{"id":906,"date":"2020-08-18T15:22:35","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T15:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/?p=906"},"modified":"2020-08-18T15:23:08","modified_gmt":"2020-08-18T15:23:08","slug":"made-whole-with-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/made-whole-with-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Made Whole with God…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

In our Torah portion for this week (Shoftim<\/a>) we read: \u201cYou shall be wholehearted<\/em> with the LORD your God\u201d (Deut. 18:13). Note that the word \u201cwholehearted\u201d in this verse (i.e., tamim<\/em>: \u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd) is often translated as \u201cperfect\u201d or \u201cblameless\u201d in many Bible versions, though it is better to understand the word to connote being made \u201ccomplete\u201d or \u201cwhole.\u201d When God said to Abraham, \u201cI am El Shaddai; walk before me and be tamim (Gen. 17:1), he was not saying \u201cbe perfect\u201d or \u201cdon\u2019t ever make a mistake,\u201d but rather be fully engaged, that is, to walk before God passionately, sincerely, with all his heart, and by doing so to \u201cwalk out\u201d the relationship with full assurance that he is accepted and beloved by God. Likewise when Yeshua said \u201cBe therefore perfect as your Father who is in heaven is perfect\u201d (Matt. 5:48), he meant that we should be complete, finished, and \u201cmade whole\u201d by knowing and receiving the overflowing love and light of God.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/deut18-13-jjp.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

…<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cYou shall be wholehearted\u201d is a mandate to know who you are, to know what is truly good as distinguished from what is evil, and to be united with God\u2019s passion to be healed from your inner conflicts and ambivalence (\u03b4\u1f77\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2). We are made \u201cwhole\u201d or \u201cperfect\u201d (i.e., complete) when we resolutely turn to God for healing of what divides our hearts, as it says: \u201cThe Torah of the LORD is perfect (\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd), returning the soul\u201d (Psalm 19:8). Understand the Torah\u2019s commandment, then: \u201cYou shall be tamim (i.e., whole and wholehearted) with the LORD your God,\u201d to be a prophecy of transformation for your life, friend… Amen: May you know “the love of Messiah that surpasses knowledge and be filled with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:19).<\/p>\n

In the Sefer Torah (i.e., the handwritten Torah scroll), the first letter of the word tamim (\u201cwholehearted\u201d) is written extra LARGE in order to emphasize the importance of the word. Notice also the little word \u201cwith\u201d (\u05e2\u05b4\u05dd) that follows in this verse. This hearkens to Micah 6:8: \u201cWhat does the LORD require of you but to do justice (mishpat), and to love kindness (chesed), and to walk humbly (hatznea lechet) with your God?\u201d Having a humble heart walks with the LORD. Humility begins with the awareness that 1) there is a God and 2) you are not Him…. It is the practice of da lifnei mi attah omed: \u201cknowing before whom you stand\u201d and living your life in light of this fundamental truth.<\/p>\n

Again, the Hebrew word tamim (\u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd) means \u201cfinished,\u201d \u201ccomplete,\u201d or \u201cthoroughly made.\u201d For example, tamim is used to describe completed years (Gen. 47:18); healthy animal sacrifices (Lev. 22:21-22); nourishing vines (Ezek. 15:5); truthful speech (Amos 5:10); finished building projects (1 Kings 6:22); and so on. In our relationship with God, tamim means being \u201cblameless\u201d in the sense of being wholehearted, resolute, and entirely committed to walking \u201cwith\u201d Him in this world. Psalm 119 begins, “Blessed are the wholehearted (i.e., tamim) in the way, who walk in the Torah of the LORD.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/psalm119-1-jjp.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

…<\/span><\/p>\n

Here we see that \u201cwalking in the instruction (Torah) of the LORD\u201d is the means by which we are able to walk humbly with God. The study and practice of Torah, then, helps us to become tamim: wholehearted, resolute, and committed to God. Walking in God\u2019s truth also makes us happy (i.e., me\u2019ushar: \u05de\u05b0\u05d0\u05bb\u05e9\u05bc\u05c1\u05b8\u05e8, from the verb ashar that means to \u201cwalk straight\u201d). As we walk in the truth of God, we begin to experience inner peace and a sense of abiding joy…<\/p>\n

So how long will you go \u201climping\u201d between two different opinions? How long will you live in the pain of a divided heart? Our Torah reading reminds us to make up our minds and return to the LORD and find wholeness…. In this connection note that where it is written, “Let us hear end of the matter: Fear God and love his commandments, the text adds: ki zeh kol-ha’adam (\u05db\u05bc\u05b4\u05d9\u05be\u05d6\u05b6\u05d4 \u05db\u05bc\u05b8\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b8\u05d0\u05b8\u05d3\u05b8\u05dd), “for this is the whole man,” suggesting that those who return will be healed of their double-mindedness (Eccl. 12:13). Ultimately we are made whole when we are united to God in Messiah, for then we are \u201cwith the LORD our God\u201d and the Holy Spirit writes Torah within the heart of faith (Jer. 31:33). May God make us each \u201cwhole\u201d in Him!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/psalm16-8-jjp.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

…<\/span><\/p>\n

For more on this topic please see: \u201cMake Up Your Mind: Further thoughts on Shoftim<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

…<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our Torah portion for this week (Shoftim) we read: \u201cYou shall be wholehearted with the LORD your God\u201d (Deut. 18:13). Note that the word \u201cwholehearted\u201d in this verse (i.e., tamim: \u05ea\u05bc\u05b8\u05de\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd) is often translated as \u201cperfect\u201d or \u201cblameless\u201d in many Bible versions, though it is better to understand the word to connote being made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-torah"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/906\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hebrew4christians.com\/training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}