Zion's Voice

 Haftarah Reflections   36

Torah portion           Numbers  8 : 1 – 12 : 16

Haftarah portion     Zechariah 2 : 10 – 4 : 7

Listen to the Prophets

When studying the Scriptures, it is important to know the context of what one is reading. All the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures were called by God to proclaim a timely message. Amazingly, the truth is that those very proclamations, made thousands of years ago, for a particular circumstance at that time, have application and relevance for us today.

Zechariah lived at the time of the Babylonian captivity. He was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai. He had witnessed the return from Babylon of Zerubbabel and 49,696 other people. He had seen the work of rebuilding the ruined Temple commence, and he saw that the building work was being hampered by opposition and other difficulties. His message was one of urgency and encouragement. And the good news is that a mere five years later, the work was completed. You may read the details in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

BUT, there is another dimension to this prophetic ministry of Zechariah. His words speak clearly of a future event, part of which we see happening today, and part of which is still future to us.

Our parashah opens with the rousing rallying call “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst”. A prophetic statement actually fulfilled when Yeshua was born. But as that prophetic statement continues, we see that there is more to follow, which is additional to the first part, which will be completely fulfilled at the return of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach to rule and reign as King of Kings in Jerusalem.

Before that mighty event occurs, there will have to be a Temple standing in Jerusalem once more. Ezekiel describes that Temple in great detail in chapters 40 to 48 of his prophecy. Our parashah contrasts the imperfect priesthood of the first Temple period, with the priesthood which will serve in the Temple when Yeshua reigns as King. Chapter 3 : 4 tells us “See I have removed your iniquity from you,  and I will clothe you in rich robes”.

This is consistent with Jeremiah’s announcement about the New Covenant isn’t it? He says in Jeremiah 31 ; 34  “… For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more”. Their iniquity was in breaking their covenant vows. They did not live according to the instructions of God, which they had promised to do.

Here is a lesson for us today. Before we get all self-righteous and judgmental about these Israelites, we would do well to contemplate the vows and promises we have made before a Holy God. If you are up for a shock read Matthew 7 : 23 again. The word translated “lawlessness” (greek. ‘anomia’, iniquity, unrighteousness, against the law) in our Bibles, is a clear reference to “Torah-less-ness” (against God’s instruction for righteous living).

The last 4 verses of our parashah are so clearly a prophecy about the Messianic Kingdom. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah all speak about Yeshua as ‘the Branch’. There is also some figurative language used, (which commentators more knowledgeable than I have difficulty explaining), and finally the promise that the iniquity of that land to be removed in one day. I believe the Apostle Paul made reference to this in Romans 11 : 26.

So Zechariah seems to have been entrusted, by God, with a message of encouragement to the Temple builders who had returned from Babylon. At the same time, God chose this man to be the bearer of both good news, and a warning to the citizens of the world alive today.

The KING is coming. Make yourselves ready. As He said to Joshua the High Priest:-

 “If you walk in My ways, and if you keep My command, then you shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts:..”

And how is this to be accomplished?

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts”

What a mighty God we serve. And what a day that will be.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

 Haftarah Reflections   35

Torah portion           Numbers  4 : 21 – 7 : 89

Haftarah portion     Judges 13 : 2 - 25

Listen to the Prophets

In the Torah parashah (Numbers 6 see verse 2) we are given details of the instruction God gave regarding those who would take a “Nazarite vow”. It is a voluntary vow of (Heb. ‘nazir’) separation or consecration. An outward sign of that person’s vow was that during the period of the vow, he/she would not cut his/her hair. At the end of the vow period, a sacrificial offering was made to the Lord.

Our Haftarah parashah introduces us to a man from the tribe of Dan, named Manoa. His wife (name unknown) is one of at least SIX women initially described in our Bible as ‘barren’, childless, but who eventually bore children to their husbands. Not only that, but all those first born children were greatly used of God in fulfilling His purposes.

We must not minimize the anguish of the state of ‘barrenness’ for a woman. There were two attributes important to both men and women in the Bible. Firstly, premarital chastity, secondly marital productiveness. Well might we ponder how times have changed today, both in terms of expectation and general morality.

