Zion's Voice

Haftarah reflections 51

Torah portion           Deuteronomy 31:1 - 30

Haftarah portion  Hosea 14:1–9 Micah 7:18-20 Joel 2: 15-27                       

Listen to the Prophets

This week we look at the words of three prophets, called by God to take a specific message to different groups of people at different times. Yet in God’s wisdom and grace, they each have a message which was not only for their time, but resonates strongly with us today. It is a timely message. Be blessed as you study these Scriptures with me.

Hosea was given the task of warning the Northern Kingdom of Israel about their wanton disregard of, and unfaithfulness to, their covenantal promises. It was likened to the harlotry of an unfaithful wife, and to show Hosea the depth of His feeling about this situation, God caused Hosea to take the unfaithful Gomer, a prostitute, as a wife. What a painful experience that must have been for Hosea. But he understood exactly what God felt for Israel, His beloved. Hosea eventually witnessed the judgement of God on the unrepentant Israel when, in 722 b.c.e. the nation was taken captive by the Assyrians under the leadership of king Shalamanezer V.

Micah, a contemporary of Hosea, (as well as Amos, Isaiah and Jonah) also witnessed the downfall of Israel, but his message was principally to the Southern Kingdom of Judea. His concern was that Judea was treading the same perilous idolatrous path that Israel had walked.  Like Amos, he was a ‘man from the country’, and he could plainly see the way the ‘city people’ (Jerusalemites) were uncaring of the poor in their community. His prophetic writings (because we have the convenience of chapter delineations), may be viewed in three sections. The prediction of judgement Chapters 1-3, the prediction of restoration Chapters 4,5 and the plea for repentance Chapters 6,7. Our parashah today is covered in the last mentioned.

Joel is more difficult to date. Scholars believe he pre-dated the other two by about 100 years, in which case he would have been a contemporary of Elisha. His detailed knowledge of Zion, and references to the priesthood cause some to think that he might well have been a priest himself. But his message, mostly remembered because of his references to the coming “day of the Lord” is consistent with both Hosea and Micah in that he pronounced judgement. His descriptions of locust plagues, famine, raging fires and invading armies is interspersed with hope for the future.

So what is our lesson from these three men of God for today?

Obviously, the times, in terms of lifestyle and environment have changed markedly. But attitudes and lifestyle practises seem to be unchanged. Men are still dismissive, or indifferent, to the claims of God on their lives. Idolatry, in its many forms, is rife in our society. There are many prophetic voices today proclaiming the coming day of the Lord. There are also some ominous signs, available to any who care to look, that we are in a period which the Bible describes as ‘last days’. But in arrogant disregard, the world is not listening. Just as the Israelites and Judeans in our parashah did not listen.

The good news is that God has not given up. Our three prophetic voices this week all tell of the fact that God has the last word. That does not mean that His righteous judgement is withheld, but His covenantal promises are assured. Plan A, if you like, is in the true, heart rending repentance of the people. It involves an act of will for sure, but it is more than just in the mind. It is a repentance that brings about a necessary, willing, change of lifestyle. That is the message of God which is conveyed in our parashah this week. But in the absence of that repentance, God’s righteous judgment precedes His restoration, and in a way that is both assured and costly. God alone is the Judge of our righteousness before Him, and how that is acquired and maintained. There are many words in our Bibles to guide us in the right direction. There are also many words of warning to those who choose to ignore His direction. God’s patterns are set out for us in our weekly reflections on His word.

Our study this week is sad, in the fact that we know that the audience addressed by the prophets ignored the warnings. That record alone leaves us without excuse, because we clearly see God acting in righteous judgement according to His word to them.

The message of hope, God’s restoration, was not seen by those who heard the message at first hand from the prophets. Israel’s restoration, the New Covenant, is assured, in God’s time, in God’s way. We, Gentiles, are privileged to participate in that restoration, by our faith in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. That faith is born of repentance, just like the prophets told the Israelites in our parashah.                   

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 50

Torah portion           Deuteronomy 29:10 to 30:20

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 61: 10 –63: 9

Listen to the Prophets

Isaiah proclaims the clear message of Messiah Yeshua in this parashah. It contains some of the most often quoted prophetic Scriptures in our Bible. It is worthy of our attention because it speaks of events which have captivated the thoughts of believers in Yeshua for 2,000 years. His triumphant return. We rejoice in that together.

