eternal... Like the (dubious) logic that claims we cannot know light apart from darkness, love apart from hate, and peace apart from strife, etc., so we will need these contradistinctions forever. But it seems contrary to the promise of Scripture that God will wipe every every tear from our eyes in the world to come, yet the language of pain will be known as well...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 13:1 Hebrew reading:
The "free will defense of God" is popular because it permits us to feel outrage over suffering and evil without blaming God. Suffering is not something God intended for us (it is "outside" his plan), and therefore we must fight against it. Nevertheless we can make a distinction between evil and suffering, and though we agree that God does not will us evil, he may indeed will that we suffer, if that suffering "upbuilds the soul" or transforms our character to reveal the truth of Christ. The Chasidic School has said, "Man descends in order to ascend," meaning that the battle with yetzer hara (the "lower nature") is meant to strengthen us and develop qualities that we could otherwise not know. The Chassidic masters must have read Kierkegaard, who called suffering the process of being "educated for eternity." This world of shadows and decay is not our true home, and suffering is God's way of calling us away from the allure of its illusions. We only become a person, a self, in relationship with eternity, and suffering turns the soul's gaze away from the fleeting to the truth that unifies and heals us. As C.S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
Marcel Proust once said, "To wisdom and goodness we make only promises; pain we obey," which I interpret to mean that suffering can teach us and help us develop into mature people. God "purges" the vine branches; he cuts back and reshapes our growth and direction (John 15:1-8). Our suffering builds endurance and strength, and unites us deeply with God's heart, with the goal of being glorified with Yeshua (Rom. 8:17). Suffering teaches us empathy, compassion, and humility, and God comforts us in our afflictions so that we can comfort others with the comfort we have been given by God (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
God graciously "delivers our soul from death, our eyes from tears, and our feet from stumbling" (Psalm 116:8) so that we are enabled to express his compassionate love to others in our lives... "For as we share abundantly in Messiah's sufferings, so we share abundantly in consolation (παράκλησις) of the Messiah, too" (1 Cor. 1:5). Therefore we can say, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (אלהֵי כָּל־נֶחָמָה), who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God" (2 Cor. 1:3-4). Note that Paul links our present suffering (πάθος, pathos) with a divinely imparted comfort (παράκλησις, "paraklesis"), which he regards as a state of blessedness. God Himself "calls us to His side" (from παρά + καλέω) in the midst of our afflictions and pain.... The Greek text reads, ὁ παρακαλῶν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν, and might be better rendered as, "The one calling to us [to His side] in all our tribulations" (2 Cor. 1:4). God invites us to come to His side for comfort so that we might offer his comfort to a lost and pain-riddled world.
In this view, suffering is "inside" God's plan as a means of ultimately healing us. Indeed, far from being a sign of God's abandonment, suffering is transformed to be a means of God's care for us. We are disciplined by God to bear a greater good (Heb. 12:7-11); we learn to endure trials for the sake of knowing and sharing the miracle of God's comforting love.
There are some other attempts to put suffering "outside" of God's plan that might be mentioned here. Some people regard life in this world as a cosmic battlefield and blame the devil for all the suffering and evil we experience. The proper response is not to blame God but rather to join Him in the battle of the ages against evil.
The traditional "problem of evil" may be stated that the three sentences: 1) God is all good; 2) God is all powerful; and 3) evil exists, are incompatible, if not logically, then at least existentially. The empirical philosopher David Hume succinctly put the problem this way: "Is He willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is impotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent. Is He both able and willing? Whence then is evil?" (Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion). In other words, if God is all good he would want to eliminate evil, and if God is all powerful he is able to eliminate evil, and yet evil exists, so we are left with the choice of accepting any two of these statements at the expense of the third. For example, someone could affirm that God is all good and evil exists, but God is unable to overpower evil; or someone could say that God is both all good and all powerful, and therefore (ultimately speaking) evil does not exist, and so on. Some people attempt to make suffering "outside" of God's will by denying his omnipotence -- by claiming that God literally cannot overcome evil because he has given moral agents their own sovereign will to choose... God logically cannot remove evil just like he can't make a square circle or cause 2+2 to equal 5. Others say that God does not know the future because reality is a process, and not a set of facts, and God simply leaves room for personal choices that are not predetermined to occur.
It should be clear that these other approaches are contrary to the clear teaching of Scripture, since God is the God of Truth (אֵל אֱמֶת) who indeed knows the beginning from the end, and indeed God's understanding and power are infinite (Psalm 147:5; Isa. 40:28; Psalm 145:3; Rom. 11:33). God is perfect in all his ways (Deut. 32:4). The Judge of the earth shall always do what is right (Gen. 18:25). Moreover God is utterly holy, absolute in moral perfections, and his will is beyond reproach. Additionally, Yeshua knew the truth value of "counterfactual conditionals" (Matt. 11:21-23), so it is simply incorrect to suppose that God cannot foresee future possibilities as well as actualities. God knows the truth conditions of all possible worlds, just as God knows the outcome of all actualized possibilities in the actual world.
Among those of us who trust God and the words of our Lord Yeshua the Savior, however, we are faced with paradox, with mystery, and therefore we must learn to accept that we "see through a glass darkly" (1 Cor. 13:12). On the one hand we unreservedly believe that God is the sole Authority of reality, the Master of the universe who decrees and ordains all things perfectly. God knows the number of the hairs on our head; he knows our thoughts before we think them and our words before we utter them (Psalm 139); he knows the bloom of every hidden wildflower and when the sparrow falls (Matt. 10:29). Surely He is our Good Shepherd who leads us through the world and orders all things to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28). His promises are secure because God is in control, and indeed God's Name YHVH (יהוה) means that he is the Faithful One who reigns over all states of being and time, in every realm of existence. God is Eternal and therefore he is the Possessor of Eternal Life, Truth, Being, and so on. YHVH is Lord of lords and King of kings whose word can never fail (Deut. 10:17; Dan. 2:47). Ein od milvado (אֵין עוֹד מִלְבַדּו): "there is no power apart from Him" (Deut. 4:35,9). Because our great God is in control of our lives and future, he must ordain suffering for us with only benevolent and healing intent.
On the other hand, the imperatives of Scripture implies that we have a real duty and responsibility to do truth, to love others, to receive the light, to trust in God, and so on. Like the rich man who asked Yeshua how to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-22), God does not force us to follow him or to accept his love, though there are real consequences for those who willingly choose to disregard moral and spiritual reality. Nevertheless -- and this is the problem given in the Book of Job -- it is very often the righteous that suffer, while the wicked seemingly prosper, and it this breakdown of the principle of "karma" (i.e., moral cause and effect) that is most problematic, at least in a reciprocal or rational sense...
In the end the question of why creatures suffer may be an unanswerable question, at least at the present time, because we are not omniscient and cannot ascertain the deepest reaches of God's redemptive purposes. Nevertheless we presently groan and seek for answers, because suffering is a ubiquitous part of our experience (צַעַר בַּעֲלֵי חַיִּים), and it threatens our sense of God's care for our lives... The academic question of how to reconcile faith in God with the prevalence of suffering is very different than the life of faith itself, where we trust God's heart, even if we cannot understand why things happen the way they do. Like a small child, we take hold of our heavenly Father's hand, not knowing why he is leading us the way we are going, but trusting in his care every step of the way.
"Son,'he said,' ye cannot in your present state understand eternity...That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it," not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin.
Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why...the Blessed will say "We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, and the Lost, "We were always in Hell." And both will speak truly."
― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
Every human being is a theologian of sorts, since thinking about what is ultimately real is inescapable, especially when we are confronted with questions regarding life and death.... The issue often isn't whether a person will believe in God, but rather how he or she will approach the question of God's Presence in light of suffering. Part of the difference between a "theology of rebellion" and a "theology of hope" is that rebellion is a mode of the intellectual (i.e., a deification of logic, a demand for temporal and this-worldly justice, and so on), whereas hope is a mode of personal trust (i.e., a "letting go" of the demand for answers in order to surrender to love). When you encounter God as the lover of your soul, you begin to apprehend the truth that "love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude; it does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Cor. 13:4-6). Being in a love-relationship with God gives us the courage to face the ambiguity of a world filled with suffering with hope and compassion.
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Our Meditation all the day...
03.20.25 (Adar 20, 5784) The Scriptures declare: "Blessed is the man who ... delights in the Torah of the LORD (בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה); all that he does shall prosper" (Psalm 1:1-3). And while it is true that we are no longer 'under' the terms of the covenant given at Sinai (Rom. 3:23), we still delight 'in' the Torah and meditate on its precepts day and night (Psalm 1:2; 19:8; 119:15, 47, 97; Neh. 8:12, etc.). After all, Torah "written upon the heart" is a mark of the New Covenant believer (Jer. 31:31-33). As it is written in Proverbs: "If you seek it [i.e., the wisdom revealed in the Torah] like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God" (Prov. 2:4-5).
Where it is written, "all Scripture is breathed out by God (θεόπνευστος) and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17), it is evident that the Scriptures referred to here are the Jewish Scriptures (i.e., the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings), since they are the foundation, the context, and the overarching matrix for the later New Covenant revelation. These were the Scriptures Yeshua used to contextualize and explain his ministry to his followers: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself" (Luke 24:27; John 1:45).
This implies that the Torah has a logical, linguistic, and theological priority regarding our understanding of the New Testament, and the failure to read in context invariably leads to faulty interpretations and doctrinal errors of various kinds. "To the Jew first, and [then] to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16) is a principle not only of how the gospel message would transcend ethnic Israel to be offered to all the nations, but also about how we should approach the subject of Biblical "hermeneutics." God "breathed out" his revelation in order, and the message itself must be understood in light of that order (John 4:22).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 119:97 Hebrew commentary (click):
The Cry of our Hearts...
"It is not the absence of sin but the grieving over it which distinguishes the child of God from empty professors." - A.W. Pink
03.19.25 (Adar 19, 5785) Life is often a messy (and painful) business for us. We are weak. We are tempted, and we regularly fail. We are filled with ambivalence; we contradict ourselves; we struggle; we falter, we sin. At times we may even feel lost and inconsolably alone. But faith is a gift from heaven - the gift of God's presence, and as such the miracle attests that "God is with us," even in our times of darkness, in moments of sadness, heartache, confusion, anger, and fear.
