Our Torah reading this week (Vayetzei) includes the famous vision of Jacob wherein he saw the angels of God ascending and descending a ladder that reached from earth toward heaven…

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Recall that after Jacob had received the (second) blessing from his father Isaac, he fled for his life to escape the wrath of his brother Esau. He then came upon a certain place (וַיִּפְגַּע בַּמָּקוֹם) and stayed there for the night because the sun had set. Jacob then “took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep” (Gen. 28:11). And so began Jacob’s journey from his homeland to attain the promise of God, and such is the way for us as well, as we first receive our Father’s blessing but soon are consigned to desolate places to await things yet unseen. For the way of blessing comes not from the “fatness of the earth” but from the more rarefied “dew from heaven,” which descends in mystery, after the sun has set (Gen. 27:28, cp. Gen. 27:39).

The faithful “descend in order to ascend,” which means they first suffer and then they are glorified. This is the pattern of Yeshua, who emptied himself and suffered before he was raised up in everlasting glory. “Unless a seed of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24; 1 Cor. 15:36). God humbles and tests those whom he loves so they may learn to trust in his promise – his word – and to demonstrate his faithfulness in the end (Deut. 8:3; Rom. 11:36).

Note, then, that after being driven from his homeland Jacob dreamed of the ladder with the angels ascending and descending as the LORD himself announced his blessing over his seed (Gen. 28:12-14). Yeshua, as we learn from the gospel (John 1:51) explained that the vision ultimately referred to him – about how the angels followed him during his ascent and descent as the ladder or “bridge” between God and man. The descent refers to Yeshua’s incarnation wherein he entered the realm of this world, clothed in human flesh as the Promised Seed, the “Son of Man” who would restore the lost dominion of Adam; whereas the ascent refers to Yeshua’s resurrection – the redemption and return of fallen humanity by means of ascension and glorification as LORD over all. Luther understands the angelic host descending and ascending to reveal how the angels love and follow after their Lord — whose face they do always behold — eager to witness His advent as our Savior and Redeemer (see Matt. 18:10; 1 Pet. 1:12; 1 Tim. 3:16). Yeshua is Emanuel (עמנו אל), the Heralded Seed through whom all the families of the earth be blessed (Luke 2:8-15).

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Hebrew Reading:

 

Returning to the account of the Torah, after Jacob received this dramatic vision, he awoke from his sleep and exclaimed: “Surely God is in this place, but I did not know!” And he was afraid, and said, “How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God (בֵּית אֱלֹהִים), and this is the gate of heaven” (וְזֶה שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם, Gen. 28:16-17). Amen, Yeshua is ha’makom (המקום), the appointed “Place” of God, the very “House” of His presence; he alone is the way that leads us back to the Father (John 14:6). Yeshua is the Bridge to the Father, the narrow way of passage that leads to life. He has healed us from the sting of death. He calls out to us in the storm saying, “Take heart. It is I; be not afraid” (Matt. 14:27). Amen.

 

Hebrew Reading:

 

• John 14:6 Hebrew Card (pdf)

 

All of us have unhealed parts, “hidden faults” (נסתרות) of which we are not fully aware. “Blind spots.” 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 fearful 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.

Note that the Hebrew word translated “errors” (i.e., שְׁגִיאוֹת) comes from a root word (שָׁגָה) that means to wander, stray, or transgress. The question raised by David is rhetorical: “Who can discern his errors?” No one – apart from divine intervention… David asked to be cleansed from his “secret faults,” which are not those that were performed by him “in secret,” but rather those that were unknown, unseen, and unconscious to his own sense of awareness. These are “mindless” sins, unthinking offenses, hidden dispositions, character defects and actions that a person unwittingly performs, perhaps because of deep forces of which he was oblivious. These are the “secret sins” set in the light of God’s face (Psalm 90:8); the “sluggish darkness” of the human heart that leads to death and ruin: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurably sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). How many of us, after all, are fully aware of what we are doing when we are doing something? How many of us are completely transparent both to ourselves and before God, with no unclear motives, etc.? We must always be vigilant… There is always the force of habit, or the subconscious desires or conflicts of the inner life, that work on us, not to mention the trauma of our past and the present devices from the enemy of our souls. May the LORD give us the willingness to be healed, even if there are parts of ourselves that seem to resist that healing. Amen.

 

• Psalm 19:12 Hebrew Study Card (pdf)

 

Heaven and earth touch in innumerable ways. Every day we are given opportunity to turn to God and find life. The sages have said that the sun is red in the morning because it passes by the roses of the garden of Eden, and at sunset because it passes by the gate of Hell (Bava Batra 84a). The tender mercies of the Lord are renewed every morning, and for that reason we should turn to God when we first open our eyes to the light of the new day and say: Modeh ani lefanekha Adonai (מודה אני לפניך יהוה), “thank you, O Lord, for another opportunity to reach out to you for life.” Amen.

 

• Lam. 3:22-23 Hebrew Study Card (pdf)

 

How we choose to deal with trouble and suffering (i.e., tzuris) makes all the difference. We may be tempted to bitterness over our lives, but then what? To paraphrase Soren Kierkegaard, the way of life is “how” more than it is “what.” You may be powerless to control reality, but you are nevertheless responsible for how you respond to it. Check your attitude. Do you chose to live in lament over a healing that has not yet happened, or perhaps regard yourself as a hapless victim? Or will you attempt to justify your suffering as a means of personal atonement, accepting it passively as a “good child” or martyr? Does your suffering stretch your heart, or does it cause you to shrink back in fear or self-pity?

