Zion's Voice

Haftarah Reflections   6

Torah portion           Genesis 25 : 19  – 28 : 9

Haftarah portion     Malachi 1 : 1 – 2 : 7

Listen to the Prophets

If you have ever heard a sermon from the writings of this prophet, the chances are that the text was Malachi 3:10!! In ‘charismatic’ churches especially, this is the favourite. It is used to pressure people into giving to “my church”. Tithing is a most caring, inclusive, command of God given for a specific purpose. However, the original purpose of the ‘tithe’ commandment is usually completely ignored. But that is another story!

Malachi was a prophet in the days of Nehemiah. Probably the last of the ‘writing’ prophets before the 400 years of Biblical silence prior to the arrival on this earth of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. A lot happened in those 400 years, and much is written about them ... but not in our Bible.

The burden of the prophet was to counter the incidences within the community regarding corrupt priests, wicked practices, and the false sense of security under which the people lived. Hypocrisy, infidelity, mixed marriages, divorce, false worship and arrogance abounded. The covenant made in the days of Moses was disregarded and made of no reputation.

“Malachi” means “My messenger” which is likely short for “Messenger of YHWH”. He uses a series of rhetorical questions and responses to get the message across. Right upfront we have the unusual statement regarding God’s view of Jacob and Esau. Commentators try to explain this seemingly harsh statement about Esau. But the similarly harsh reality is that Esau is “Edom”. Edom is one of two places in Scripture which are destined to suffer total desolation by destruction, in the Messianic age to come. The other place is Babylon.

The list of offences spoken by the Lord through Malachi in this parashah is worthy of careful attention. There is a salutary lesson for us today as we read the nature of the offences of these Israelites.

“Where is My honour?  … Where is My reverence?” asks the Lord. The feelings of deep disappointment in those questions is palpable. We should perhaps consider those questions as being put directly to ourselves. They are questions which require a response.

Then the priests ask “In what way have we despised Your Name?” You bring your ‘second best’ or even that which has no value to you, is God’s response. If we are to learn something from this passage of Scripture we need to see this exchange in ‘today’ terms. That which we present to our God should be the very best we have to offer. You may have heard it said “How would one behave if the Queen were to visit? How would one dress? What food would one prepare? How would one speak? God asks a similar question through the prophet. “Offer to your Governor what you offer to me. Would he be pleased with you?”  

In prophetic response to that question, God declares “From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My Name shall be great among the Gentiles”. We, dear gentile friends, are the beneficiaries of that. The question now is how we respond to that today. The amazing wonder of Scripture is its timelessness. What the Lord declared then is no different to what He declares today. PLEASE read this parashah. Ask the Lord to show you that which he wants you to know. You will receive both a blessing, and a challenge.

At that time it was as though God had had enough, and then He remained silent. He was silent for 400 years. His silence is devastating. You really do not want to experience it.

In the Israelites experience, in the period of that silence, their land was invaded by Greece, and later by Romans. They suffered great indignity and shame. Their Temple was taken from them and defiled. They were forbidden, by the invaders to have and to even read the Scriptures. They were effective outcasts in their own land.

But God is faithful. He remembered the covenant He had made with the sons of Aaron (Numbers 25:10-13). So our parashah ends with the recollection of that covenant (Malachi 2:4-7). It comprises yet another plea from God that the people would seek the counsel of a faithful priest. One who could, and would, speak truth from God’s word, and encourage the people to again ‘walk in God’s ways’.

It was good advice then, and it is good advice today. We have Yeshua, The Great High Priest, as our advocate before our heavenly Father.

That seems like a good note on which to end our reflection doesn’t it?

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   5

Torah portion           Genesis 23 : 1  – 25 : 18

Haftarah portion     1 Kings 1 : 1 – 31

Listen to the Prophets

The connection between this week’s Torah portion and the Haftarah, seems to be about “age”, because the Torah portion makes reference to the elderly Abraham (Genesis 24), and the Haftarah begins with reference to the elderly King David. Superficially, there does not seem to be much other connection in the comparison of their respective lives, except that they were both pivotal to God’s grand plan for mankind.

I was also quite surprised to note, during this study, that whilst Abraham lived 175 years, King David was ‘only’ about 70 years old at the time of this story, which describes him as ‘in advanced years’.