Where is God in our sorrows, our losses, our nightmares? He is with us. Despite the blindness of our hearts, the Spirit whispers: "I am with you." Yea, God never leaves us; he never forsakes us. He cares. His heart spans "the breadth and length and height and depth" of all that we are, expressed in his eviscerated groans for our deliverance, in drops of blood sweat out in his passion, in the forsakenness and utmost anguish of the cross... Faith believes and then sees.
God is with us, yet in the anxiety of the everyday we often lose sight of him. We forget. We go dark. We go into exile. And then in "the mercy of our misery" we sense the call of his heart once again: "Come unto me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest..." We slow down and again seek his "hidden" Presence, remembering his greatness and turning our thoughts back to what is ultimately real... What we thought was so big -- the dramas of this world -- suddenly seems small and insignificant. We remember the LORD our God; we revisit what matters most of all. And as we do so, the Spirit of God begins to flow within us as we reconnect with our true identity as God's beloved child. We come back to the open arms our Savior. He is alive; Jesus is real; we belong to him and he will lead us into the depths of his love forever and ever... Amen.
Friend, if you struggle inwardly with sin and despair over yourself, remember: Faith is itself the struggle to believe, and therefore the struggle reveals the presence of earnestness within you... God sees you and will hear the cry of your heart...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:15 reading (click for audio):
Deliverance from Evil...
03.19.25 (Adar 19, 5785) Do you sometimes feel out of control with your emotions? Have you ever felt overwhelmed by fear, anger, or inordinate desire? Yeshua said "out of the heart come evil thoughts" (i.e., διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί, literally, evil "dialogs") that result in bad feelings, wicked actions, and despair, and therefore we must understand the connection between how we think (and what we believe) and the emotional condition of our inner life.
Have you ever heard the saying, "Hurt people hurt people?" The word for "evil" in Hebrew (i.e., ra': רע) comes from a verb (רעע) that means to injure or harm others, though the word also connotes a despair of the heart that gives up and chooses to turn "hard" and difficult (קשה). Evil is also connected with cowardice, since the conscience (i.e., moral awareness) reveals judgment for sin, and therefore evil thinking leads to rationalizations, self-deception, and a running away from the truth about who we are...
The Scriptures liken a person without self-control (i.e., מעצר לרוּחוֹ, "rule over his spirit") as an ancient city without walls - vulnerable to attack and easily overcome by hostile forces (Prov. 25:28). If you are impulsive or easily agitated, you are rendered defenseless before the enemy of your soul, and therefore it is essential to repair any breach within your heart and to become unified in your thinking and resolve. The Holy Spirit is called the "Comforter" (παράκλητος) because he imparts strength that fortifies the heart. Therefore the fruit of the Spirit (פרי הרוח) is "self-control" (ἐγκράτεια), a word that means "inner strength" (from εν-, "in" + κράτος, "power") referring to mastery over one's desires and passions.
A person without self-control is easily overcome by evil. For example, a person who cannot control his anger cannot control what he says, and this reveals subjection to the lower nature. If a person says anything or everything that enters his mind, he is without boundaries, and there will be no door to close his lips... The same can be said of emotions that rise up with in the soul. Some strong emotions, of course, are appropriate to a given situation, but others are not, and without "taking every thought captive" by exercising self-control, we are liable to be brought into bondage to alien passions and obsessive thinking (2 Cor. 10:4). This is the source of addiction and all manner of self-destructive behavior in our lives. Being a "spirit without restraint" is to surrender yourself to dark forces that disregard the glory of your Creator.
God has not given us the spirit of fear but of "power and love and self-control" (2 Tim. 1:7). The Greek word used to translate "self-control" means to be sane, disciplined, restrained from the oppression of inner urges and impulses, and so on. The root word (σῴζω) means to healed from the tyranny of darkness, to be rescued and delivered from evil.... If you find yourself losing your temper or getting fearful when considering the rumors and "news" of this evil world, understand the limitations of your understanding and ask God for the blessing of self-restraint. King David asked the Lord to create in him a new heart that was willing to say "yes" to God's will, but we also need a new heart to say "no" to those impulses that seduce us to look away away from the truth. A double-minded person is "two-souled" (δίψυχος), living out the inner conflict of heart that has not decided what is most important.
"If there is no seed, there is no fruit;" and the type of seed always determines the type of fruit (1 Pet. 1:23; 1 John 3:9). We can sow to the flesh – and reap corruption - or we can sow to the Spirit - and reap life everlasting (Gal. 6:7-8). The formation of "Messiah-like character" is the result of discipline (παιδεία), a word that means to instruct or rear a child (παιδεύω) and is therefore connected with discipleship and education. Indeed, the Hebrew word for "discipline" is musar (מוסר), a term that refers to moral instruction and guidance, whereas the word for "education" is chinukh (חינוך), a term that shares the same root as the word "dedication" (i.e., chanukah: חנוכה). Unlike the Greek view that regards education as a pragmatic process of improving one's personal power or happiness, the Hebrew idea implies dedication/direction to God and His concrete purposes on the earth. Disciples of Yeshua are therefore called talmidim (תלמידים), a word that comes from lamad (למד) meaning "to learn" (a Hebrew word for teacher is melamed (מלמד), a word that shares the same root). There can be no discipline apart from education...
In the New Testament we read, "For the moment all discipline (παιδεία) does not seem full of joy but of sorrow, but afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (פרי הצדק) to those who have been exercised by it" (Heb. 12:11). The Greek word used for "exercised" is gumnadzo (γυμνάζω), often used to refer to training for competitive gymnastic events. Despite the analogy of training or "exercising" the physical body to comply with the directives of the spirit, however, it is important to remember that the life of God is a miracle that comes from God's own source of Life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, after all, and not the result of human effort or moral reformation. See John 15:1-8. Our lives are sanctified in the manner in which they were initially justified: wholly by faith in the love and grace of God... Just as we are unable to "crucify ourselves," so we are unable to produce fruit for God in ourselves. As Yeshua said, "Without me you can do nothing..." (John 15:5).
The Scriptures state twice: שרש למטה ועשה פרי למעלה / "Take root downward and bear fruit upward" (2 Kings 19:30; Isa. 37:31). As Yeshua said, "unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it will produce abundant fruit (John 12:24). We pray we might surrender ourselves to the Lord fully, being immersed in His passion, "bearing fruit in every good work (ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες) and growing in da'at Adonai (ידיעת יהוה) - the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). The "fruit of the righteous is a Tree of Life" lit., etz chayim (עץ חיים), "the Tree of lives" (Prov. 11:30). It is the fruit of Yeshua, the Righteous One, who bears fruits of healing for the lives of those who turn to Him in trust...
All of us have "hidden faults" of which we are not fully aware. Therefore king David prayed, "Who can discern his errors? cleanse me from secret faults" (Psalm 19:12). We are cleansed by confession, that is, by looking within our hearts to uncover deeper motivations... If we are honest with ourselves we may discover, for example, that we are angry or covetous people, despite how we otherwise wish to regard ourselves. If you find yourself unable to let something go, for instance, some pain or failure of the past, remind yourself that you must do so if you want to move on with your life. Focusing on how things could have been different is to be enslaved to the past. The goal of teshuvah (repentance) is to turn us back to God for life, but to do this, we must be be willing to let go of what makes us sick.
Ha'cholash yomer gibbor ani (החלשׁ יאמר גבור אני) - "Let the weak say I am strong." The LORD "gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength" (Isa. 40:29). Confess: "I can do all things through the Messiah who strengthens me," not "some things," or a "few things," but ALL things (Phil. 4:13). Yeshua is the Source of all our strength. "May you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being" (Eph. 3:16). Let's remember to pray for one another and ask the LORD to help make each of us fruitful to the glory of our Heavenly Father (John 15:8). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 25:28 reading (click):
May we all receive the willingness to say "no" to our impulses and "yes" to the truth of God's peace for our lives... May the Lord give us "sound minds" that rebuff demonic insinuations that attempt to manipulate our feelings and impair our thinking. May we be delivered of the "spirit of fear" and anxiety. Amen, may we take "every thought captive" before the reality of our Savior.
Salvation and Sanity...
"At bottom the whole concern is with the manner of our acceptance of the universe. Do we accept it only in part and grudgingly, or heartily and altogether?" - William James
03.18.25 (Adar 18, 5785) It is written that "God has not given us a spirit of fear (πνεῦμα δειλίας), but of power, and love, and a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). Note that the Greek word for "sound mind" (σωφρονισμός) comes from a verb (i.e., sodzo: σῴζω) that means being made "safe" (i.e., soas: σωός) or healed because of the power and grace of the Living God.
Understand, then, the connection between fear and confusion, and note further the connection between having a sound mind and a heart of peace and courage. "The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the service of righteousness shall bequietness and confidence for ever (Isa. 32:17). A fearful or shameful attitude, weakens your resolve, quells your love, and introduces pain to your thinking.
It is the old trick of the enemy of our souls to lead us unto despair, the exile of shame, and cruel bondage to untruth. As always the answer is the same: namely, teshuvah, turning to God and embracing the grace and love given in Yeshua as our deepest reality, our power, our heart, and our mind.
The Name of the LORD (יהוה) means "Presence" and "Love" (Exod. 3:14; 34:6-7). Yeshua said, "I go to prepare a place for you," which means that his presence and love are waiting for you in whatever lies ahead (John 14:1-3; Rom. 8:35-39). To worry is to "practice the absence" of God instead of practicing His Presence... Trust the word of the Holy Spirit: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for healing peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). Chazak ve'ematz, chaverim!
Take comfort that your Heavenly Father sees when the sparrow falls; he arrays the flower in its hidden valley; and he calls each star by name. More importantly, the Lord sees you and understands your struggle with fear... Come to him with your needy heart and trust him to deliver you from the burdens of your soul (Matt. 11:28).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 25:1-2a reading (click):
Awake to God's Glory...
"To become sober is: to come to oneself in self-knowledge and before God as nothing before him, yet infinitely, unconditionally engaged." - Soren Kierkegaard
03.18.25 (Adar 18, 5785) The essence of temptation is distraction. Sometimes it's not the obvious lusts and allurements of the world that tempt us, but something more sinister, namely the slow process of being seduced away from what is most essential to our lives. God's truth and reality should weigh upon our every thought and deed, but through various forms of distraction and anxious self-concern we lose sight of this until he is no longer a primary factor in our daily thinking.
Much of our trouble comes from unfiltered "thinking" and unguarded imaginations... Often we do not think at all but passively revert to godless assumptions and instinctive habits. Since our thoughts are unrestrained they may creep out of control until we cannot distinguish between the voice of divine truth from inner voices of despair and fear. We react and lose control... Which "voices" are you heeding in your everyday and spontaneous moments?