After the Israelites entered the Land of Promise, they were led by a series of Judges for approximately 400 years. Some were ‘good’ Judges and some were ‘evil’ Judges. It is an interesting fact that when the ‘good’ Judges were in power the Lord prospered the Israelites. When the ‘evil’ Judges ruled, God prospered the Philistines. This seemed to play out in area of the Sorek Valley where the land is most fertile and therefor prized as a possession by both Israel and the Philistines.

At the time of our story this week, the Israelites had been ‘delivered to’ the Philistines for the last 40 years. (This was about 320 years after the Israelites entered the Land, and about 50 years before the appointment of Saul as the first King of Israel). BUT, God had a plan of rescue for the Israelites.

Manoah’s wife was visited in the field, where she was either working or waiting for her husband, by a “man’, whom she immediately recognized as someone special. She instinctively knew that he was “a Man of God”. In her description of him to Manoah she used the Hebrew word ‘yare’. He looked ‘fearful’, ‘awful’, ‘terrible’, ‘awesome’, depending on which translation you use. It is the same word used in Proverbs 9:10. As in ‘the fear (‘yare’) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. That is why she did not have the presence of mind to ask Him any questions. She was totally awestruck.

Manoah’s response to her is exemplary. Look at it in verse 8. “Let’s pray about it” (my paraphrase). What a lesson that is for us. In truth, the finger is pointing directly at me in that statement, when I think of the many instances in my life when I did not consult with the Lord when I should have. (Just two weeks ago, in “Reflection” BEHAR, we saw Jeremiah receiving a word from the Lord, but waiting for a further word of confirmation before proceeding to act).

Almighty God in response to Manoah’s prayer sent His Angel a second time to confirm that this childless couple would have a son. A son who would live a “Nazarite vow” from his birth. That means he would be ‘separate’, ‘consecrated’ to God for the special task (which Manoah and his wife were not to know at that time) of rescuing the Nation from the grip of the Philistines.

Finally, in gratitude for the news they had received, Manoah and his wife first sought to offer hospitality to their visitor before asking the Angel of the Lord his name. In paraphrase again, he told them that whilst he would not eat their food, it would be appropriate to make an offering to the Lord. As for his name, well that is a secret (Heb, ‘pil’iy’).

They made an offering to the Lord. We can only wonder at what they felt as their visitor dramatically ascended into the heavens in the flame of the altar fire. They were frightened. They thought they would die because of what they had seen (they thought he was God Himself).

The last two verses of our parashah cover several years. Samson was born. As he grew up the Lord blessed him. We must assume that his parents trained him in the Nazarite way, because when he was an adult the Spirit of the Lord began to move upon him. The rest, as they say, is history. The end of the story is deliverance from the Philistines.

What a mighty God we serve.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

 Haftarah Reflections   34

Torah portion           Numbers  1 : 1 – 4 : 20

Haftarah portion     Hosea 2 : 1 - 20

Listen to the Prophets

What a confronting passage of Scripture this week.

We might recall that the Torah parashah for this week is about the

start of the wilderness journey of the Israelites. A journey distance which COULD have been completed in about a fortnight, but which, for reasons we know, took about 40 years whilst God dealt with the issues which the people had brought about due to their mistrust and fear.

In the Haftarah portion, Hosea, like Amos before him, was called by God to address issues of immorality and corruption (in spite of, or perhaps because of, their prosperity and growth) which pervaded the society of the tribes of the Northern Kingdom, Israel. (sometimes also referred to as Ephraim, from the name of their largest tribe). Although Hosea did not know this, a mere 30 years after his warnings to this people, they were actually taken into exile by the Assyrians.

Here is our first salutary lesson today. Because we know the history, we clearly see Hosea as a faithful servant of Almighty God, taking an unappealing, but timely, message of warning of the need for repentance to a people about to face the wrath and judgement of a Holy God. Most Christian believers are aware that Yeshua will return to rule and reign in the Messianic age to come. BUT, no-one knows the actual date and time when that event will take place. It may this year, or in a hundred years from now. What we do know is that when He does return, it will then be too late for those not already part of the Kingdom of God. For the Israelites in our parashah it was a mere 30 years. How long is it for our family, our friends, our workmates, our neighbours? How many “Hosea’s” are reading this reflection today?