We have a relatively short Haftarah reading this week. It starts with the “very old” King David, seemingly losing his grip on his kingly role. The much respected King David had formerly been a pillar of strength in the Nation, having brought the various tribes to unite under his leadership. They enjoyed peace and prosperity in the land, and had much for which to thank David. BUT, he was not without fault.

There appears to be a sub-plot running in the parashah. King David lived in Hebron for the first 7 years or so of his reign. During that time, he took a number of wives, the fourth being a lady called Haggith. The fourth child she bore David was called Adonijah, and according to our text, a very good looking young man. However, it is quite significant to me that we are told that David “had never rebuked him at any time”.

Was he such a good boy that he did not need correction? Was he so clever that he managed to ‘stay under the radar’ when David was around?                                                        

Was David such a poor father that he did not spend time with the boy?  Of course we do not know. But what we can deduce is that he was perhaps a bit of a “spoilt brat”. (with apologies if I have got that bit wrong!!)  What we do know, on the authority of Scripture, that just like the Fatherly example given by God Himself  “whom He loves, He chastens”, and this boy had never been chastened by his father.

In any event, the ‘proverbial chickens’ come home to roost when Adonijah sees his sick, elderly, disinterested father, David, confined to his bed. To top that off, he noticed that David was attended by a very attractive nurse. So he plotted to become King in David’s place, thinking that he would not be opposed, certainly not by his father. Then he would get all the benefits of kingship, including the attention of the pretty nurse!! (We know this from events later in the story, because he asked his mother, Haggith, to approach the Queen Mother, Bathsheba, to get King Solomon’s permission for him to marry the girl. A request which resulted in his eventual assassination.) We can only wonder what sort of a person Adonijah might have been with a loving father’s correction from time to time. Perhaps this is an up to date lesson for fathers to learn about bringing up children, from the example in this ancient story. (see Proverbs 22;15)

In any event, the presumptuous Adonijah proclaimed himself King with much feasting and merriment. But of course, it did not last.

King David’s faithful friends found the way to ensure that the frail King David got to know about the matter. (I am reminded here of words often spoken to me by my gracious mother. ‘“be sure your sins will find you out”’, and more often than not, they did!!). Nathan, the prophet, devised the tactics, which took account of the fact that King David MIGHT have authorized the succession plan. (Which, of course, he had not).

The end of the story, which does not form part of our Haftarah reading, is that Solomon is installed as King of Israel, the last King of the united Kingdom.

Some years ago, on a visit to Israel, I was taken by some friends to, what was then, a large cave in the valley below the old City of David, which encompassed the Gihon Spring. We had a very youthful guide, speaking only Hebrew, and he jumped around that cave, exclaiming excitedly, “I don’t know if it was here (then big jump to another part of the cave) or if it was here (another jump) or here (another jump), BUT IT WAS HERE (enthusiastically motioning with his arms the whole area of the cave) THAT SOLOMON WAS MADE KING OF ISRAEL. For me an unforgettable experience of joy of being in a place where an event in Biblical history ACTUALLY occurred.

And that is just part of what our Mighty God ordained and planned to accomplish His purposes.                 

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   4

Torah portion           Genesis 18 : 1  – 22 : 24

Haftarah portion     2 Kings 4 : 1 – 37

Listen to the Prophets

This week we meet Elisha for the first time in our Haftarah studies. It is important to recognize that the “Prophets of God” who lived then, had a vastly different lifestyle to the modern day self-proclaimed prophets who are generally seen as ‘superstars’ of the church movement.

King Ahab and his ruthless wife Jezebel, were most antagonistic to the prophets of God. Both Elijah and Elisha experienced their wrath at first hand. They often survived in caves and other hiding places. They relied on God appointed supporters (once even the ravens) for their very next meal, and were ever watchful for the spies of Ahab and Jezebel. BUT, Jewish tradition has it, (and this is documented by Josephus Flavius, the Jewish historian), that within the courts of King Ahab was a man called Obadiah. He held high rank in Ahab’s court and reportedly spent vast sums of borrowed money to feed and sustain up to 100 prophets of God.

This brings us to the opening words of our Haftarah parashah today. Seemingly, it was this same Obadiah who had died, leaving behind a wife and two sons. Very soon, the creditor called, and as was his right under the Law, harshly demanded that the debt be paid by the servitude of the two sons. We are not told the woman’s name, but she evidently knew something of her husband’s support for prophets of God, because she turned to Elisha for help.