The Hebrew word for "glory" (i.e., kavod: כָּבוֹד) implies "heaviness" and significance. It is of "grave" concern, and regarding the LORD implies fear, awe, respect, honor, and even dread. In some cases it can imply "excessiveness" or "immeasurability." This is what is meant by the "weight of glory": God has infinite worth and value, and we do not know Him as we might know various things in the universe, but as the Holy One (הקדוש), the most important being in our lives (and in any possible world). God is of no significance if he is not of utmost significance, or as C.S. Lewis said: "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
How does the truth of God "weigh in" on your life? Is it a source of magnetic attraction that directs and guides your way, or is divine truth incidental to your thinking? Is God an "afterthought" or a starting point for your decisions? Do you "seek first" the kingdom of God? (Matt. 6:33). How much do you allow God to affect your daily thought life and speech? Is relationship with God the priority of your existence? (Deut. 6:5). Is God the "ultimate concern" of your life, or is God essentially "weightless" or insignificant regarding the course of your life?
The great Commandment not to take the Name of the LORD "in vain" (see Exod. 20:7) implies that we must affirm the sanctity, meaning, significance, and worth of life itself. We must never live as though God does not exist, or, to state this positively, we must "set the LORD" always before us (Psalm 16:8). We must not waste our lives. It is therefore forbidden to ignore the miracle of existence, to scoff at the value of life, or to debase ourselves by refusing to receive the truth. We are to take every thought "captive" to the reality of the Messiah (2 Cor. 10:5). Everything belongs to God, and every moment that we have is beholden to Him...
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 20:7a reading (click):
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Finding deliverance from profane thinking requires concentrated focus, or "kavanah" (כַּוָנָּה). As it is written: "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Messiah" (2 Cor. 5:10). We are instructed to "bring down reasonings" (λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες) and every high thing that is lifted up against the knowledge of God (κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεου) and to bring every thought "as a captive" to the obedience (ὑπακοὴν, from ὑπό: by, under, + ἀκούω: hear, obey) of Messiah. We can do this negatively by fighting against evil thoughts and censoring the inner evil of our hearts, or we can do this positively by being "captivated" by the words and love of Yeshua, and often we have to do both. This is the deeper meaning of "profanity" - to deny reality, to live in willful ignorance, and to miss the wonder of God's presence. If we sanctify God in our hearts, we will be far less likely to use God's name in vain, of course.
God invites you to come to Him for relationship... Since the LORD is a Person, He wants to know you as a person. He is not interested in formulaic prayers, religious rituals, or your membership at a particular religious organization. God wants to renew your inmost thoughts and heart. Drawing near to God is God's way of drawing near to you... In other words, as you draw near to God, He will draw near and touch you (James 4:8; Psalm 145:18; Isa. 55:6). This is the way of transformation and healing for the depths of our lives.
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Seeing God's Promise...
03.18.25 (Adar 18, 5785) Just as Noah foresaw the great cataclysm to come, so we are to understand that the world above our heads and under our feet is destined to destruction, as we likewise await the promised world to come: "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever (וישׁוּעָתִי לְעוֹלָם תִּהְיֶה), and my righteousness will never be dismayed" (Isa. 51:6).
This idea is repeated in the New Testament: "For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Matt. 24:37). "But the Day of the LORD will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the Day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn? But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace" (2 Pet. 3:10-14).
In light of all this, we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal... For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. Therefore we are strangers and exiles on the earth, looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (2 Cor. 4:18; Rom. 1:20; Heb. 11:10,13).
Faith sees the invisible... Our father Abraham was promised descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky or sand on the seashore, despite the fact that he was an old man and his wife had long past the age of bearing children. Abraham believed in the One who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist: "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform: And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness" (Rom. 4:19-22).
Hebrew Lesson:
Genesis 15:6 reading (click):
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Seeing your New Face...
"And he (Betzalel) made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting" (Exod. 38:8).
03.17.25 (Adar 17, 5784) At the entrance of the Mishkan (i.e., "Tabernacle") a bronze (or copper) "laver" (i.e., wash basin or cistern) was built, the place where we wash and prepare ourselves to come before the Divine Presence (Exod. 30:18). The Torah says the basin was made from the mirrors of women who offered them to help build the sanctuary (see Exod. 38:8). Spiritually understood, the mirror was transformed from a place where we encounter our own appearance to a place where we encounter God.
Instead of focusing on our superficial face – how it looks and how we esteem ourselves, we now see ourselves in light of God's love, with our former self-image "sacrificed" or surrendered for the gift of a deeper self (2 Cor. 5:16). This is the "new self" cleansed by the Word of God, reflecting back the radiance of His Presence, as it says: "put on the new self (הָאָדָם הֶחָדָשׁ) created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:24).
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The "sacrificed mirror" represents turning to face reality, to see ourselves as God see us... Because of Yeshua, we have access to the inner heart of God (Heb. 4:16). Know who you are in Messiah: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:18).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 18:28 Hebrew reading (with comments):
Broken and Remade...
03.17.25 (Adar 17, 5785) No one wants to say they are needy, broken, weak, and so on, and indeed such a confession is blasphemy to the heart of the proud. The truth, however, is that we are indeed all these things, and Yeshua told us we were blessed if we understood this (Matt. 5:3-6). There is great danger to pretend you are strong and capable of living life on your own terms, since eventually you will be blindsided by the truth about your condition. On the other hand, the confession of our weakness opens the way to God's power, as Yeshua said to Paul in his affliction: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul came to see that the various trials and afflictions in his life taught his profound dependence on God: "for when I am weak, then I am strong."
Access to this grace, however, comes at the expense of our pride. We must humbly confess who and what we are, and therefore we must entirely abandon hope in our own strength and virtues. "We are only as sick as the secrets we keep," especially those secrets we keep from ourselves - those self-deceptions and illusions we use to defend ourselves.
Suppose, for instance, that you have the bad habit of complaining and even cursing when you are beset by troubles, and you want to stop doing these behaviors. You may resolve to be more optimistic and grateful, or you may read self-help books -- or even take anger management classes -- but nothing will do you any lasting good until you know "in your bones" that you are powerless to change your heart. That is the first step to being set free. Or suppose that you are habitually unhappy, troubled, anxious, and in pain, yet you want to find inner peace and joy. Again, apart from the miracle of God there is no lasting remedy. You must be honest with yourself and confess the truth of your condition, asking God to do in you what you cannot do for yourself. As Yeshua said: "What is impossible with man is possible with God." So in this way God uses your sins to correct you or bring you to the end of yourself, and in that way awareness of your personal weakness is a blessing from God.
Recall that Yeshua said out of the heart proceed "evil thoughts," or more literally, "evil dialogs" or reasoning within yourself (διαλογισμοι πονηροι). You are tethered to yourself - you cannot escape yourself - yet a divided house cannot stand. Attempting to relate to yourself apart from a relationship with God leads to ongoing despair -- either the despair of resigning into yourself or else the despair of fleeing from yourself -- but either way, to a condition of anxiety derived from not being grounded in the life of God... "Unless a seed of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone..." (John 12:24). Yeshua is the source of all life, and we find nourishment, strength, and the meaning of who we are as we connect with him. By faith we affirm: "I have been crucified with Messiah, and it is no longer 'I' who live, but Messiah who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). There is a new self that comes from above, known only in spiritual relationship with the Savior. The miracle of the exchanged life comes as we surrender to the truth of what God does for us (2 Cor. 5:17). That is the essence of the gospel, "the power of God for salvation for all who believe" (Rom. 1:16). Therefore we do not attempt to crucify ourselves, or labor to reform our corrupted lower nature, but we instead accept that we already have been crucified and healed by the mercy and miracle of God. We clothe ourselves in the robes of His righteousness as we celebrate God's redeeming love for our lives. Only then are we miraculously empowered by the Spirit to truly "love the LORD and keep his charge" (see Deut. 11:1).
The gate is narrow that leads to life, and few there be that find it (Matt. 7:14). That is part of the offense of the cross, after all - the confession you are lost, in darkness, and in need of salvation. Few receive this truth into their hearts because they want to be in control and refuse to let go; few regard their weakness as a blessing that opens the gate to God's strength. Let the weak say "I am strong" because of what the LORD has done. God's grace is sufficient, and his strength is perfected in weakness: "So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah may reside in me" (2 Cor. 12:9). "I can do all things through the Messiah who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13). Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Isaiah 40:29 reading (click for audio):
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A Personal Note
I apologize that I've not kept up with many of you via email recently, but I've had a hard time keeping up with things over the last year. After some family upheaval, I've dealt with depression and health-related issues. As most of you know, I don't have a staff that helps me with the ministry and I am not a part of a larger organization that supports this work. Your prayers are therefore most sincerely appreciated. Thank you, chaverim. - John
Sabbath of the "Red Cow"
This coming Shabbat is called "Shabbat Parah," the Sabbath of the [red] Cow." Besides reading the regular Torah reading (i.e., Vayakhel), we read about the mysterious red heifer sacrifice....
03.16.25 (Adar 16, 5784) The Sabbath that immediately follows Purim is called Shabbat Parah - the "Sabbath of the [red] Cow." In traditional synagogue services, two Torah scrolls will be removed from the ark, and from the first scroll will be read the Torah portion for the week (e.g., Ki Tisa), and from the second will be read the chapter regarding the laws of the sacrifice of the "Red Heifer" (Num. 19:1-22). The early sages decided to recite the laws of the Red Heifer at this time to recall the remedy of the sin of the Golden Calf, and to remind the people to purify themselves before coming to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festival of Passover. It is thought that since the sprinkling of the "waters of separation" cleanses from the uncleanness of death, reading this portion will help prepare our hearts for the time of Passover when we celebrate deliverance from death.
The Red Heifer offering is considered a paradox to most Jewish thinkers, though it can be seen as a revelation of the Yeshua our Messiah. The paradox is that the one who offers this sacrifice becomes ritually impure, while the sprinkling of the ashes is used to make people clean... The ritual is considered chok within the Jewish tradition, meaning that it makes no rational sense. The Talmud states that of all the 613 commandments given in the Torah, even King Solomon with all his wisdom could not fathom this decee. However, the sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah can be understood as the fulfillment of the symbolism of the parah adumah. Both were entirely rare and without defect (sin); both were sacrificed "outside the camp"; both made the one who offered the sacrifice unclean but made the one who was sprinkled by it clean; and finally, both sacrifices cleanse people for priestly service.