And there is a lot more. In order to emphasise to Hosea the fractured relationship between those Israelites of the Northern Kingdom and God, Hosea was told to take Gomer, a prostitute, as his wife. Wow!!!  In this marriage he would experience at first hand the kind of issues God Himself faced in dealing with the unfaithful Nation of Israel.

The text of our parashah, consists entirely of the words the Lord spoke to Hosea, which he was to convey to the people. Although the words are framed as those of one person to another, it is quickly evident that these are the innermost feelings of God towards His covenant partner, Israel. The words are framed as a husband to a wife. A marriage is a covenant between two people in love. It is supposed to be ‘until death us do part’ in today’s terminology. The husband is faithful, but in this case He is desperately pained at the unfaithful behaviour of his wife.

Now there is an extremely important difference here between the covenant that God has with Israel, and the familiar covenant of marriage we know today. In our age we are much too familiar with divorce. Occasionally people have what is called an amicable ‘settlement’. In most cases however, there are bitter conflicts which cause long lasting enmity. Certainly much enduring hurt for both the husband and the wife, which is then also extended to any children of that marriage union.

In our parashah today, we certainly see the hurt, the disgust, the pained outbursts of the husband. We also see the expression of the ills that will inevitably befall the unfaithful wife, HOWEVER, from verse 14 of this text we also see the expressions of intent, on the part of the faithful husband, to restore the marriage.

There are words of continuing love from the ‘husband’. Not only a willingness to forgive the wayward behaviour, but again to cherish and nurture the unfaithful wife back into the matrimonial home. As we read the last couple of verses of our text, we see the promise of a renewed and better relationship. Can you see, as I can, the promise here of a New Covenant? The same New Covenant which Jeremiah introduced in more specific terms about 150 years later. The Covenant which would be sealed in the blood of God’s only Son, Yeshua. The Covenant, which the Scriptures tell us CANNOT be broken. No more unfaithfulness.

We might find it difficult to conceive of a life without sin. That is because we live in a sinful world today. A ‘lawless’ (Torahless, see Matthew 7:23) world. But then, in the Messianic age to come, we are promised a world where the Torah of God will be in our minds (because He will put it there), and it will be written on our hearts.

Come quickly Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

 Haftarah Reflections   33

Torah portion           Leviticus  26 : 3 – 27 :34

Haftarah portion     Jeremiah 16 : 19 – 17 : 14

Listen to the Prophets

The word “haftarah”, means something like ‘completion, ending or conclusion’. To that extent then, it is supplementary to the Torah reading, adds something, and then finishes.

The Leviticus Torah passage has a focus on idolatry. Unsurprising then, the sages decided to couple that reading with this section from the prophecy of Jeremiah.

A major distinguishing feature between Israel and other nations (gentile nations) around them, was the ‘gods’ they worshipped. YHWH Elohim, the God of Israel had commanded that the Israelites should have ‘no other gods before Me’. So, our parashah today begins with Jeremiah seeing a day when the gentiles would recognize Israel’s God and say “we have been misled, our fathers taught us to worship futile, worthless, unprofitable things”. God then speaks to Jeremiah , quoting from the prophet Amos, that He would cause the gentiles to ‘know My hand and MY might and they shall know that My Name is YHWH Elohim’.

It is not the first time in Scripture that we see that God had the intention that gentiles would know Him ... BUT always in the context of those gentiles recognizing Him as the God of Israel. Perhaps this is best illustrated in the writings of the Apostle Paul to the Romans. There Paul likens gentile inclusion to a “grafting” onto the natural olive tree of Israel. In our church setting today we have somehow managed to completely change that to require Israel to be “grafted” onto the ‘wild olive’ tree of the gentiles!!

However, Jeremiah’s burden is for Judea. He had witnessed the wanton disobedience the tribes of the Northern Kingdom, and seen the consequence. We saw in last week’s parashah, although later in time than this week’s reading, that God did eventually cause Judah also to be taken captive.