But the very last verse of this reading says so much more. “In all their (Israel’s) affliction, He (Yeshua) was afflicted”. Sense the pain here. Turn your thoughts for a moment to the anti-Semitic pogroms, the holocaust, the reviling taunts, the dismissive attitudes, the arrogant humiliation, to which these beloved of God have been subjected throughout their history. That is “their affliction”. And Isaiah tells us that every hurtful act was experienced and felt personally by Yeshua. What shame we bear.

This prophetic writing has to be read with care in order to discern the person or people being addressed by Isaiah, so as to get the full understanding of the sequence. It opens with the statement about Yeshua’s time on this earth, and the purpose for which He came. It is Yeshua who was anointed by God to preach the ‘good tidings’, to ‘heal the broken-hearted’, to ‘proclaim liberty to the captives’. It is Yeshua who ‘gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness’. It is Yeshua who declares them (Israel) to be ‘the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified”.

Sense the love which is embodied in those words. God sent Yeshua, His only Son, to make these changes in the lives of His chosen ones. It was God’s declared intention to heap His love upon them. It remains His intention. But there is a God ordained interval in His programme. The gospel of John, chapter 12, quoting Isaiah 6:9,10, spoke of the ‘blindness’ of Israel. The Apostle Paul, writing to the believers in Rome captured it with these words. “.. have they (Israel) stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not. But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”  He goes on “ … if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!”

And it is in glorious anticipation of this “fullness”, their restoration, and the “blindness” removed, that Isaiah’s prophetic words continue.

The Messianic Kingdom, where Yeshua will reign, (and rule with a rod of iron) comes clearly into focus. But in case we think that God is slow to bring this about, the prophet exhorts the hearer “you who make mention of the Lord, (that’s US isn’t it?) do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth”.

Look what happens to Israel. “The Gentiles shall see your righteousness (all iniquity forgiven), and all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. You shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord”

Is it any wonder that the prophet Zechariah, speaking of the same era, said: “In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Earlier in our study, we saw the pain of affliction felt by Messiah Yeshua for the agonies of rejection endured by His chosen ones. Our parashah ends on a note of righteous judgement on those who were the enemies of these chosen people. “Who is this who comes from Edom?” is the question. The description is of One whose garments are stained with blood. The blood of battle. Of One who is victorious in that battle. “For the day of vengeance is in My heart and the year of My redeemed has come” He says.

Then He said: “Surely they are My people, children who will not lie” So He became their Saviour.

There was a time, some 4,000 years ago, when God said to the righteous Abram “I will bless those who bless you, and I will “a’rar” (bitterly curse) those who “qalal” (treat with contempt) you.” The descendants of Abram, through the line of his son of promise, Isaac, were included in that promise.

Let’s take God at His word. Listen to the voice of the Prophets.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 49

Torah portion            Deuteronomy 26:1 to 29:9

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 60: 1 – 22

Listen to the Prophets

To get the clarity of mind we need to understand this amazing prophetic passage of Scripture, we have to remember that chapter and verse separations, whilst immensely convenient for reference purposes, are a very modern addition to the Bible. Just a few hundred years in fact.

So if we start reading from Isaiah 59:20, it becomes immediately obvious that the Lord is looking forward to the time when He will make a New Covenant with the people. Almost 100 years later, God spoke to Jeremiah on the same subject, but with a lot more detail.

It is almost invariably true that prophetic pronouncements have more than one fulfilment. Someone once described it as being like the view of a distant mountain range. When one gets to the first range, one can see further ranges beyond that. This would appear to be the case, in part, with our parashah today.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”  would appear to be an announcement of the first coming of Messiah. And it is. But what we know is that it also speaks of a time when Messiah Yeshua will return to this earth. A future time even for us. And it is this future coming of Messiah which makes this prophecy of Isaiah so important to us.