The parah adumah had to be a perfect specimen that was completely red, "without blemish, in which there is no defect (mum)." The rabbis interpreted "without blemish" as referring to the color, that is, without having so much as a single white or black hair. This is the only sacrifice in the Torah where the color of the animal is explicitly required. Moreover, the parah adumah was never to have had a yoke upon it, meaning that it must never have been used for any profane purposes.
Unlike all other sacrifices offered at the altar, the parah adumah was taken outside the camp and there slaughtered before the priest, who then took some of its blood and sprinkled it seven times before the Mishkan (thereby designating it as a purification offering). [During the Second Temple period, the High Priest performed this ceremony facing the Temple while atop the Mount of Olives.] Then the red heifer would be burned in its entirety: its hide, flesh, blood, and even dung were to be burned (unlike other Levitical korbanot). Unlike other offerings, all the blood of the sacrifice was to be burned in the fire.
Hyssop, scarlet yarn, and a cedar stick would then be thrown upon the burning parah adumah (these same items were used to cleanse from tzara'at, skin disease). In other words, the blood was assimilated into the ashes of the sacrifice, which were then gathered and mixed with water to create the "water of separation" (mei niddah) for the Israelite community. Note that the word "separation" (niddah) refers to menstrual impurity and harkens to Zech. 13:1: "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and from niddah."
Anyone (or anything) that came into contact with a corpse (the embodiment of sin and death) was required to be purified using the mei niddah. The purification procedure took seven days, using stalks of hyssop dipped into the water and shaken over the ritually defiled person on the third day and then again on the seventh day. After the second sprinkling, the person undergoing the purification process would be immersed in a mikvah and then be unclean until the following evening.
According to Jewish tradition, the Red Heifer sacrifice was to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf, though the Torah itself does not make this association. The LORD Yeshua, our High Priest of the New Covenant, is the perfect fulfillment of the Parah Adumah, since he was completely without sin or defect (2 Cor 5:21; John 8:46); he was sacrificed outside the camp (Heb 13:13); he made himself sin for us (2 Cor 5:21); his sprinkling makes us clean (1 Pet 1:2; Heb 12:24; Rev 1:5); and the "water of separation" that his sacrifice created is the means by which we are made clean from the impurity of sin (Eph 5:25-6; Heb 10:22).
Hebrew Lesson
Num. 19:2a Hebrew (click):
Note: The red heifer to be used for the Third Temple (i.e., the false "Tribulation Temple") is of prophetic interest but of no real consequence... Yeshua will establish the Fourth Temple of Ezekiel's vision during the Millennial Kingdom after His return in glory.
For more information about the Red Heifer sacrifice, see the "Gospel of the Red Cow" article as well as the "Tenth Red Heifer" page.
Constructing the Tabernacle
Parashat Vayakel...
03.16.25 (Adar 16, 5784) According to tradition, Moses descended from Sinai (with the second set of tablets) on Yom Kippur (Tishri 10), and on the following morning he assembled (i.e., vayakhel: וַיַּקְהֵל) the people together to explain God's instructions regarding building the Mishkan (i.e., Tabernacle). First, however, Moses reminded the people to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, and then he asked for contributions of gold, silver, bronze, and other materials for the construction of the sanctuary and its furnishings. Each contribution was to be a "free-will offering" (i.e., nedivah zevach: נְדָבָה זֶבַח) made by those "whose heart so moved him." As a sign of their complete teshuvah (repentance) for the sin of the Golden Calf, the people gave with such generosity that Moses finally had to ask them to stop giving!
Betzalel ben Uril and Oholiav were appointed to be the chief artisans of the Mishkan, and they led a team of others that created the roof coverings, frame, wall panels, and foundation sockets for the tent. They also created the parochet (veil) that separated the Holy Place (ha'kodesh) from the Holy of Holies (kodesh ha'kodeshim). Both the roof and the veil were designed with embroidered cherubim (winged angelic beings). Betzalel then created the mysterious Ark of the Covenant and its cover called the mercy seat (kapporet), which was the sole object that would occupy the innermost chamber of the Holy of Holies. Betzalel also made the three sacred furnishings for the Holy Place – the Table of Bread (shulchan), the lamp (menorah), and the Altar of Incense (mizbe'ach ha'katoret) – as well as the anointing oil that would consecrate these furnishings.
Betzalel then created the Copper Altar for burnt offerings (along with its implements) and the Copper Basin from the mirrors of women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. He then formed the courtyard by installing the hangings, posts and foundation sockets, and created the three-colored gate that was used to access the courtyard.
The "Passion" of Moses...
03.15.25 (Adar 15, 5784) In the solitude of his tent Moses was deeply troubled, even distraught. Undoubtedly he pondered everything in his life that had brought him to this difficult place... Alas, in light of the recent disaster at Sinai, Moses realized he was now at an utter impasse. Would God continue His redemptive plan or was this the end of the great dream? He prayed, he fasted, and he waited for many days and nights...
After languishing some time before the LORD he poignantly appealed to God in hope: "If I have found favor (grace) in your eyes, let me know your ways, that I may know you and continue in your favor" (Exod. 33:13). God responded by reassuring Moses that His Presence would be with him (alone) and that he (alone) would "enter His rest." But Moses protested: "Unless You go in the lead, do not make us leave this place. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight -- I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?" And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name" (Exod. 33:15-17). Moses' poignant intercession touched God's heart, causing Him to change from a mode of strict judgment (middat ha-din) to one of mercy and forgiveness (middat ha-rachamim). This was the "gospel" moment at Sinai....
Upon hearing God's words of comfort, Moses was so overcome with joy that he exclaimed: "Oh, let me behold Your Presence!" (Exod. 33:18), whereupon God answered, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you the name LORD (יהוה), and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy" (Exod. 33:19, cp. Rom. 9:15). Note that Moses would receive the revelation of the Name when he "stands upon the Rock" (Exod. 33:21).
The LORD then instructed Moses to carve a new set of tablets and to meet him again at the place (i.e., makom: מָקוֹם) on the top of Sinai, where He would descend in the cloud to "declare His Name" (Exod. 33:17-34:7). This dramatic experience of revelation was later called middot ha-rachamim (מדות הרחמים) or the revelation of the attributes (or "measures") of God's mercy, and was considered a divine "addendum" to the original covenant terms. Rabbinic tradition later incorporated the recitation of middot ha-rachamim into the Yom Kippur service.
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 34:6 reading (click for audio):
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So what are some of these attributes? Note first that the LORD calls himself rachum v'chanun (רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן), often translated "merciful and gracious." The noun rechem (רֶחֶם) means "womb" in Hebrew, indicating that God's compassion is like a mother's deep love for her child. The word chanun (חַנּוּן) comes from the word for grace or favor (i.e., chen: חֵן), and indicates that God is a graceful giver who is favorably disposed to help those in need. The LORD is compassionate to those who call upon Him.
The phrase erekh apayim (אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם) literally means "long of nose," an idiom used to describe someone who is patient and slow to anger, i.e., "longsuffering" (Prov. 14:29), one who inhales slowly and with equanimity. The word chesed (חֶסֶד), is often translated as "lovingkindess" or "steadfast love," and implies devotion and fidelity. God describes Himself as rav chesed v'emet (רַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת), that is abundant in His kindness and faithful love.
It is fascinating to see that this revelation prefigures the New Covenant (הברית החדשה) that was given to Israel. Just as the first set of tablets, based as they were on the justice and holiness of God, were broken, so a second set was given based on the middot (attributes) of the LORD's mercy and grace. Indeed, Yeshua was broken on behalf of the law but was raised again so that all who trust in Him can truly understand that God is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and truth" (Exod. 34:6, Psalm 86:15, 103:8).
It can be readily argued that the revelation of the Name YHVH (Exod. 34:5-7) was a "gospel" moment for Israel. The episode of the Golden Calf revealed that the Jews were unable to keep the law, even though they personally experienced the power of God's deliverance from Egypt and His ongoing care on the way to Sinai. Despite the judgments brought upon Egypt, despite the overthrow of Pharaoh and his armies in the sea, despite the bitter waters made sweet, despite the manna from heaven, despite the miraculous well of Miriam, despite the awesome revelation at Sinai, and despite the pledge of the Israelites: kol asher diber Adonai na'aseh v'nishma, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient" (Exod. 19:8; 24:7), the Sin of the Golden Calf revealed that something more was needed, and that the law itself was insufficient to change the inner heart of man (Rom. 3:20). The intercession of Moses on behalf of Israel - his willingness to die on behalf of the people - revealed the heart of the New Covenant (בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה) of the LORD, the deeper revelation of the God's character of mercy and grace. Apart from God's gracious love and compassion, the law by itself rendered only the righteous verdict of death for Israel...
For more on this, see "God's Stubborn Love: Further thoughts on Parashat Ki Tisa."
Shabbat shalom and love and blessings be upon you, friend...
The Heart of the Matter...
03.14.25 (Adar 14, 5784) What was the essence of Yeshua's message to us? What did he teach? What was the point of his ministry? Why did he come to us? What was the reason for his being with us?
The Gospels relate that Yeshua was an itinerant teacher and prophet who invited people to turn to God and believe in his mission to redeem the world. He explained that he came to offer himself up as the "Lamb of God" who would take away the sins of the world. He called everyone to repent and believe the "gospel," that is, the good news of God's kingdom.
But he was far more than a human teacher or prophet, as he declared himself to be the very incarnation of God who had come to take the place of fallen Adam as the "Son of Man" and to undue the curse of death that befell humanity. He came to restore the place originally given to Adam and Eve to be priests and kings of the LORD forever.
To receive the blessing of his sacrifice given on our behalf, each person must trust him to be their intercessor and mediator before God as the atonement of their life. This trust puts us into right relationship with God by means of the "new covenant" that exchanges the old nature bequeathed through Adam with a new nature bequeathed through Yeshua. This divine "exchange" is sometimes called the "new birth" wherein the divine life is implanted within the regenerated heart.
This is the good news that God has come to give you life, eternal life, and you will be part of God's family as a dear child of His forever and ever. This is the promise given to Adam and Eve that God would undue the curse of death by redeeming the human race from their exile.