There is an important lesson of principle here for us. Elisha exercised a messianic ministry in this parashah. BUT, his first response to the woman was “What have you got with which you can help yourself?” (my paraphrase). We know the story well enough don’t we? And out of what she was able to provide for herself, God multiplied miraculously, so that she was able to pay off her creditors and have some left over to support her family. We offer what we have to the Lord, and He provides the rest.

This event is followed by another “messianic” miracle (raising the dead) wrought by Elisha. It appears that in his many journeying’s through the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he found refuge and lodging at the home of a woman of Shunem. My Bible describes the woman as “noteable”. Commentators agree that she was a woman of substance. In any event, she was most hospitable, with her elderly husband’s consent, in providing a safe place for Elisha to lodge during his travels.

Elisha’s gratitude caused him to wonder how he might repay the woman for her kindness. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, noticed that she did not have a son to care for her in her advancing years. So Elisha prophesied that she would bear a son the following year. Which she did.

Some years later, the lad died tragically. (read the story).  In deep distress, the woman hastily travelled about 30 Km. to visit Elisha. She chastised him because the hope she had in this God given son (which she had neither requested nor expected) had now disappeared.

The story has a happy ending, because by faith and action, Elisha was able to restore life to the boy. It is a fascinating story.

Note the expressions of faith exercised by all those involved. Firstly, Elisha had the faith in God which allowed him to prophesy the timely miraculous birth of this boy. The woman, although sceptical when told that she would have a son, was never-the-less delighted at this provision. So much so, that when the boy tragically died, she hastily turned to Elisha for help. She saw Elisha as God’s personal representative and her only hope, which he was. Next Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, exercised immense faith in following the instructions of Elisha in regard to laying the staff on the dead boy, expecting to see a miraculous restoration of life.  And Elisha again when he persisted, in face of seemingly insurmountable odds, to work tirelessly with the dead boy, not giving up, until God restored life to the child.

The lessons in this parashah may be different for each one of us. My ‘reflection’ is with both of these examples of faith, is firstly to offer God what you have. Allow Him to bring the ‘increase’, and give Him praise for His faithful presence with us. And secondly, when events seem almost insurmountable, to persist. Seek assistance from a trusted faithful servant of the Lord.

Dare I finish with this quotation of Scripture, so often quoted but not always followed? “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55 :22  

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   3

Torah portion           Genesis 12 : 1  – 17 : 27

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 40 : 27 – 41 : 16

Listen to the Prophets

The Torah portion for this week introduces us to the faithful Abram. A man in whom God had great trust, and one with whom He felt comfortable. A man destined to be the “father” of God’s ‘special treasure’, the Nation of Israel. In today’s Haftarah, to those who were descended from Abraham, God instructed Isaiah to pen these beautiful words :-

“You are My servant, I have chosen you and not cast you away: Fear not for I am with you; Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

This Haftarah parashah marks the beginning of Isaiah’s “comfort” promises. In the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, his message was one of impending calamity because of the waywardness of the Judeans. Now God gives the people a message of love and hope. Confirmation that they were still “the apple of His eye”, BUT they had a plain choice to make if they were to continue in the Land of Promise. Remain faithful to the (conditional) covenant God made with them in Moses day, or be banished from the Land.

Here is a difficult, unpopular lesson, which has implications, by example, for us. This is more than a mere historical story. God’s dealings with the Israelites illustrates the pattern of His behaviour and attitudes towards all who are His. God had declared that they were to be “holy”, set apart, different, obedient, as a condition of living in the Land.  When we become “grafted in” to the richness of the root (Romans 11:17-21), we too are expected to become ‘holy’ unto the Lord. Set apart, different, obedient, faithful to the leading of His Holy Spirit, IF we are to “remain in the land” (metaphorically speaking).

If you seek comfort in these words of the Lord, just look at Isaiah 40:28.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”

Wasn’t it just last week that we discovered that “your ways are not My ways, says the Lord”.  In fact, God is now saying in this parashah “do not even bother trying to fathom out My ways because your humanity will not grasp the infinite measure of my love for you”(my paraphrase). Are you not able to just TRUST Me?”  Obedience to His commands is what God was looking for then, and that is what He is looking for today.

And what are we promised in return for that trust?