Isaiah writes about the ‘Gentiles coming to your light’. About 700 years later, God called Rabbi Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul) to be His emissary to take that light to the Gentiles. They came in their thousands .. and are still coming!! Praise God. But there is a much greater attraction still ahead of us. Zechariah 8:23 prophecies that “ten men from every language shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”  What a day that will be. And God revealed it to Isaiah 2,700 years ago!

“Lift up your eyes all around and see; … your sons shall come from afar.”  Now it is certainly true that the exiles came from Babylon closer to Isaiah’s day, but do you also see that when God uses the word “afar” He was including all nations in the ‘Aliyah’, that includes nations which did not even exist under their present known names at that time. It is happening NOW, and it will continue until the “time of the Gentiles is fulfilled”. God alone knows when that will be, but Isaiah confirms it, because following this return of the sons of Israel, we have a description of events which are only used in connection with the Lord’s return.

“Whereas you have been forsaken and hated  … I will make you an eternal excellence”  We haven’t arrived at that time yet have we? What an extraordinary statement of restoration that is. This is the destiny of those who are the natural descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob,  And dare I say it, for those who are grafted into that ‘natural olive tree’ by faith in the Messiah Yeshua.

Earlier, I said that this passage of Scripture looks forward to the New Covenant which God will make with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.  “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon be light for you”  Dear friends, this precisely describes the situation which God tells Jeremiah that Israel will no longer be a nation before Him. (Jeremiah 31:35,36). That immediately follows the terms of the New Covenant which God will make with His chosen ones. No longer Israel, but the Messianic Age, Yeshua reigning in Jerusalem. His  kingdom, given a name that He alone knows.

This parashah is a glorious anthem of praise to our God. One of the most enlightening prophetic chapters in the whole of the Scriptures. An absolute feast of teaching. A diverse range of commentary has applied this chapter to Jerusalem, to Israel, to the people, to the land, and even to the church. The truth is that God is able to quicken His word to each of us according to our need, and the best way to know what this means is to study it for yourself and ask God to reveal His truth.

But some things are immediately evident. Isaiah had Jerusalem, the city of his birth and residence, in his mind’s eye as God spoke to him so clearly. Just as chapter 54 describes the parlous state of Jerusalem, likening it to a barren woman, but with some hope for the future, chapter 60 describes a glorious future. That future being the New Jerusalem of the Messianic Age to come where the only light will be the shekinah of God.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 48

Torah portion            Deuteronomy 21:10 to 25:19

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 54: 1 – 10

Listen to the Prophets

Our parashah this week comprises the fifth of seven consolations, or ‘comforts’ which Isaiah speaks to the Israelites. But it starts with a most unusual expression. “Sing, O barren, you who have not borne!” That is probably the last thing you would expect of someone who was unable to bear children, especially since that was the principal reason fpr women to marry. “Be fruitful and multiply” was God’s command.

The metaphor is not lost on these people. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Samson’s mother, Ruth (according to rabbinic interpretation), Hannah, and the Shunamite woman of 2 Kings 4, were all ‘barren’ until the Lord miraculously healed their barrenness. Their firstborn offspring were all used by God to bring great blessing.

“For more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married woman” says the Lord.

But Isaiah is speaking here of Jerusalem of course. The Jerusalem of the Messianic age no less, when her sons will be returned to her glory. Although once thronging with people, the city is now seemingly desolate. It had seen ‘better days’. There was an emptiness. Isaiah likens it to the emptiness of a widow, or a woman without children. Jeremiah spoke about the same thing in Lamentations 1:1-4.

“How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow is she, who was great among the nations!  … She weeps bitterly in the night, her tears are on her cheeks; … She has none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; …. No-one comes to her set feasts, …. And she is in bitterness”

Then the Lord shows Isaiah a very different scene. One of which He speaks encouragement and of joyful expansion. The city will be restored to its former glory, and more.

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes, for you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited”.

The history of the Israelites has been ‘chequered’, to say the least. God refers (in verse 4) to the times of shame which Israel brought upon itself when in its youth, and to times of His disappointment and frustration which caused God to allow them to stray as they got ‘older’. Any student of Israelite history will know that during the period of the “kings”, when the nation was divided, the North had 19 kings, not one of them followed God’s instructions. They were eventually taken captive by the Assyrians. The South had only 8 kings out of 20 who were described as ‘good’ kings, in that they followed the instructions of God. The nation prospered under the good kings, but was plundered by their enemies under the bad kings. The choice was always theirs, as indeed it is ours today, to follow God’s way, or to go their own way. But this expansion of the city is in preparation for when the King of Righteousness will reign. Not a choice of the people, in God’s perfect time, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach will return to the city to reign and rule from Jerusalem.