But there is more. Yeshua wants those who are redeemed and reborn to be his emissaries in the world, that is, to passionately "follow" him by sharing his message of eternal life with others. He calls his followers to be extensions of himself, to live out the life he has given them, and that means sacrificially offering themselves for others. That's what he meant when he said you must take up your cross and follow him, offering yourself in love and sacrifice for others. This is the "cost of discipleship," to give up everything for the gain of partaking in the life of Yeshua that was given on your behalf.
In other words, Yeshua came to die for us and to give us his life in exchange, and he taught us to do the same for others... He was born to die, but he was also born to teach us how to die. "Take up your cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
Yeshua taught us that the way to life is through death. "Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone, but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit" (John 12:24). This pertains first of all to Yeshua who opened the way by means of his sacrificial death, but it also applies to his followers who likewise must go through that way.
This is the heart of the "gospel," the teshuvah of Messiah. "Taking up the cross," counting the cost, being willing to surrender everything for the sake of God's love... It is a matter of the will, a conviction of the truth and earnestness of heart to give your utmost in response to the call of the Lord. This is the "Torah of Messiah," to love one another," and that means bearing one another's burdens in intercession for them (Gal. 6:2; John 15:12).
Paradoxically, the heart of the gospel is to sacrifice the very life that God imparts to you in the new birth, for the "old life" is not sacrificed but buried and put away from you (Col. 3:3; Gal. 2:20). The blessing of spiritual and eternal life is to share in the life and sacrifice of Yeshua (Col. 1:24).
Now who can do any of this but the Lord? That's the point, however, that it's not the "old life" that is being put down that matters but the new life from above - the life given by the Holy Spirit - that empowers you to live in an entirely new realm of being, with the grace to sacrifice yourself by partaking of Yeshua's life...
The redeemed family of God is called the "kingdom of God" (Matt. 24:14) and the gospel is the call to become members of that kingdom. A kingdom is ruled by a king, of course, who is God embodied in Yeshua, the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He is the "federal head" of a new kind of humanity - recreated from above - the "Adam" from heaven that would be resurrected to restore all of creation. His followers are therefore called "kings and priests" unto God (Exod. 19:6, Rev. 1:6, 5:10, 1 Pet. 2:5). As it is written: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9).
There is life after death that we live today as we sacrifice ourselves by surrendering to God's love.... This is what life in the kingdom means for us today. Presently we collide with the world's kingdom, since we live in a different sphere or realm, and one day the heavenly kingdom will become manifest for all the world to see. That is why we are instructed to "seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Then when Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).
So how do you follow Yeshua in your own life? Do you regard yourself as a member of his kingdom wherein you are called to serve as his royal priest? Do you relate to him not only as your beloved Savior but as your King before whom you swear allegiance, even unto death?
It's important to remember that all of this is possible by the mercies and grace of God, and not by our own best efforts. The great commandment of the Torah of Moses is to love God with all your being and to love others as yourself, but this is impossible apart from the miracle of God. If we could do this, there would be no need for deliverance from the sickness of our human condition...
Yeshua didn't call us to "try harder" to follow Moses, but to give us a new heart that is changed by God's power, "life from the dead." He came to impart the divine image within us and to empower us to live by means of the Spirit of God. Praise God that Yeshua died for our sins, but praise him that he died to give us new life from above! He died for our sins so that we would be brought back from the dead as new creations (Gal. 2:20-21).
The gospel is not about what we do, but what Yeshua does, and that changes everything. Yeshua is not the "second coming of Moses" but the Lord and healer over all of life. The "gospel," the really good news, is the reality and power of who Yeshua is... It is the good news of God regarding his Son (Rom. 1:1-3). It is "of God," the very power of God for salvation and everlasting healing to all who trust in him for life. Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Ezekiel 36:26 reading:
Endurance and Hope...
03.14.25 (Adar 14, 5784) We are promised that God will not let us be tested beyond what we are able to bear, "but with the test will also provide the way of escape (τὴν ἔκβασιν) so that we may be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13). Indeed, in light of suffering what we really need is perseverance, or what the New Testament calls hupomone (ὑπομονή), a word that means "remaining [μένω] under [ὑπο]" the Divine Presence while being tested (the English word "suffer" comes from the Latin word sufferre, from sub- (under) + ferre, to carry, and therefore denotes "bearing under" difficulty).
Suffering people often do not need moral platitudes or correction from others, but rather the will to believe, the strength to stay constant, and the rise of hope that gives life to simple prayers that focus the heart upon the Lord's Presence: "God have mercy..." "Help me, O God..." "I need Thee, O Lord..." When we receive grace to faithfully suffer, we hear the Spirit whispering back to us: "Be not afraid..." "Live in me..." "Walk in the light..." "I am with you always..." "You are loved..."
רַבּוֹת רָעוֹת צַדִּיק
וּמִכֻּלָּם יַצִּילֶנּוּ יְהוָה
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 34:19 reading (click):
The blessing from above draws us away from our attachments as we learn that nothing ultimately belongs to us... We learn to make peace with our sorrows and disappointments, to let go of them and to accept that this day - despite its frailty and trouble - is nevertheless a precious gift from above. "My peace I give to you" (שלי שלום אני אתן לך), said Yeshua, "not as the world gives, I give to you" (John 14:27). Not as the world gives... When we let go, when we put everything in God's hands, we acknowledge that all we have is a gift from God.
The Cleft of the Rock...
The following is related to our Torah reading for this week, parashat Ki Tisa...
03.14.25 (Adar 14, 5785) When Moses asked the LORD, hareini na et-kevodekha - "Please show me your glory" (Exod. 33:18), the sages said he wanted to reconcile God's supreme power and goodness despite the prevalence of evil in the world. God answered, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim before you my name the LORD (יְהוָה)... but," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live" (Exod. 33:19-20).
The early sages interpreted God's answer to mean that once we encounter God's goodness and love (defined by the essential name י־ה־ו־ה), we must trust that what is beyond our understanding nevertheless works for our ultimate good, even if its purpose may be unknown to us at the present time (Rom. 8:28). The LORD said both: "I will make my goodness manifest to you," and "you cannot see me and live," which means that we "see through a glass darkly" as we sojourn through this world (1 Cor. 13:12). God manifests yet still we can't fully see...
In this life you may stand near God in the "cleft of the rock," on the very mountaintop of revelation, but you will still be in a cloud of unknowing (Exod. 33:22-23). Nevertheless God promises to "shelter you with his hand"; he will provide you a place of refuge and the strength to keep trusting despite incomprehensible times of testing...
Hebrew Lesson
Exodus 33:22b reading (click for audio):
There is an opinion in the Talmud that says Moses was the author of the Book of Job, the ancient story that investigates why the righteous suffer (Bava Batra 15a). At the end of the book, God answers Job from the midst of a whirlwind, reminding him that while people can't comprehend His ways, he is the nevertheless the Source of all goodness and truth in the universe. After Job hears God speak, he says, "Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth... I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 40:4, 42:2-3,5-6). Both Job and Moses realized that trusting in the love of God is the key to accepting all other experiences that might befall him...
Note that God said that "no man can see My face and live" (Exod. 33:20), and yet Moses spoke with God "face to face" (Deut. 34:10). We reconcile this by understanding "face to face" (פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים) to be an idiom that means "intimately," or "personally," that is, without the use of mediators or outside agents. Nevertheless the "face of God" was disclosed in the advent of Yeshua, as it is written: "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God (μονογενὴς θεὸς), the One who is in the heart of the Father (ὁ ὢν εἰς τὸν κόλπον τοῦ πατρὸς), has made him known" (John 1:18). Yeshua is the "image of the invisible God" (εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου) who reveals the meaning of the Father (John 14:9). As it is written, "God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Yeshua the Messiah" (2 Cor. 4:6). Our Savior is "the radiance of the glory of God and the representation of his essence (χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ), the One who upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:3). All this is very mysterious, of course: the Infinite enters the realm of the finite; God is revealed yet concealed; he is made known yet beyond our understanding. Indeed, the very One who entered the "leper colony of the world" and willingly died on the cross for our meanness and sin is none other than "the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light (φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον), whom no one has ever seen or can see" (1 Tim. 6:15-16).
That Yeshua dwells in "unapproachable light" recalls the story of the Roman emperor who once asked Rabbi Joshua if the universe had a ruler. The sage answered, indeed, the LORD is the Creator of all things, as it is written, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The emperor then asked, "Why is God not like the emperor of Rome, who is seen twice a year so that people may know and worship him?" Rabbi Joshua said that unlike human kings, the LORD was too powerful for people to see; as it is written in the Torah: "No person shall see Me and live." The emperor was skeptical, however, and insisted that unless he could see God, he would be unable to believe. Joshua then pointed to the sun high in the sky: "Look into the sun and you will see God." The emperor tried to look into the sun, but was forced to cover his eyes to keep them from burning: "I cannot look into the sun," he said. Joshua then replied: "Listen to yourself: If you cannot look into the sun which is but one of God's creations, how can you expect to look at God?" (Sefer HaAggadah).
It is interesting to compare this story with another... Lev Tolstoy tells the parable of an old cobbler who despaired of life and yearned to finally see God. In a dream one night a heavenly voice told that he would see God's face the very next day. The cobbler began the day on the alert, hoping to catch a glimpse of God, but he was distracted when he encountered a needy family. They were cold and desperate, so he took them in and cared for them. The day passed and as he finally laid down to sleep, the cobbler realized he had completely forgotten to look for God. He apologized to God and once again asked to die... As he fell asleep he dreamed that he saw the family he had helped walking by when the heavenly voice then said, "Rest assured: you saw God today in the faces of those you helped." "Truly, as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me" (Matt. 25:40).
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Purim Deliverance in Yeshua...
03.13.25 (Adar 13, 5785) The holiday of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is also known as Yom Kippurim in the Torah (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים, see Lev. 23:28), which can be read as Yom Ke-Purim, a 'day like Purim' (i.e., יוֹם, "day" + כְּ, "like" + פֻּרִים, "purim"). Both Purim and Yom Kippur celebrate our deliverance from the great enemies of sin and death, and both holidays foreshadow the great purim (deliverance) we have in Yeshua our LORD.