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

So perhaps we could spend time this week asking the Lord to show us what He would have us do in response to this word of revelation. There is certainly NOTHING that anyone can do to earn ones salvation, it is priceless, free, without merit, by the grace of God. But there is plenty of scope, for those who are saved by grace, to live righteously before the Lord our God and with each other. That is precisely what the Lord was instructing Isaiah to tell the Israelites of his day. It was not, and is not, a suggestion, it is a command of God.

There is an interesting question posed in Chapter 41:2.  “Who raised up one from the East?”  Some have speculated that this is a reference to Abraham, who was called from the ‘East’, Chaldea, to become the father of Israel. This would be a reasonable explanation since all the people were aware of the historical origins of Abraham. But it is also speculated by others that this is a prophetic reference to a future event. The exile to Babylon had not taken place at the time of Isaiah’s prophetic writing. So some see this as a reference to King Cyrus of Persia, who almost 200 years later would be ‘raised up’ by God to facilitate the return to Israel of Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah and almost 50,000 others to build again the walls of Jerusalem.

This being the case, it illustrates that even though God allowed their banishment from the Land, at the same time, His plan included their restoration then, just as He is calling Jews back to the Land today.

Be blessed as you contemplate the completeness of God’s great love.       

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   2

Torah portion           Genesis 6 : 9  – 11 : 32

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 54 : 1 – 56 : 5

Listen to the Prophets

We learned last week that the book of Isaiah is something of a miniature version of the whole Scriptures. The last 27 chapters of which (comparable to the Apostolic Scriptures, which is frequently referred to as the “New Testament”) contain the encouraging message of salvation.

The Haftarah relationship to the weekly Torah parashah is found in Isaiah 54: 6 – 10. A direct reference to the time when God flooded the earth. BUT, our Haftarah portion goes way beyond that to express the time, both present and future, when God remembers, with love and great mercy, those He called His “special treasure”. See verse 7. “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.”

If we needed any reminder, here again, God emphasises His great love for Israel. Yes, He has moments and times of great frustration with these ‘stiff-necked’ people. Yes, they try God’s patience to the very limit. Yes, they are described in other places in Scripture as an “unfaithful wife”. BUT God is God. He has made an everlasting covenant of love with Israel, and we may be absolutely sure that God will NEVER break that covenant.

If you want to know the exact time when Israel will “no longer be a Nation before the Lord”, read Jeremiah 31: 35, 36, It is spelled out precisely there.

 Our parashah this week opens with an encouraging monologue from the Lord, “Sing O barren … enlarge the place of your tent … lengthen your chords … for you shall expand to the right and to the left …”    I am going to honour My covenant with Abraham.  I am going to make it happen. “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of Hosts is His Name: And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel”

The Lord our God had been here before. He saw the abject wickedness of the people of His creation in the days of Noah. He decided to start again, so to speak, and chose the faithful Noah as His starting point. Even then, after some hundreds of years, it was not until “our father Abram” lived on this earth, that God was able to trust a man in whom He could have confidence to live righteously before Him and produce a family that God could use to be a light to the Nations. BUT, in Isaiah’s generation of Israelites, the Lord could see that they again needed a chastisement in order to bring about correction. Starting from scratch, as in the days of Noah was not an option. God had made an everlasting covenant to not go down that path. Isaiah’s task was to speak warning and to sound an alarm. At the same time to try to encourage the people with the promises of God regarding His great love for them.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement You (the LORD) shall condemn.” “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat”  “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord”

Don’t we just love these beautiful promises of God. He is talking to a people who are neglecting to live according to His commands. He is reaching out in love, and hope, that they will turn around and follow His ways.

Dear friends, what a challenge these Scriptures provide. We ALL want the blessing of God on our lives, do we not? We all bask in the joy of His great promises to us who believe. But is it good enough to “just believe”? The whole of Isaiah is a lesson for every age of believers. We have the advantage of knowing the end of the story. They did not heed the warnings of Isaiah and ended up in Babylon, in captivity. The Apostle James tells us that “faith without works is dead”. It is NOT about earning salvation. It is about keeping covenant with God as believers. Living as He has commanded, not carrying on as though we never met Yeshua.

A few verses from the end of our parashah we read “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all Nations” A verse of Scripture quoted by most without any knowledge that it is a ‘conditional’ promise. The condition is actually contained in conclusion of our parashah this week.

The promise is to those who “keep from defiling My Sabbaths” It may come as a shock to some, but what God wanted from those Israelites in Isaiah’s day, He also wants from us today.          

Shabbat Shalom

RS