“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but in great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you says the Lord, your Redeemer”.

I believe that the gathering of the Jews from every corner of the globe in our day, today, heralds the commencement of the ingathering of which Isaiah spoke. We remind ourselves that the prophet Ezekiel told us of this same ingathering (Ezekiel 36) but God revealed to Ezekiel that it was not for their sakes that these folk would be regathered to the Land, but for “My Holy Name’s sake, that the world may know that I am the Lord.”

But there is more. It heralds the time (Isaiah 40) when Israel’s “iniquity is pardoned”. It heralds the time when God will put a new spirit within the people (Ezekiel 36:26,27). It describes the time when God will make His New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Is it any wonder then, that God said “Sing O barren!”. What a day of rejoicing that will be.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 47

Torah portion             Deuteronomy 16:18 to 21:9

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 51:12 – 52:12

Listen to the Prophets

The first ‘consolation’ prophecy in this series opened with the words “Comfort, yes comfort My people”. In the fourth of these seven words of ‘consolation’ brought by Isaiah, which is our parashah study this week, the Lord plainly declares that it is He Himself who is the ‘Comforter’.

In the midst of all their desolation and harassment, God says “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man who will die, and the son of a man who will be made like grass”.

This is a ‘comfort’ for all who believe. Isaiah is making a prophetic announcement which is still to come. It is a prophecy about the Messianic Kingdom. Regardless of the circumstance we may see in the world of today, widespread apathy, Islam in rampant militancy and murderous hatred, erosion of morality both in the populace and globally in the political class. We are being reminded here that these matters are in the hands of mere men. Men will die. Sons of men will fade like grass fades. Our God is in control, nothing is out of His control, and He will bring the change that is necessary, but in His own perfect timing.

But the prophet reminds us too that the calamitous situation which Jerusalem then experienced, (and which we see happening in our fallen world today) was because of their disregard of God’s instructions. “You have drunk of the cup of trembling” he says “and drained it out”. In paraphrase, he goes on to tell them that they have lost direction, they have no-one to guide them. He asks the questions “Who will be sorry for you?” and “By whom will I comfort you?” They are hard questions, because the prophet was perfectly aware of the plight they were in, and that their plight would continue.

The questions are the same for us today. The arrogant disregard shown by the vast majority of nations and individuals to the commands of a Holy God is appalling. Even nations which are basically, but nominally, Christian, show scant regard for the authority of the Scriptures which is the ‘guide book’ of Christian living. The boundaries of secularism are extending beyond belief. God is treated like some fairy tale Santa Claus who is there to do our bidding. And to be blamed for every catastrophe that man is powerless to prevent.

But there is good news.

There will be change. Jerusalem will be a praise in the world again. “Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city!”  In paraphrase again, the Lord says that when He allowed them to experience the calamity of dispersion, He did not sell them. They were not traded off for anything or anyone else. So He does not have to buy them back, they are His to restore at any time of His choosing. And when He does, they will again be free to worship Him as he has instructed them. “For the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you”, He says.

This raises a question about Gentiles, doesn’t it?  Lamentations 1:10 tells us “For she has seen the nations enter the sanctuary. Those whom You commanded not to enter Your assembly”. And Ezekiel 44:9, speaking about the Temple in the Messianic Age says “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary”. Well, the Apostle Paul comes to the rescue here. He teaches in Colossians 2:11 that Gentile believers are circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands. And in Romans 2:26 that the uncircumcised man who keeps the requirements of Torah, then his uncircumcision will be regarded as circumcision. In Revelation 21 and 22 we read of the salvation of those whose names are written in the Book of Life. That includes many Gentile believers of course. It is the time when Jew and Gentile will be One New Man before the Lord. The One New Man who will worship before the Throne in the Messianic Kingdom to come. Hallelujah!