It is written in the prophets: ""Behold, it was for my healing that I had great bitterness;but You in love have delivered my life from the pit of destruction,for you have cast all my sins behind your back" (Isa. 38:17). In this great verse, we read that God loves the soul "from the pit of nothingness," which pictures a loving father running to rescue his child from being swallowed alive by the earth (the Hebrew verb chashak (חָשַׁק) suggests pulling someone up out of a hopeless pit). That God casts all our sins behind His back figuratively denotes oblivion – and sins of the forgiven soul can are not brought to remembrance ever again. This is similar to the image given by Micah: "He will turn again, and have mercy on us: he will put away our iniquities: and he will cast all our sins into the bottom of the sea" (Micah 7:19).
הִנֵּה לְשָׁלוֹם מַר־לִי מָר
וְאַתָּה חָשַׁקְתָּ נַפְשִׁי מִשַּׁחַת בְּלִי
כִּי הִשְׁלַכְתָּ אַחֲרֵי גֵוְךָ כָּל־חֲטָאָי
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The "ultimate" meaning of Purim is to be forgiven and accepted by God on account of the winning performance, the impeccable works of righteousness, and the victory of love over judgment secured by Yeshua the Messiah at the cross... Our deliverance depends not only on the substitutionary death of Yeshua as our kapparah (atonement), but also on the substitutionary life He lived (and still lives) on our behalf. Yeshua fulfills the Torah on our behalf. The cure for our lawlessness is not more laws but a deeper sense of God's grace given to us in Yeshua, who kept the law perfectly and ransomed us from its righteous judgment.... Because of Yeshua we have grace and peace (shalom) with God.
We must be careful not to confuse cause and effect in the realm of the spiritual. After the original transgression of Adam and Eve, death became the root problem of the human condition, so to speak, with indwelling sin as its fruit (i.e., the "works of the flesh"). It is this inherited "spiritual death" that causes sin. To focus on outward behavior without first of all dealing with the underlying problem of death is therefore a spiritual misstep. It is to clean the outside of the cup or to wash the outside of a tomb in a vain attempt to disguise the truth about our unclean and dead condition. The good news is not that God wants to make bad people good, but rather wants to make dead people alive... The cure for spiritual death is to be reborn and to partake of the resurrected life of Yeshua.
Following Yeshua is not a sort of "moral reformation" or self-improvement program to make us acceptable to God. Yeshua did not die on the cross so that we would become entangled in the old ways of being... No! He is Lord and Master and we find new life in His acts of deliverance done on our behalf and for our benefit. The temptation is always to go back to the law of sin and death (i.e., the principle of self-justification), but as Luther once said: "The sin underneath all our sins is the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and that we must take matters into our own hands."
"LORD, I need Thee every hour..." There never will be a time when we "get past" the need for God's grace given in Yeshua, since the only antidote to power of indwelling sin is the greater power of God's redeeming love within our hearts (1 John 3:8). The gospel is - not was - "the power of God for salvation (δύναμις θεοῦ ἐστιν εἰς σωτηρίαν) for everyone who believes" (Rom. 1:16); it is an ongoing source of power for our lives... Our identity is made secure in the finished work of the Messiah - we trust in His strength, not our own; it is "Messiah in you" that is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Just as we are given a new life entirely by means of God's grace, so we are also sanctified as we walk in that newness of life... "As you received Yeshua the Messiah the LORD, so walk in Him" (Col. 2:6). The focus is always on Yeshua and His righteousness and obedience... Every step of the way is a miracle and a wonder when we walk "in Messiah."
We walk "in Him," that is, in His strength, in His power, in His love... we don't walk "to" Him or attempt to climb the "stairway to heaven." Yeshua is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the Bridge - sha'ar hashamayim (שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם) and the Divine Ladder upon whom the angels of God ascend and descend. We look to Him, not to ourselves for life. Because of the life of Yeshua within us, we are now able to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit as the Torah is written upon our hearts (Jer. 31:31). We are able to keep the Torah because the life of Yeshua empowers us to do so... Amen! Chag Purim Sameach b'Yeshua chaverim!
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The Listening Heart...
"God, from your goodness, give me yourself; you are enough for me, and anything less that I could ask for would not do you full honor. And if I ask anything that is less, I shall always lack something, but in you alone I have everything." - Julian of Norwich
03.13.25 (Adar 13, 5785) Being a disciple of Yeshua is to be bonded to his heart: He is our Teacher and his curriculum is the way of our lives... The danger we face is losing sight of his living truth by attending to other matters. For instance, we can substitute our heart connection with him by focusing on "lesser matters of the law" (Matt. 23:23), i.e., by being "religious," or we can fool ourselves by presuming that the law "has come to an end" in order to justify our sins (Matt. 5:17-18). Either way, however, whether we be Torah observant "legalists" or lawless "antinomialists," we disregard what Yeshua wants from us.
It is God's Spirit and truth that enable us to have an intimate heart connection with the Living God (אֱלֹהִים חַי). This connection is grounded, first of all, in the confession of our great need for God's healing and love, and secondly, in our gratitude (faith) for God's Presence in our lives. "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another" (1 John 1:7). It is the truth of Yeshua that sets us free, and the gift of the freedom that God gives us is to learn to walk with Him and to know him in all our ways (Prov. 3:6).
Hebrew Lesson
Prov. 3:6 Hebrew reading:
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Purim Haggadol Prophecy...
The holiday of Purim occurs this evening at sundown...
03.13.25 (Adar 13, 5785) Both Chanukah and Purim are holidays that celebrate God's victory over the forces of darkness... Just as the prophet Daniel foresaw the events of Chanukah, that is, the rise of "Epihpanes," the "Messiah of Evil" who will one day attempt to "assimilate" all of humanity into a "New World Order" (Dan. 9:27, 2 Thess. 2:3; Rev. 13:7-9, etc.), so Purim foretells how this wicked one will attempt to destroy the Jewish people during the End of Days (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים), though he will be destroyed by his own wicked devices.
The Midrash Esther says that Purim, unlike many of the other holidays, will be celebrated even after the final redemption after the End of Days. This is because the story of Purim -- i.e., God's covenantal faithfulness and defense of His people -- will be magnified in the deliverance that leads to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom upon the earth. Indeed, the Second Coming of the Messiah will be regarded as the final fulfillment of Purim! So while it is a often seen as time of unbridled celebration in Israel (ad lo yoda), the holiday of Purim has a very sober prophetic message that foretells the glorious end of this age.
Here is a vision of the coming "Purim haGadol," the great deliverance to come:
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True (נֶאֱמָן וְיָשָׁר), and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a Name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the Name by which he is called is the Word of God (דְּבַר הָאֱלהִים). And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. And He will tread the winepress of the fierce fury of the wrath of God, the Ruler over All (παντοκράτωρ), the LORD God Almighty (יְהוָה אֱלהֵי צְבָאוֹת). On his robe and on his thigh he has a Name written, the King of kings (מֶלֶךְ הַמְּלָכִים) and the Lord of lords (אֲדנֵי הָאֲדנִים). And with the breath of his lips He will slay the wicked" (Rev. 19:11-16).
Amen! May that day come speedily, and in our time...
Hebrew Lesson
Zeph. 1:41a reading (click):
HAPPY PURIM CHAVERIM!
During this Purim 5785, let us remember the nation of Israel in our prayers, and let us trust in God's providential hand in our lives -- that He will work all things together for the good of his people -- and that like wicked Haman, the enemy of our souls will likewise meet his fate, and then finally shall all our mourning be turned into dancing! Halevai!
The Miracle of Teshuvah...
03.12.25 (Adar 12, 5785) Have you ever considered what the "self" really is? We tend to think of it, I suppose, as a conscious and emotional "center" of experience that is distinct from others and that has a sense of continuity through time and place. However, the self (or soul) has the ability to "transcend" itself, that is, to become conscious of itself, and this sets up an inner "dialog" within that enables the self to examine its own thinking, or to regard itself in relation to itself.... In this connection Soren Kierkegaard wrote of two types of "despair," by which he meant a condition of being wrongly related to your self. First, you can despair by rejecting (or denying) the self, and second, you can despair by elevating and exalting your self. In the first case the self is "lost" or abandoned by various forms of escapism; in the second case, the self is "idolized" and given god-like prerogative; in either case, however, the self is in despair because it is not grounded in the truth of reality, since there can be no true "self" apart from relationship with God who is the ground of all being...
This is connected with the task of cheshbon ha'nefesh (חֶשְׁבּוֹן הַנֶּפֶשׁ), or taking account of ourselves to do teshuvah (i.e., repent). Note that Kierkegaard understood the experience of the "self" as a conscious "synthesis" of the infinite/finite, the temporal/eternal, and freedom/necessity, all in relationship to God, who is the Source and End of self-conscious life. We will exist in a state of "despair" when we attempt to deny any one of these paradoxes and thereby choose to understand ourselves apart from relationship with God. We all stand at the "crossroads" of the eternal and the temporal, and we can only know ourselves for what we are when we surrender to God for each irrepeatable choice of our lives. Because of this, teshuvah (or "repentance") is an ongoing activity of the heart - the "daily bread" and sustenance in the way of becoming whole before God.
In your fight against evil, it is important not to become evil yourself, or as Nietzsche once lcucidly said, "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." Applied inwardly this means that we are careful not to hate ourselves in the battle we have with our sin. We can escape the "shame-pride" cycle when we turn away from ourselves by knowing ourselves only in relationship with the Lord who loves and gave himself for newness of life. We turn away from the hell of our past mistakes and turn to God who is our only remedy from death. When we know ourselves only through God's love in Yeshua, we find ourselves as beloved in relation to Him.
Any idea of the "self" apart from God is a dead-end (Prov. 14:12). Indeed, if we find the courage to honestly look within we soon discover that we are filled with violent desires and are loveless at heart: "For out of the heart comes evil..." (Mark 7:21; Jer. 17:9). The essence of Torah is to love, to "do good and no evil," but we are inherently selfish, judgmental of others, calloused, and proud. So how can we do the impossible?
There is a persistent temptation to regard our inability to love as the result of something other than our own inner perversity, or what the Bible calls "spiritual death." If we are not careful, we will pray that the Lord will show mercy and compassion on that which is to crucified, buried, and taken away! God does not reform our carnal nature but puts it on the cross to be done away with, and then he replaces it with a new nature given by the Spirit and resurrection life... This miracle of God is found in union with the Messiah's life. "Live in me and I will live in you," Yeshua says, "as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it finds life in the vine, neither can you, unless you find life in me; for apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4-5). You cannot do the impossible, but with God all things are possible (Mark 10:27; Phil. 4:13).