Jeremiah’s prophetic vision is a long recitation of warning. In Chapter 17 v 5 we find him quoting Isaiah, a prophet with a similar task of warning these two tribes in the Southern Kingdom against their calamitous path of following the ways of the Northern tribes.

What a lesson this provides for us. “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord”.  Can anyone else recognize man’s state today in that statement? The resulting consequence is catastrophic. Yet every day we see and hear evidence of man’s utter arrogance towards our Creator. In absolute contrast, verses 7,8 of the same chapter, quoting the psalmist we read the promise God has made to those whose heart is firmly on Him “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”  It is a great description of safety, fruitfulness and productive life.  And it is for those who trust in the Lord.

Why would anyone choose anything else? Well, Jeremiah had a ‘direct’ line to God. And God revealed truth to Jeremiah when He told him what to say next. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?  I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

Friends, there can be NO clearer statement from YHWH Elohim anywhere in the Scriptures. That verse of Scripture should be emblazoned on our mind ... every day. Jeremiah had been given the onerous task of warning the people to mend their ways. How easy it is to find fault in others. To see the wrong course being charted by friends and relatives, even spouses! Is anyone else like me? I can see so clearly how these Israelites of old went wrong, time and again. Why did they keep repeating mistakes over and over again and again? Then the bombshell! They were just like I am. That’s the bad news. Let us rather focus on the really good news here in verses 7,8. Read a very slightly different version in Psalm 1. Be blessed as you take care to heed the warnings, not only of Jeremiah, but that of YHWH Elohim. “I, the LORD, search the heart.”

Shabbat Shalom

RS

 Haftarah Reflections   32

Torah portion           Leviticus  25 : 1 – 26 :2

Haftarah portion     Jeremiah 32 : 6 - 27

Listen to the Prophets

The sages, seemingly, chose this Haftarah passage because it tells a story of land redemption. Leviticus 25 has much to say about land rights, buying, selling and redeeming land, as well as the laws of ‘Shemitah’ and ‘Jubilee’.

Jeremiah was from a priestly family who lived in Anathoth, a township about five Km. north of Jerusalem. The Lord had called Jeremiah to prophesy against the Judeans because of their total disregard of their covenant obligations. It was a ‘calling’ which caused Jeremiah much grief. He was sometime known as the ‘weeping prophet’ because of the heartache he endured in seeing the indifferent neglect of the people to their covenant agreement with God, through many of his 40 years of prophetic ministry. (I suspect that he would still be ‘weeping’ today at the indifference of the ‘church’ to that covenant.)

The Lord told Jeremiah that his uncle would come and ask him to fulfil his right of inheritance in buying a field in his hometown, Anathoth. Now here is a very important lesson for us.

The Lord had also told Jeremiah, (see verse 3), that the king of Babylon was about to take possession of the city and take Zedekiah, king of Judah captive. Jeremiah gave this bad news to Zedekiah and for his trouble he was now languishing in jail! Obviously, with the land about to be taken by a foreign invader, it could be seen as the very worst time to make a land purchase. Look closely at verse eight, the last sentence says “Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord”.

The lesson is this. Jeremiah, having been assured that he had indeed received the “word from the Lord”, even though common sense and instinct would say it was a bad time to buy a field, went ahead in obedience to the word he had received and bought the field. Of course, Jeremiah had the great advantage of having the ‘word of the Lord’ so clearly confirmed to him. Too often, I think, we can be so eager to hear ‘a word from the Lord’ (and we should all expect the Lord to speak to us) that we do not seek, and wait for, the confirmation of that word from the Lord before we act.

The parashah continues with the details of the transaction, including the very important step of preserving the deeds of the property in jars of clay. Sometime during this transaction, the Lord had assured Jeremiah that a day would come when the Israelites would return from the Babylonian captivity and once again possess houses and vineyards and fields in the land again.

Then Jeremiah prayed.

