The Spirit of God cries out, “choose life that you may live!” (Deut. 30:19), which implies that is our responsibility to believe in the Reality of God, to trust in his providential care, to affirm that “all is well and all manner of thing shall be well,” and to understand that our present struggle is designed by heaven to help us grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth (1 Pet. 3:16).
In this Daily Dvar podcast, I discuss the challenge of faith and how we can draw closer to the Lord despite the ambiguity and challenges we regularly face.
Our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Chukat) begins, zot chukatha-Torah (זאת חֻקַּת הַתּוֹרָה), “this is the decree of Torah” (Num. 19:2). The language here is both striking and unique, suggesting that what follows, namely, the ritual of the parah adumah (פרה אדומה) or “red heifer,” is nothing less than “the seminal decree” of the entire Torah… If we think about the meaning of the mysterious decree of the red heifer, however, we will realize that its ashes were used to create the “waters of separation” (i.e., mei niddah: מֵי נִדָּה) to cleanse people from contact with death (i.e., separation). To fulfill God’s vital decree, however, required sacrificial love, since the priest who offered this service would become defiled (separated) for the sake of the healing of others… The Hebrew word for love is ahavah (אַהֲבָה), from a root verb (יָהַב) that means “to give.” Love means giving of yourself to benefit another person (John 15:13). The central decree of Torah, then, beyond our ability to rationally understand, is that God’s love is so great that it is willing to become dust and ashes on our behalf so that we might find blessing and life.
This Shavuah Tov broadcast also provides detailed discussion about the mitzvot (commandments) of the written Torah, including the subcategories of chukkim (decrees), mishpatim (rules or judgments), eidot (testimonials, holidays) with a discussion of the oral tradition’s corresponding categories of halakhah (oral law) and its subcategories of gezeirot (“fences”), takkanot (case laws), and minhagim (customs). Throughout special attention is given to how Yeshua the Messiah is the Substance and Inner Meaning of all true Torah, and how sacrificial love is the idea of the Red Heifer itself.
In the second part of the “Shavuah Tov” audio broadcast for this parashat Chukat I go into further detail by considering: 1) the significance of the mysterious Red Heifer (פרה אדומה) sacrifice, 2) the gospel message of the nachash nachoshet (the “bronze serpent”), and 3) the sin of Moses… Please note that that this H4C podcast continues the discussion for Parashat Chukat Podcast (part 1).
Our Torah portion this week (i.e., Korach) centers on the rebellion of Korah, a man who questioned God’s authority and who arrogantly sought to “intrude” into the office of the priesthood. It is noteworthy that his rebellion is explicitly mentioned only once in the New Testament – in the Book of Jude – as an example of the fate that awaits those false teachers who likewise spurn God’s law. False teachers within the church are likewise dangerous because they deny the truth of Torah and redefine our duties before God. Jude identifies then as spiritual impostors who “work from the inside” to confound or obscure the truth of what salvation means. Such a charlatan may appear to be a genuine believer, but he or she aims to sow confusion and sin among God’s children; they are the proverbial “wolves in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:15). Jude’s warning is especially important for us in this present hour, because it is foretold that in the time immediately preceding the coming of the Messiah, spiritual deception and unbridled godlessness would greatly increase (2 Tim. 3:1-5). At any rate, test the spirits and seek God’s face always, dear friends. I sincerely hope this audio broadcast encourages you.
Shavuah tov, chaverim. Last week’s Torah portion (Shelach Lekha) told the tragic story about the “sin of the spies” and the divine decree that the generation rescued from Egypt was sentenced to die in the exile of the desert. In this week’s portion (Korach), the hard truth of their condition began to sink in, and the people bemoaned their fate and rebelled further by attempting to overthrow God’s designated leadership and return to Egypt. This rebellion was instigated and organized by Moses’ cousin Korach, who – along with a band of co-conspirators – was swiftly judged and put to death, thereby vindicating the Aaronic priesthood and Moses’ leadership of Israel.
In this Shavuah Tov broadcast, I survey the grand narrative of the Torah and discuss the issue of faith and why it is essential to believe the truth as our duty before God…
Since our Torah portion this week (i.e., Shelach) tells the tragic story of how the Exodus generation lost their inheritance by believing the faithless report of the spies, I thought it would be helpful to review the nature of faith so that we might guard ourselves from stumbling in a similar way. After all, concerning the tragic decree of God regarding the fate of Israelites in the desert (see Num. 14:21-35), the New Testament admonishes us to “fear lest any of you should likewise fail to attain the blessing of God’s promise.”
In this short audio broadcast, I discuss what faith is and how we must learn to trust God for our inheritance:
In our Torah portion this week (i.e., Shelach-Lekha) we read how the spies faithlessly judged that the people were not strong enough to take possession of the promised land. They said, “we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (Num. 13:33). Here the sages note the subtle – yet profound – connection between how we see ourselves and how we imagine that others see us. This sort of “projection” is common enough, and sometimes we even make the mistake of thinking that God sees us the way we feel about ourselves…. In this shorter broadcast, I hope to encourage you to keep faith in the LORD God of Israel’s love and blessing for you, even if the present hour may seem dark, confusing, or overwhelming…
Our Torah portion this week (Shelach-Lekha) is a “heavy one” since it focuses on the Sin of the Spies and the subsequent failure of the people to trust that God would care for them. The people’s lack of bittachon (trust) in God is the most serious sin recorded in all the Torah, even more serious than the sin of the Golden Calf. This is confirmed by the testimony of the New Testament, which presents the fate of the Exodus generation as the dire warning of apostasy for those who claim to follow the Messiah (Heb. 3:7-4:2).
In this audio discussion on the weekly Torah portion, I discuss issues of faith, courage, and finding meaning for your life in the will and love of God. Trusting in God’s personal love for you presupposes that you are worthy to be loved and that there is a divine inheritance reserved for you. This gives you real courage to go take possession of the divine promise as its rightful heir…
Our Torah portion for this week (i.e., parashat Naso) includes the famous blessing that Aaron and his sons (i.e., the priests) were instructed to recite over the people of Israel: “The LORD bless you and guard you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26). The Hebrew text of the blessing begins with three words, is comprised of three parts, invokes the divine Name three times, and is therefore appropriately called “the three-in-one blessing” (שלוש בברכה אחת). Notice that the words are spoken in the grammatical singular rather than plural because they are meant to have personal application, not to be a general benediction over a crowd of people. The phrase, “The LORD lift up His face toward you…” (יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ) pictures the beaming face of a parent as he lifts up his beloved child in joy… The repetitive construction of God “lifting up His face” (יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיך) suggests that God’s compassion now flows outward to the child in superabundant grace. Undoubtedly Yeshua recited this very blessing over his disciples when he ascended back to heaven, though of course He would have spoken it in the grammatical first person: “I will bless you and keep you (אני אברך אותך ואשמור לך); I will shine upon you and will be gracious to you; I will lift up my countenance upon you, and give you my shalom” (Luke 24:50-51).
The Spirit of God cries out, “choose life that you may live!” (Deut. 30:19), which implies that is our responsibility to believe in the Reality of God, to trust in his providential care, to affirm that “all is well and all manner of thing shall be well,” and to understand that our present struggle is designed by heaven to help us grow in grace and the knowledge of the truth (1 Pet. 3:16).
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