Therefore the ability to love comes by the miracle of God (Ezek. 36:26; 1 John 4:19). As we live in Yeshua, we find life, love, light, truth, and salvation from the hell of a loveless heart. Unite yourself with his death, burial, and resurrection; reckon yourself to be immersed into him, death-for-death, life-for-life (Rom. 6:8-11; Col. 3:1-4). "Unless a seed of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it abides alone..." (John 12:24). Yeshua is the source of all life, and we find nourishment, strength, and fullness of joy as we connect with him.
By faith therefore affirm: "I have been crucified with Messiah, and it is no longer 'I' who live, but Messiah who lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). There is a new "I" that comes from above, known only in spiritual relationship with the Savior. The miracle of the exchanged life comes as we surrender to the truth of what God has done for us (2 Cor. 5:17). That's the essence of the gospel, "the power of God for salvation to all who believe" (Rom. 1:16). Therefore we do not attempt to crucify ourselves, or labor to reform our lower nature, but we instead accept that we already have been crucified by the mercy and power of God. We clothe ourselves in the robes of his righteousness as we celebrate God's redeeming love for our lives. Only then are we empowered by the Spirit to truly "love the LORD and keep his charge"; and only then will we have a true self... Amen.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 139:23-24 reading (click for audio):
A Closing Thought...
Though we are given a new heart at the time of our regeneration, we are still saddled with the sinful lower nature, and that explains why we are instructed to become sanctified by "putting on" our spiritual self and "putting off" the carnal one (see Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; 1 Thess. 4:3; etc.). We are to "mortify" (put to death) the sinful nature by faith in the power and provision of God (Col. 3:5; Rom. 8:13) As it is written: "The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Rom. 13:12-14).
Though followers of Yeshua are made into a "new creation" and all things are "made new" (2 Cor. 5:17) we nevertheless must practice our spirituality by being "renewed in the spirit of the mind" and by consciously choosing to "walk in the Spirit" (Eph. 4:23-24; Gal. 5:16). Therefore go forward in faith; do not focus on your failures but on His victory secured on your behalf. We all struggle with sin in our lives, but the difference for some is that they are called by God and are chosen to know him despite the common failings of the fallen human condition. Count yourself among those who must "fight the good fight of faith," and above all else, never let go of your hope in God's passion and love for you.
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Revelation and Awe...
"Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the oftener and the more steadily we reflect on them: the starry heavens above and the moral law within."- Kant
03.12.25 (Adar 12, 5785) While at Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments were dramatically uttered amidst thunder, lightning, smoke, and the roar of the heavenly shofar, they essentially restate spiritual and moral truth intuitively known by all people (see Rom. 1:19-32). In light of this, we may wonder why God made such a terrifying presentation of principles already implanted within the souls of those he created in his image, and especially to the direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses... After all, God's truth may be spoken using a "still small voice" rather than in fiery displays (1 Kings 19:12).
In reply, it may be said that while most people intuitively understand the whisper of "right and wrong," they often suppress the voice of conscience because they do not genuinely fear God, and therefore they fail to connect the significance of their choices with the Divine Lawgiver who is the Source of moral reality. They separate, in other words, the idea of transcendental "Supreme Being" (i.e., the cosmic Creator) from the Source of immanent value and meaning (i.e, the Judge of all). The First Commandment, however, reminds us: "I AM (anokhi) the LORD (YHVH) your God (Elohim)," which identifies divine power with righteousness and holiness. The drama of the revelation at Sinai was therefore intended to instill yirat haShem - the awe of God - within the heart, connecting the Supreme Power with moral truth and its implications (i.e., conscience).
The Israelites drew back in fear because they realized that the Holy One himself was present in their private thoughts, attitudes, and motives of the heart, and this produced a sense of dread within them (Exod. 20:19). Moses reassured them, however, by saying that the surrounding terrors - which undoubtedly resembled the wonders they had witnessed in Egypt - would do them no harm if they would heed the Voice of the LORD. In other words, the terrifying glory of Sinai was meant to impart a sense of reverence and to help the people know that the LORD God is the Source of all power and glory...
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 97:6 Hebrew reading:
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The Friend of Sinners...
"God be praised that it is not because of my worthiness that God loves me. Otherwise, I might at any moment die of fear lest the next moment I cease to be worthy." - Kierkegaard
03.12.25 (Adar 12, 5785) "The Son of Man came ... and they say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Matt. 11:19). People -- and especially the religious people -- were scandalized by Yeshua because he was a "friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Yet what sickness of heart is this, to despise those who are sick? It is a sorrow of heart to realize that religion often creates an "in-group" mentality that attains its status at the expense of the "outsider," the "stranger," the "sinner," and so on... The prayer of the self-righteous is always: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers – or even like this tax collector" (Luke 18:11).
The religious leaders of Yeshua's day were offended because he "welcomed sinners" and enjoyed eating meals with them (Luke 15:2). We can almost hear their disapproving whispers and their dismissive accusations: "How could a good Jew behave like this? Does he not understand the call to personal holiness? Does he not know the Torah of "clean" and "unclean"? If a man is known by the company he keeps, we know enough about Yeshua to know that he's not truly pious..." And to this very day the self-righteous find offensive the idea that God welcomes the sinful, the needy, the broken, the despised, and the "outsider" into His presence... As Yeshua said, "those who are well have no need of a physician," and indeed offering them God's cure will always be regarded as a kind of poison...
We greatly rejoice that God indeed is the friend of sinners; He is the Good Shepherd who seeks and saves the lost. Thank the Lord that he comes not for the "righteous" but for those who are brokenhearted, for those mortally wounded by their own sin... Any so-called theology or religion that repudiates or minimizes God's love for the sinful, the needy, the broken, is little more than a shrine to human pride and vanity... On the contrary: the heart of the Compassionate One always welcomes a sinner who sincerely turns to Him.
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 23:3 reading (click):
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Parables and Revelation...
The holiday of Purim celebrates God's hidden miracles and providential deliverance of his people.
03.11.25 (Adar 11, 5785) Yeshua often used various agricultural images in his parables. For example, he explained that people are known by the "fruits" of their lives (Matt. 7:16-20). He likened the spread of his message in terms of "sowing and reaping" (Matt. 13:3-23) and compared the Kingdom of Heaven to the secret working of a mustard seed (Matt. 13:31-32). Yeshua regarded the world as a "field" for planting with different "types of soil" (Matt. 13:38-43), and warned of the "great harvest" of souls at the end of the age (Luke 10:2; Matt. 13:30). He pointed to signs from a fig tree to indicate the nearness of the prophesied End of Days (Matt. 24:32-33). Yeshua also used the metaphor of a "vine and its branches" to explain how his followers are to be connected to Him (John 15:1-6).
Undoubtedly Yeshua taught in parables because they simultaneously conceal and reveal the truth. A parable obscures the truth to those who don't really want it; just as it reveals the truth to those who do (Luke 8:9-10; Psalm 72:8; Matt. 13:34-35). Since Yeshua's whole life was a parable of sorts - a "disguise" that led to the victory of our deliverance (Phil. 2:7) - it is not surprising that he regularly used "figures of speech" to provoke people to examine their own heart attitude and faith... In this connection note that Yeshua never explained the "mysteries of the kingdom of God" directly to the crowds, nor did He ever pander to the crowd's clamor or interests. His message is always meant for the individual soul who was willing to follow Him -- to the one who had "ears to hear."
Reading the parables can help us take inventory of our lives. For example, whenever we hear the famous "parable of the sower" (Matt. 13:3-23) we are reminded that God is like a farmer who sows seed upon the soil of human hearts (the quality of which may be hard, shallow, choked, or good). If we are honest with ourselves, we will see our own hardness, shallowness, and selfishness in contrast to the fruitfulness marked by the good soil, and this may prompt us to seek God for help. Only the new heart (lev chadash) created by power of God's Spirit can possibly yield the fruit of the Spirit. Yeshua therefore warns us: "Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away" (Luke 8:18).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 78:2 Hebrew with comments (click):
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With God all things are possible, and the life of God is a miracle that comes from God's own source of Life. It is the fruit of the Spirit, after all, and not the fruit of human effort or moral reformation... Amen and Chag Purim Sameach!
Seek First God's Kingdom...
"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you... " - Yeshua (Matt. 6:33).
03.11.25 (Adar 11, 5785) When we worry, are we not afraid that God will leave us unprotected and vulnerable? Are we not questioning his heart for us? Are we not asking, as the people of Israel once did as they thirsted in desert places: הֲיֵשׁ יְהוָה בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ אִם־אָיִן - "Is the LORD with us or not?" (Exod. 17:7). Indeed, does not the presence of worry within our hearts amount to a confession of our unbelief?
The Scriptures warn us not to "spy after our heart and after our eyes" (Num. 15:39). The Torah mentions the heart first and then the eyes to indicate that the eyes follow the heart. We see as we believe with our heart: "According to your faith be it done unto you." When the spies said, "We are not able to go up (לא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת)... for they are stronger than us" (Num. 13:31), they revealed their unwillingness to believe in God's promise, or, to put it another way, they revealed their faith in God's inability to deliver on his word.... Indeed, the Hebrew word for "than us" (מִמֶּנּוּ) can also mean "than Him," suggesting that the spies believed that even God would be unable to uproot the Canaanites. According to their faith, so it was done; by believing that it was impossible, they lost the possibility of God's promise...
Are we truly seeking God "first" or are there other things that have a higher priority in our hearts? Do we wonder if God is to be trusted in the "desert experiences" of our lives? Do we think that God has been unfair to us? Have we sometimes lamented that our way is too hard for us, and more than we can bear? "Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed" (Matt. 25:24).
It is possible to misjudge God and misinterpret our relationship with him. "We walk by faith, not by sight." This is true for all people, since every soul lives by faith of some kind or another. Our ability to know him is based on the blessing of the Spirit, not on our own merits. How can we, broken vessels, seek first the kingdom of God, apart from faith in him? Is that not presupposed in all our seeking of the heart? It is faith in God's promises, and faith that God will keep his promises to us, that is the key to seeking first God's kingdom. Those who do not seek do not believe that God is the ultimate concern of their lives.
Faith sees what is possible and refuses to yield to the artificiality of mere appearance. Indeed, appearances are often a test of our courage. We may never know how often a test was given and - just before victory was manifest - the heart grew faint and was lost to fear. "According to your faith be it done to you" is a spiritual principle that applies to everyone. In that sense, it is not that we have faith that matters (since we all do), but whether our faith is grounded in the promises and power of the LORD God of Israel, or something else....