“For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all he ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God”

What greater ‘comfort’ could there be than that. Blessed be His name.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 46

Torah portion             Deuteronomy 11:26 to 16:17

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 66:1 - 24

 Listen to the Prophets

“Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word.” There may be people today who ‘tremble at His word’ but I am not privy to anyone’s innermost thoughts, and I have never actually witnessed anyone ‘tremble at His word’. Have you?

It is certainly true that Isaiah was addressing a people who, in the most part, did not ‘tremble at His word’. The whole thrust of Isaiah’s prophecy was to give warning to the people of Judea because of their indifference to God’s word. But it was not always so. There was much trembling when God led the people out of Egypt and through their wilderness wandering. The ones who ‘trembled at God’s word’ in Isaiah’s day were described as ‘poor and of a contrite spirit’. They are the ones who would be comforted then, and they are ones who will receive comfort from this prophetic parashah today.

That “trembling” can only result from a deep and abiding respect for God’s word. A faith in God’s word which understands that God says what He means and means what He says.

The Temple in Jerusalem was in poor state of repair. Neglected by the very people who actually received money to maintain it. The parashah opens with the question “Where is the house that you will build Me?” In his exhaustive study “The Footsteps of the Messiah”, Fruchtenbaum sees this as a reference to a temple yet to be built, not Solomon’s Temple, which already existed, and not the Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48 either. His argument is based on the words in verses 3 and 4 of this parashah, which indicates that God wanted nothing to do with this particular temple, (which Fruchtenbaum identifies as the ‘tribulation’ temple in which ‘the Beast’ of Revelation will demand to be worshipped) whereas God had both commissioned and designed the ‘place where He was to be worshipped”.

So having rebuked the hearers for their neglect and indifference, even their propensity to worship ‘other gods’ in idolatry, (words which sadly, framed slightly differently, may well be applied to many ‘christian’ followers today). Isaiah goes on to speak his final encouraging words of prophecy. And they are words which foresee a time still future to us today.

Talking about Jerusalem, “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad with her all you who love her” for “I will extend peace to her like a river.”  Jerusalem today is a busy vibrant city, but it does not enjoy the kind of peace referred to by the prophet. It is a peace which will be preceded by the Lord “rendering His anger with fury .. by fire and by sword”.  It follows the time when ‘the Beast’ (known to most as the Anti-Christ) will demand worship in the temple, and when pigs will be offered there as a sacrifice. ‘Unclean’ animals offered in sacrifice in the temple, what an abomination to the Lord that will be.

But that is when God will enter into judgement with the nations that come against Israel, and the carnage will be staggering in its proportion. The birds will be called to clean up the mess! (Revelation 19:21)  It is, in my view, most likely the time when the 144,000 righteous (Revelation 7) who were ‘sealed’ in the tribulation period, will be revealed. It is certainly the time when the indifferent hordes of men of all the nations will have a reality check.

It is also the time when, according to my study of the Scriptures on this subject, God will make that New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. The covenant, sealed with the precious blood of Yeshua  of which we presently have a foretaste. A covenant which no man can break. A covenant put in the mind of man and written on his heart.

It is the time when Israel will have the veil lifted from their eyes.

It is the time when once again men will “tremble at His word”. A time when the Scriptures tell us He will rule with a rod of iron. But it is a time when men will rejoice before the Lord for His unspeakable gift of life and salvation.

“And it shall come to pass that from one New moon to another, and from one Shabbat to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me” says the Lord.

The Lord revealed all this to Isaiah almost 3,000 years ago. Thankyou Isaiah for your faithful record of God’s revelation to you

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 45

Torah portion             Deuteronomy 7:12 to 11:25

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 49:14 - 51:3

Listen to the Prophets

“The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.” An anxious cry if ever there was one! Read in isolation from the rest of the book, this would indeed be a cry of desperation. Isaiah has a message of warnings and chastisement for the Judeans. That message has been delivered, and now he turns to the ‘comforts’. In response to their feelings of despair, as illustrated by the opening statement, Isaiah continues with the rhetorical question “Can a woman forget her nursing child?”