In this connection, recall that when the Jews came to Marah, they “could not drink the water because it was bitter” (Exod. 15:23). The Hebrew, however, could be read, “they could not drink the water because they (i.e., the people) were bitter (כִּי מָרִים הֵם). The problem is often not “out there” but within the heart (Matt. 15:19-20). How we choose to see, in other words, says more about us than it does the external world. If you make the mistake of reading the daily news and taking it seriously, you will see only ugliness, and you run the risk of becoming hardhearted. Worldly despair eclipses apprehension of the Presence of God….

We have to use ayin tovah, “a good eye,” whenever we encounter the inevitable (and ubiquitous) adversities of life. Instead of seeing ourselves as victims of undeserved trouble, and instead of harboring resentment over the past and entertaining fear of the future, we must learn to see adversity in the light of faith that teaches lessons about finding resilience and hope. Faith affirms that adversity has an end that is ultimately good. Faith will not bow the knee to dark visions and live in dread of worldly fate.

It’s been said, “hurt people hurt people,” which means that if healing is not found for our woundedness, our pain will likely “leak out” as depression and hostility toward others… Finding inner peace is therefore crucial lest we become poisoned through a “root of bitterness” that defiles many (Heb. 12:15). The worst sort of prison is the one we make for ourselves, by choosing to be taken captive by fear and anger. May the Lord show us mercy and help us grow in grace and in the knowledge of his heart in all things. Amen.

 

• Psalm 119:75 Hebrew Study Card (pdf)

 

It is vital to affirm your identity as a beloved child of God… You may not always feel the connection, but you must choose it regardless of your present emotional state, because your place in God’s heart is a matter of truth, not sentimentality. Who you really are is grounded in the Reality and power of the LORD God of Israel.

God our Savior loved you before you were born (Jer. 1:5; 31:3); he loved you from eternity itself, and there never was a time when God did not love you (Jer. 1:5; 31:3). The LORD “wove you together” in your mother’s womb (תְּסֻכֵּנִי בְּבֶטֶן אִמִּי) and brought you into being from nonexistence (Psalm 139:13-16). This is the precious gift of life itself (מַתַּת הַחַיִּים מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם). In Him you “live and move and have your being” (Acts 17:28). Moreover, the LORD gives you life from above and adopts you as his own (John 1:12; Rom. 8:15); he knows the number of the hairs on your head and every thought and word of your heart (Matt. 10:30; 12:26; Psalm 139:4); he directs every step of your journey throughout this life (Psalm 37:23; 139:3; 23; Prov. 16:9); he foresaw you when he offered up his life in redemption for your healing (1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Cor. 5:18); you are briah chadashah, a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15); you are always welcome in his presence (Eph. 1:6; Heb. 4:16); he will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5); he prepares a place for you in the world to come (Jer. 29:11; John 14:1-3); and one day he will wipe away every tear from your eyes (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).

In short, you belong to God from eternity: you were loved of God before you were born, and you will be loved by God after you die. From eternity unto eternity you are part of God’s heart and plans…

When you are tempted to feel badly about yourself, then, take a moment to reaffirm who God says you are. Know yourself as accepted and beloved. Don’t allow your past to hold you in exile; don’t give place to shame; know yourself only in relation to God’s eternal love for your soul. Whenever you feel hurt, angry, fearful, or rejected, turn inwardly to God and center yourself in his presence; realize that such negative feelings do not define what is most real about you. Bacharta ba’chayim: “Choose life!” Turn now to God; reaffirm that you are his beloved child, and thank him for the blessing of your redeemed life. Amen.

 

• Jer. 1:5a Hebrew study page (pdf)

We all struggle with sin in our lives, and each of us needs deliverance from various attachments and fears that keep us from the deeper life… The problem is within ourselves, that is, the contradiction of heart we experience in our double-mindedness, our ambivalence, and our unbelief (Jer. 17:9). We may recite the Shema every day and say that we love God with all our being, but in the ordinary moments of daily life we are drawn to other concerns, alien affections, other “gods.” Indeed, whatever matters most to us, whatever consumes our attention, time, resources, and our interest, is something we “worship,” that is, something we esteem as worthy and valuable…

People necessarily value things, and therefore every person alive is a “worshiper” (i.e., a person who finds “worth” in something). This applies equally to a devout atheist or pious skeptic as much as it does a deeply religious person… The question that matters, however, is what is your ultimate concern? What do you really want? Only when we begin to understand what draws and attracts us can we begin to discern what we really need. Therefore we must first acknowledge our false worship, our radical selfishness, and our sundry attachments in order to be set free. We must confess the truth that we are slaves.

Pride blinds us to the truth of our sickness of heart, persuading us to deny our problems, to cover them up, and to try harder and harder to “control” ourselves. This is a spiritual dead-end, a vicious circle, the “law of sin and death.” We are set free, however, when we die to ourselves, that is, when we surrender to the love of God and receive the miracle of promised deliverance. Since we are powerless to change ourselves, to reform our lower nature, and to be healed by our own best efforts, we must abandon our “religion” and rely entirely upon the God for the power to heal. This is an ongoing venture: We die daily; we take up the cross daily, we walk with a limp from our inner struggle, and we cling to God alone show us the way and to guide our steps. Beloved, we have been crucified with Messiah and the old nature has lost its power over us; we are alive by the miracle of God’s power. “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25).

 

• Zech. 4:6b reading page (pdf)