When God told Abram to "get out of your land," he called him to focus on heavenly places – to find his identity there. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). The "righteousness of God" is his love, mercy, glory, and goodness. Therefore King David says, אַחַת שָׁאַלְתִּי מֵאֵת־יְהוָה - "One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire before his presence" (Psalm 27:4). Likewise, followers of Yeshua no longer find their identity in this world but rather through their spiritual union with the resurrected LORD (Gal. 2:20; 6:14; Eph. 1:3; 2:6)... Therefore we are told to "seek the things that are above (τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε) where the Messiah is seated at the right hand of God; focus your thoughts on the things above - not on things here on earth - for you have died, and your life has been hidden (κέκρυπται) with Messiah in God. Then when the Messiah, who is your life, appears, you too will appear with him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).
Hebrew Lesson
Psalm 16:8 reading (click for audio):
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Esther and God's Providence...
The holiday of Purim begins Thursday March 13th at sundown this year...
03.11.25 (Adar 11, 5785) Much is made over the fact that the book of Esther is the only book of the Tanakh that does not explicitly mention the Name of God. However, the idea of God's sovereignty and diivine providence (i.e., hashgachah, הַשׁגָחָה) is clearly implied throughout the entire story. Indeed the sages teach that the message of Purim concerns the kingship of God (ממלכת האל), with the word "the king" (המלך) appearing over 100 times and the word "kingdom" (מלכות) appearing ten times in the scroll. In most cases the word "king" refers to King Achashverosh, though the sages say that when Achashverosh is not explicitly named, it may also refer to the King of the Universe.
The phrase hester panim (הסתר פנים) means "hiding of the face" and is often used when discussing the Book of Esther. In this sense of the term, hester panim is somewhat like the sun on an overcast day: Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. God's providential love is at work at all times, whether we perceive it or not. This is suggested in the name of the scroll itself: the phrase Megillat Esther (מגילת אסתר), literally "the Scroll of Esther," can be rearranged to say megallat ha'seter (מגילת הסתר), "the concealed scroll."
In light of this nes nistar (נס נסתר), or "hidden miracle" of the Jew's deliverance, Esther and Mordecai ordained that Purim should be observed as a "day of feasting and merrymaking" and of sending gifts to the poor (Esther 9:22,28). By the way, Purim (פורים) was so named because Haman had cast lots (purim) to determine the day on which to destroy the Jews.
So what does Purim teach us? Well first of all it teaches that the LORD is in control of everything, even if may seem otherwise. Nothing happens apart from God's sovereign will, and therefore everything works together for the ultimate good for those who trust in Him (Rom. 8:28). The term hashgachah pratit (השׁגחה פרטית) refers to God's personal supervision of our lives (hashgachah means "supervision," and pratit means "individual" or "particular"). Since He is the Master of the Universe (אדון עולם), God's supervision and providence reaches to the smallest of details of creation - from subatomic particles to the great motions of the cosmos. God not only calls each star by its own name (Psalm 147:4), but knows each particular lily and sparrow (Matt. 6:28-30, 10:29). Each person created in the likeness of God is therefore under the direct, personal supervision of God Himself -- whether that soul is conscious of that fact or not. As Yeshua said, even the hairs on your head are all numbered (Matt. 10:30). The God of Israel is called אלהי הרוּחת לכל־בּשׂר / Elohei ha-ruchot lekhol-basar: "The God of the spirits of all flesh" (Num. 16:22), and that means He is LORD even over those who vainly attempt to suppress His Presence and reality. Second, Purim teaches that God's plans for Israel will never (ever) fail and that those who disregard Israel in their theology do so at their peril. Third, the story of Esther provides a warning for those tyrants and princes of this world who oppress God's people: Like the false usurper Haman, you are likewise doomed to failure, and the LORD will vindicate all who trust in Him for deliverance.
There is great comfort when we understand that God has complete authority over everything in the universe -- including our ultimate welfare (John 10:27-28). When we pray to the LORD God of Israel, we intuitively understand that He is completely sovereign and Lord over all things... All power, glory, authority, and dominion is His alone, and all that is in the heaven and in the earth is His (1 Chron. 29:11-12). We do not worry that He is somehow incapable of handling our troubles or that He is unable to help us. No, we acknowledge that the God most High (אל עליון) sustains all things by the Word of His power (Col. 1:17). He is "the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings (מלך המלכים) and the Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Whenever we think clearly in light of the revelation of Scripture, we apprehend the truth about God's sovereign glory and power...
Hebrew Lesson
Proverbs 16:9 reading (click):
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Healer of the Sabbath...
03.10.25 (Adar 10, 5785) In this week's Torah portion (i.e., Ki Tisa) we read: "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath (לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת) throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever (אוֹת הִוא לְעֹלָם) between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested (שָׁבַת) and was refreshed (וַיִּנָּפַשׁ)" (Exod. 31:16-17).
Upon a closer consideration of this text we might wonder how we can both "do" and "not do" something at the same time? Note that the phrase "observing the Sabbath" (לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּת) can literally be understood as "making" or "doing" (עשׂה) the Sabbath, and yet we are told to "rest" -- שָׁבַת -- meaning to cease or desist from any labor (מְלָאכָה). Indeed God calls the Sabbath day "shabbat shabbaton" (שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן), a day of complete rest, holy to the LORD (Exod. 31:15). So how can we "make" the Sabbath and yet cease from work?
The sages have attempted to resolve this paradox by saying that the words, "on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed" (וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ) imply that God did something after he created the universe, namely he "made rest" by celebrating the work of his hands and savoring the beauty of his creation. God "set the table" for creation and paused to reflect on its significance and purpose, and he wants us to do likewise.
We can "make" the Sabbath day a time of "rest" or menuchah (מְנוּחָה), by letting go of our weekly concerns and the usual preoccupations that surround our lives. Sabbath is an invitation to "ascend" to a higher level, to consciously re-connect with God as both our Creator and our Redeemer. We lift up the cup of God's salvation; we partake of the bread of heaven.... We glorify the great Lamb of God. If we make the Sabbath a delight, a time of holiness and honor, then God "will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and he will feed you with the heritage of Jacob thy father" (Isa. 58:13-14). "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear."
The Fourth Commandment says we are to keep the Sabbath day holy (קָדוֹשׁ), and it further connects this with separating from worldly preoccupation: "six days shall you labor and do all your work" (Exod. 20:9). Resting from work, as Abraham Heschel once said, "is not a depreciation but an affirmation of labor, a divine exaltation of its dignity." And because we are called aside from the burden of the mundane, we are "lifted out" of the process of time, not focusing on what we do but rather who we are as God's redeemed people...
This is further exemplified in the ministry of Yeshua who "worked" on the Sabbath in the sense of doing acts that were derived from his connection with heaven. It can be assumed that Yeshua and his family faithfully observed the Sabbath and regularly attended synagogue (Luke 4:16). However later on, during the time of his active ministry we read that Yeshua's idea of the Sabbath included doing works of lovingkindness (גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים): "At that time Yeshua went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick some heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, 'Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.'" But he said to them, 'Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the Temple is here'" (Matt. 12:2-6).
Here we see Yeshua's understanding that Sabbath is to be centered upon life and healing and not merely the abstention from work. When Yeshua later was accosted by the Pharisees regarding healing a man on the Sabbath day, we read that he said to them, "Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matt. 12:11-12). This is the principle of pikuach nefesh (פִּיקוּחַ נֶפֶשׁ), saving a life, which preempts other considerations of religious observance... As Yeshua said, "man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27).
"And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' He answered them, 'What did Moses command you?' They said, 'Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.' And Yeshua said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment...'" (Mark 10:2-5; see also Matt. 19:8-9). Note here that Yeshua plainly explained that the "law" on divorce was given to accommodate the evil impulses of the heart, though such a law was never intended to be enacted. In other words, there are many laws given in the written Torah that, were it not for the problem of the heart, should never have been written down in the first place (see Mark 7:20-23). The various laws against adultery, lying under oath, stealing, dishonoring parents, turning away from God, and so on, all were given in light of the "hardness of heart" (קשיות הלב) that is here referred to by Yeshua. Likewise the apostle Paul spoke of the law as being given to restrain the evil latent within the unregenerated heart: "We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane..." (1 Tim. 1:8-9). Indeed much of the law was written - not for the god-fearing and righteous, but for the unrighteous - as a "gilded cage" intended to restrain evil impulses until the blessing of salvation would transform the human heart. That is the message of the gospel, after all - that God would recreate people and impart a new nature that would willingly walk in ways of divine righteousness and truth (Jer. 31:33).
The Torah clearly forbade touching those afflicted with tza'arat (or "leprosy"; see Lev. 14:1-9), though the New Testament provides testimony that Yeshua did just that. "And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, 'Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.' And Yeshua stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, 'I will; be clean.' And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Yeshua said to him, 'See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them'" (Matt. 8:2-4; see also Mark 1:41; Luke 5:13). Likewise the Torah forbade touching a corpse at the expense of becoming unclean, yet Yeshua both touched corpses and brought people back to life (Luke 7:14; Matt. 9:25). How was it possible for Yeshua to do these things and not be regarded as "unclean," unless he is the Authority of the Torah of God (for more on this see the Mystery of the Red Heifer and the Gospel of the Red Cow).
Again we read in the gospel: "And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' -- so that they might accuse him. He said to them, 'Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep. So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.' Then he said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him" (Matt. 12:10-14). Note how Yeshua used a kal va'chomer inference (i.e., קַל וְחמר, "light and weighty") to make his point, namely, that if a light condition is true, then a heavier one is certainly true. If saving the life of an animal is important, even if doing so involves "working" on the Sabbath day, then how much more should we save the life of a human being made in the image of God?
When we read the Scriptures, it is we ourselves who are tested so that our heart's condition is manifest (Jer. 17:10). Therefore we are instructed are to "rightly divide (ὀρθοτομέω, lit. "cut straight") the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). This is our responsibility as talmidim. Yeshua clearly taught the laws of Torah and moved them "inward," to be made a part of the heart. He faulted the Pharisees for tithing "mint and cumin" while neglecting the "weightier matters" of the law – that is, the deeper truth to love and care for others (see Matt. 23:23). He repeatedly stressed the need for the law to be "written upon the heart" and not to be regarded as a set of external decrees written upon tablets of stone. It is our personal responsibility, then, to apply these matters to our lives. May God give us his wisdom!
Hebrew Lesson
Hosea 6:6 Hebrew reading:
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