Is there a closer bond known to man than that of a woman and her child? It would be a most unusual relationship to contemplate. It is possible for women to become estranged from their children. But the prophet does not even countenance such a possibility. When Almighty God made His covenant promises to the Israelites in the desert, they were irrevocable on His part. He is a covenant keeping God. However, although the Israelites broke their covenant, many times, God reiterates here the permanency of His commitment to them.

“I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” He says. You have become part of Me. I will restore you.

Over and over in these passages of ‘comfort and consolation’ God is reassuring the Israelites that there is a glorious day to come. A day when their enemies will be vanquished. Jerusalem will be filled with the people of God. The waste places will be made whole. But how is this to be accomplished? Where will they come from? The Lord responds:

“Behold I will lift up My hand to the nations. And set up My standard for the peoples; They shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders … They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, … Then you will know that I am the Lord, for they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”

If that were not enough, so strong is God’s commitment to restore Israel, He gives perhaps the greatest ‘comfort’ possible. “For I will contend with him who contends with you.”  And in another statement of absolute clarity, “All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

They are statements which say “Game, set, and match”.

It is amazing that those, I should say some of those, who worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the author of those quotations above, still have reservation about God’s intent regarding the future of Israel. We all know that Israel is far from perfect, God knew it better than any. But, dear friends, as I ‘reflect’ on this parashah this week, I see that it really is NOT about Israel. Sure Israel is the subject, BUT it is about God and His covenantal promise to Israel.

We might all draw comfort and a reassuring lesson from this parashah. As it continues, there is an exhortation to all who believe.

“Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn.”  

It is not uncommon, in fact, any person can go through times of difficulty in life. Even times of doubt and questioning. I can verify that from personal experience. The important issue is, even when doubt arises, to know how to get answers to that doubt. This parashah is one such place. God had experienced the most disappointing responses from His chosen ones for centuries. There was a time, early in their desert wandering, when Moses had to plead with God not to ‘give up on them”.  True, He spoke to them in chastisement many times through the prophets, but always returned to the remembrance of His covenant responsibility.

Our security may be found in that covenant responsibility. Those, who by faith, have trusted in the power of the resurrected Messiah to forgive our sin, have received the Salvation which is promised. We have been ‘grafted in’ to that natural Olive Tree, which is Israel, and are included in the covenant promises which God has made with Israel. Praise God.

Covenant promises come with covenant responsibilities, don’t they?

God will bless you as you seek Him to find out what that responsibility entails. It is not hidden, it is written in His Book. Be blessed as you discover truth from His word. His promise is that His Word always accomplishes that for which it was sent.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 44 

Torah portion             Deuteronomy 3:23 to 7:11

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 40: 1-26      

 Listen to the Prophets

The Haftarah studies in Isaiah, which commenced last week, continue for the next seven weeks. Chapter and verse additions are a relatively modern convenience, and it has been observed that the 66 chapters of Isaiah appear to mirror the structure of our complete Bible, which has 66 books. The Hebrew Scriptures have 39 books, the Apostolic Scriptures 27, and Isaiah seems to have messages which appear to follow that kind of division. Our parashah today, Isaiah 40, begins a succession of, what are called, ‘comfort’ chapters. It certainly has the Messianic tone with which the Apostolic Scriptures commence..

“’Comfort, yes comfort My people’ says your God.”  Many Christian organizations working in Israel today use these words as a command of God to provide material assistance to those in need in the land. A noble work, and certainly well received by the needy there, and a work which has verifying authority in other Scriptures. But that is not the primary message of this exhortation of Isaiah. God has instructed Isaiah to “speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”  That is the message of comfort which Israel receives from Isaiah. And it is a message which has its fulfilment in the coming of Messiah.

Prophetic Scripture often has multiple fulfilment, and that is true of our parashah today. Messiah Yeshua came to this earth almost 700 years after this prophecy was given. History records that many tens of thousands of Jews came to faith in the first century c.e. (Acts 21). John the baptizer was that ‘voice crying in the wilderness’ of verse 3, and he was definitely one who said to the cities of Judah “Behold your God!” But this prophecy has elements which have yet to be fulfilled. Isaiah sees the time when “her iniquity is pardoned” completely. That could not be the case, when in the second century, Israel was completely banished from the Land of Israel by the Romans. That could not be the case when history records the pogroms and mistreatment Jews received at the hands of many nations to which they fled. And often, during the period known as ‘the inquisition’ given the option of abandoning their faith or being put to death. Being banished from Britain in 1290 by King Edward 1, a ban which remained until Oliver Cromwell in 1665. Banished from Spain in 1492, one day before ‘tisha b’av’, by Ferdinand and Isabella. Six million Jews put to death in the holocaust. If that does not constitute receiving “double for all her sins”, I am at a loss to explain it.