“ 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.” An amazing prayer of faith and trust. Then almost in the same breath, Jeremiah, vented his concern as he continued in prayer. “What You have spoken has happened; there You see it! And You have said to me, O Lord GOD, "Buy the field for money, and take witnesses"!—yet the city has been given into the hand of the Chaldeans.' "

It seems as though Jeremiah, having obediently bought the field, couldn’t believe that God would actually do what He said He would do  How human is that !!   Then God puts His seal on matters as He responds to Jeremiah’s prayer. Asking Jeremiah to stand firm in his faith, quoting back to Jeremiah his own words of faith.

“Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard  for Me?” Jeremiah showed himself to be a man of great faith and obedience, but just like us, he went through times of questioning. The hallmark of his relationship with God was that he engaged in ‘conversation with God’. We have the benefit of seeing the whole outcome. For Jeremiah, he lived his faith in expectation and trust. Our parashah today is there for our encouragement, so that our faith might be strengthened too.

What a might God we serve.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   31

Torah portion           Leviticus  21 : 3  to  24 : 23

Haftarah portion     Ezekiel  44 : 15 – 31

Listen to the Prophets

We continue our ‘reflections’ on the Haftarah, a Hebrew word which has no root connection to the word Torah, and which means ‘separation’, ‘ending’, or ‘completion’. In synagogues it is a passage of Scripture read after the Torah portion and is accompanied by a blessing of thanks for the Prophets.

It is appropriate to read the weekly Torah portion to see how the Prophets spoke in close connection to God’s instructions to the people, but the Haftarah ‘reflections’ assume that to have been done already.

Ezekiel was a young man, of a priestly family, who was taken to Babylon as a captive, with King Joachim, about 11 years before the captivity of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. He was in Tel Aviv (not the present city) by the banks of the River Chebar, (Ezekiel 3 : 15) when the Lord commissioned him to be a watchman, and prophet, for Israel. In that capacity, Ezekiel was shown many things.

Relevant to our ‘reflection’ today, God showed him a future Temple. A Temple still not yet constructed after over 2,500 years. A Temple described in great detail in chapters 40 to 48 of Ezekiel’s prophecy. A Temple which will function in the “Messianic” age to come.

We know that the continuous Temple sacrificial system was satisfied, for us, by the once for all time atoning death of Yeshua (the Lamb that was slain). Consequently it is often taught that there is no need for another Temple. There is much controversy about this matter. And yet, it is clear that Ezekiel described a Temple yet to be built. It will be in Jerusalem. It will have priests overseeing a sacrificial system. And those priests will be from the family descended from Zadok, the High Priest in David’s time. The very priest who anointed Solomon as King, and who became the first High Priest in the Temple later built by Solomon.

Zadok was exemplary in his service. He stood up straight when others wavered. His family (descendants) is favoured by God for this exemplary behaviour. God seemingly ‘rewards’ the faithful. Something worthy of our reflection isn’t it?

Much of what we read in our Haftarah today is repetitious of things contained in the Leviticus parashah, which relates to the Tabernacle. God is showing Ezekiel the importance of how He is to be approached, and all this in the context of a future Temple in Jerusalem. There are two main reasons for this understanding. Firstly, Ezekiel’s vision is of a time AFTER the Israelites have been regathered into the Land “from ALL the countries into which they were scattered”. That is taking place right NOW. Secondly, The Glory of the Lord will enter the Temple by way of “the eastern gate”.                                                                                                                                                                       

(Legends abound as to why Suleiman the great closed the Gate while the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt about 500 years ago, some say a rumour swept Jerusalem at that time that the Messiah was coming. Suleiman called together some Jewish rabbis and asked them to tell him about the Messiah. They described the Messiah as a great military leader who would be sent by God from the east. He would enter the Eastern Gate and liberate the city from foreign control  …. So Suleiman fixed that by bricking up the gate and putting a cemetery in front of it!!!).

The details are there for you to read, but the lessons to be learned are that God demands a higher level of ‘holiness’ from those who serve in the priesthood. When we enter God’s service, we need to be especially careful about our attitudes and demeanour. Even concerning their outward appearance, their well-groomed hair and beard are mentioned in our text. In part I think that is because the eye of the ‘world’ is more closely focussed on us.                                                                                        

(I well remember as a young Christian, both in school and shortly afterwards in the Air Force, having declared my faith, all the people with whom I worked and lived would quickly correct me if they perceived remarks or behaviour by me which they considered inappropriate for a “Christian”!!).