The prophet continues, “Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand”. One of the reasons many Jews could not see Yeshua as Messiah was that they did not see Him as the ‘strong man’ Messiah they expected, and still expect. They were, at that time, looking for a Messiah who would overthrow the tyrannical Roman rule to which they were subject. Isaiah describes such a Messiah in this parashah. All powerful, all mighty, all conquering, all caring, all protecting, all forgiving.

In praise of Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, the prophet writes eloquently “To whom then will you liken God?” Then in comparison to the most skilled artisans they could imagine, he describes, in simple language, the attributes of the One who is their redeemer.

“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth.”

“Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created all these things’”

It is He who created all things, He who put all things in right order, He who has the power of life and death, it is He, and He alone, who has the power to ‘pardon iniquity’.

What greater comfort can anyone receive than to know that one is pardoned of all iniquity? To have the barrier to communion with a Holy God swept away, cast into the depths of the sea, forgotten, as though that iniquity never existed.  There is NO greater comfort.

Isaiah is describing the conditions which are the hallmark of “The New Covenant”. He sees the time when men will live righteously before our Holy Creator, and with each other. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” says Jeremiah 31:34

It is the time when Messiah Yeshua returns to rule and reign in Jerusalem. It is the time, of which, the Apostle Paul declares “All Israel will be saved”. It is the time when Israel will recognize Him, with eyes now opened.  And it is a time of joy for all Gentiles who are ‘grafted in’ to that ‘natural Olive Tree’, which is Israel.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah reflections 43

Torah portion                  Deuteronomy 1:1 to 3:22

Haftarah portion            Isaiah 1: 1-27 

Listen to the Prophets

Isaiah was from a respected family. He grew up in Jerusalem, and in addition to being well educated, was both familiar and maintained contact with, the royal court.

Isaiah’s prophetic writings extend for about 60 years from 740 b.c.e. He wrote at a time of great testing for his fellow Judeans. And Israel, their ‘cousins’ and Northern neighbours, were in desperate trouble due to idolatry and their wanton disregard of their covenantal responsibilities.

Our parashah opens with a tirade of judgment against Judah. There is not a comforting word on his lips. (well, perhaps one!) His education and his royal contacts ensured that he was well versed in the situation in the broader community in which he lived. He was certainly aware of the calamity about to visit Israel in the form of their Assyrian enemies. He also knew, from God, why these things were happening, and was commissioned by God to bring the warning voice to his own people, Judah.

The Temple which Solomon had built was now about 200 years old and was being seriously neglected. It was as though no-one cared. The priests were slack in their responsibilities, both to the people and to their care for the Temple. There was an outward appearance of ‘religiosity’ but inwardly they were self-seeking and neglectful. Then God visited Isaiah with a remarkable vision. He saw it all clearly. The light of God’s Spirit shone in to the dark corners of their life. Everything was exposed. God spoke, and still speaks, powerfully through this faithful man Isaiah.

“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” And more, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood.”

Such devastating condemnation from the Lord God Himself.

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away your evil doings from before My eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow”.

Then, for any with a modicum of decency, the words which may bring comfort. These words could be spoken by the Apostle Paul in the course of his evangelical missions to the Gentile nations, three quarters of a century later, but they were penned by Isaiah.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

 “But if you refuse and rebel ………”

The message contained in this Scripture for us today?

God was inviting His chosen ones to review their lifestyle. Over many years, they had slipped into bad practices. There was a lackadaisical familiarity to their pretence at worship. O, they turned up alright, they brought the sacrifices, even going through the motions of praying. So what was the problem? They had lost sight of the basics of God’s intent when He gave them those instructions on how to live righteously with each other and before Him. They were selfish and self-centred, even self-seeking. They lacked sincerity in their worship. God saw it as a sham.

Their attitudes had become a barrier to communion with a Holy God. Is it possible that we may be similarly found wanting? The call of God, through the prophet is as relevant today as it was then. “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

It is a precious characteristic of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that He does not cast us away. We may choose to leave Him, but He does not leave us. He gives us opportunity, as He did these Israelites in Isaiah’s day, to turn around so as once again to head in the right direction.

Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life”

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   42

Torah portion           Numbers 30 : 1 to 36 : 13

Haftarah portion     Jeremiah 2 : 4 – 28   and 3 : 4

(Two Torah portions are read together)

Listen to the Prophets

Last week, we ‘reflected’ on the clear call of God on the youthful Jeremiah. His calling was to be bold and outspoken in the things that God promised to show him. His boldness was born of the faith that God would protect him from those who would come against him.

It is immediately evident from this week’s parashah that Jeremiah had listened intently to the Lord! His message could not be clearer.

Tell them this, says the Lord (my paraphrase) “I remember you when you were a young nation. In your wilderness journey you relied on Me totally, I fed you, gave you water to drink. You were completely set apart (holy) to Me. Anyone who tried to hinder you I visited disaster upon them”.

The pain is palpable in the expression of disappointment as the Lord continues. As I read these words, I cannot avoid putting myself in the position of the hearers, because I too am one of the hearers. God caused Jeremiah to charge them with idolatry. There could be no worse charge. Commandment number one. “You shall have no other gods before Me”.

(I had an extremely personal encounter with God in 1999, when, for about 4 weeks, I was unable to walk and was confined to a hospital bed. It is too long a story to relate here, but I felt a compulsion to read Ezekiel. Eventually I got to Chapter 14. It was then that I had a conversation with God that changed my life. And it was all about idolatry.)

God hates idolatry. It is an abomination to Him. It was an abomination in the days of Jeremiah, and it’s an abomination today. An idol is anything, anyone, any place, any activity that hinders ones relationship with God (or takes time away from that relationship). That which one allows into one’s home, through the medium of television, or the internet, or books and magazines, can be idolatry. The simple test is to consider the time one gives to any of these activities, and compare that to the time that same person gives to communion with God. Because, where your treasure (and time) is, your heart will be also.

I wonder what words Jeremiah might use today, in our world, if God charged him with bringing the same message to us as he took to the Israelites. If one is diligent in the study of this parashah, one might actually find out!!

Try, if you can, to imagine the words of Jeremiah being addressed to us today. Instead of the violations of the idolatry of the Israelites, think of the modern equivalent, whatever that might be (the Lord will show you).

We have been brought into fellowship with Almighty God through faith in Yeshua, who gave His life for us. In so doing, the Lord “has brought us into a bountiful country, to eat its fruit and its goodness”. God surely has every reason to expect that we would then, not only be grateful, but would live our lives in honour of Him, and in accord with His precepts.

The first group of people to come under scrutiny are those who have authority. In our parashah it was the priests, followed closely by those who are teachers. Then rulers and prophets.

I dare to suggest here, that in our society today, the primary priestly responsibility belongs to men. Men who have families. Men are charged by God to lead their families, to set an example for wives and children. To be leaders in their own homes. (It is my observation that this is the pattern which is prevalent in God fearing Jewish families today.)

Next are the teachers. In our “modern day church age” that onus of responsibility has largely been abdicated by “the home priests” in favour of the professional pastor. It is a regrettable fact that many church pastors are inadequately versed in the fundamentals of God’s Torah.(teaching) And very few even realize it. Consequently, they can only teach what they themselves have been taught, and we, the laity, are given an extremely narrow version of the truth of God’s word. The word written about the teachers is “those that handle the law did not know Me”. That, my dear friends, is a heavy charge.

But there is even more.

It is imperative, if you are to get all that God intends for you out of this parashah, that you read it completely for yourself. But be warned, it contains words of strong rebuke for those of us who, having been given the privilege of entering this walk of faith with the Lord, have allowed “idols” to get in the way of our fellowship with Him.

Our parashah ends with a plea from God Himself.

“Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth’?”

Enjoy the fellowship with Him that began when you were first called into His family.

Shabbat Shalom

RS