When we read detail passages such as this, it is certain that we will come across things that seem odd to us. We are prone to ask the question “Why?” In some cases even rejecting the matter because we cannot understand it. Dear friends, remember that God is God. He is under no obligation to explain Himself to us. BUT, He does have the right to ask us to accept Him, on His terms. There is blessing for so doing. From our passage today we can see how the family of Zadok is favoured by God because that man was unwavering and faithful in the task he was called to perform. So may it be for us.                     

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   30

Torah portion           Leviticus   19 : 1  to 20 : 27

Haftarah portion     Amos  9 : 7 - 15

Listen to the Prophets

Amos, the sheep farmer from Tekoa, a town just south of Bethlehem in Judea, was commissioned by God to take a strong message of warning to the wayward Northern Kingdom of Israel.

Our parashah today is set at a time when, as history records, there was precious little time left, probably less than 40 years, for the tribes of the North to repent of their wickedness and to turn again to the covenant promises which had been made by them and their forefathers before them. We are now in the reign of king Jereboam 2, almost 200 years after the separation of the tribes into North and South.

Jereboam 1, the first king of Israel, had set up two worship centres in that territory, one in the south at Bethel and one in the north at Dan. In both places he set up golden calves as emblems of worship in opposition to the Temple which Solomon had built in Jerusalem, and in defiance of God’s instruction regarding the place where He was to be worshipped.

God had sent several prophets to warn the people that they were heading for disaster. Ahijah, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Hosea, Amos and Oded specifically. Isaiah, Jeremiah and others also had words of warning to the South, using the behaviour of these Northern neighbours as an example of the righteous judgement of God.

With that background, we may now understand the quite difficult language which Amos uses as he delivers this dire ‘final warning’ to this wayward people. Remember that there were several previous attempts by God to get these folk to change their ways.

“Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel? Says the Lord. Did I not bring up Israel from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor (Crete), and the Syrians from Kir?”

A strong reminder that God had not only brought Israel to the Land. But also the Philistines and the Syrians !! The message being that NONE of them was given the right to unconditional permanency of possession. Only the Israelites were given the RIGHT to live in the Land, but that was specifically conditional upon adherence to living as God had instructed them. Follow me closely here. God declares that He has His eyes upon them, and unless they change their ways, He intends to remove them from the Land, but will not utterly destroy them. They are to be “sifted” as grain is sifted, yet not destroyed. For many, their disobedient arrogance will result in death (by sword at the hand of their enemies, the Assyrians in this case), because of their defiant response to the voice of the prophets, that “this calamity shall not overtake nor confront us”. (verse 10).

From verse 11, God tells Amos that the “sukkah” of David, now broken down and in desperate need of restoration, will be so restored. This is a direct reference to a future coming of Messiah. Including the return of Messiah which is still ahead of us today. There are some distinguishing characteristics of this dynasty which make it uniquely different to the first Davidic dynasty. It will be a permanent Kingdom. It will include believing Gentiles in its makeup. (the reference to Edom, gentiles, here is related to the prophetic pronouncement in Numbers 24:18)

It will herald substantial prosperity for those who are part of it. It speaks of the Messianic Kingdom. That is what is meant by the ‘plowman overtaking the reaper’ and the ‘hills flowing with sweet wine’. Our parashah concludes with a really up to the minute fulfilment of that prophecy made about 3,000 years ago. We are seeing the beginnings of that fulfilment in our time. God is calling His people back to the Land in unprecedented numbers. Not for their sake, but for His Holy Name’s sake, that the world may know that He is the Lord.

No one could possibly conclude that this is a particularly attractive time for Jews to return to Israel. Quite the opposite. Ebenezer Operation Exodus, a Christian ministry with a mission to assist Jews make Aliyah, was founded in 1991, during ‘the Gulf war’. Everyone trying to leave the Middle East as fast as they could. Gustav Scheller and his team of praying believers, answered the call of God to get into Israel at that very time, to pray there. The result, this God anointed ministry, assisting many tens, even hundreds, of thousands in the last 25 years. Jews who were desperate to escape tyrannical regimes in the former Soviet Union.

Amos couldn’t see this, but he faithfully warned the people of his day about God’s righteous judgement. And in that righteous judgement, God told of the restoration we see today. Amazing.

The word of God is precise. It is unfailing. It is challenging. Just as God warned the people of Israel to ‘get their house in order’, He is telling us today, through His word, ‘get your house in order’. The time is short. The clock of time is running down. No-one knows the timing but God Himself. It was exactly the same for the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom. We ignore the warnings of a righteous Judge at our peril.

What does the Lord require of us? “To do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God”

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   29

Torah portion           Leviticus   16 : 1  to 18 : 30

Haftarah portion     1 Samuel  20 : 18 - 42   

Listen to the Prophets

This week’s parashah is full of emotion. Lots of different emotions. You may recognize jealousy, envy, anger, pride, gentle caring, love, loyalty, and maybe more. And in each of them, we can see good and bad outcomes.

In brief, Samuel had been a good Judge over the Israelites for about 12 years. As he got older, his sons took on the role, but lacked the honour of their father. They were corrupt, took bribes and perverted the course of justice. So eventually, the people were so dismayed by the situation that they opted to have a king reign over them. Saul was chosen. Very early in his reign, Samuel, (who whilst technically no longer Judge over Israel, continued to exercise an influetial role as elder statesman) became aware of his shortcomings, and told him so. He went further and told Saul that God would choose another to replace him. That one was the youthful David, son of Jesse. At that point, the Scriptures tell us, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul.

Then David’s popularity soared, with the conquest of Goliath, and his humble attitude. King Saul, now in the grip of a ‘troubled’ spirit, sought ways to dispose of David. He offered him his daughter in marriage. He reasoned that this would afford him influence in David’s life and plotted that he could then send David into the fierce battles with the Philistines, expecting him not to survive, but he did. And that increased David’s popularity. To cap it all off, Saul’s son, Jonathan became very close friends with David. Saul was extremely angry.

But as our parashah opens this week David had just put Jonathan ‘on the spot’ to find out if it were true that his father wanted to get rid of him. In great caution, and with much wisdom, David decided to absent himself, even though he was now the king’s son-in-law, from the family meal table at the next New Moon festival, whilst he awaited confirmation from Jonathan about Saul’s attitude towards him.

The rest of the story is very well known. Firstly, Jonathan himself almost lost his life when his father, Saul, threw a spear at him. Secondly, that gave Jonathan all the confirmation he needed about his father’s state of mind towards his close friend David. Thirdly, Jonathan warned David by their agreed signal with the arrows. And our parashah ends with the tearful farewell between the two friends.

The lessons we can take from this story are about guarding our emotions, on the one hand, and letting our emotions free on the other.

The problems emerged with Saul becoming inflated with pride. His appointment as king was certainly an honour. He was anointed by Samuel, and approved by God, for the task. But it was not too long before he saw himself as leader in his own right and by his own strength.

We learn an important lesson here. When God approves us for service in His Name, it is paramount that we recognize His authority. In God appointed roles, we have NO authority other than that which He ordains. Obedience to His precepts and commandments is a vital element in maintaining His approval. In Saul’s case, he knew that God had commissioned Samuel to convey His instructions. Saul ignored those instructions, thinking that he knew a better way. His lack of control, or inability to submit his emotions to God in obedience, gave rise to fierce anger. And isn’t Satan ready to jump in and revel in that situation?

When the correction came, Saul again sought to circumvent that outcome by getting rid of the person God had clearly chosen to do His work. Modern day examples of failure of this kind are all around us. And it is all centred in personal pride. Some greatly gifted young men and women have been effectively ‘sidelined’ by pride driven older people in positions of authority within our modern day church scenarios. Shame.

On the opposite side of the ‘coin’, we see great love and loyalty exhibited. Jonathan and David had developed a great friendship. Admiration even. That was birthed, in no small measure, by Jonathan observing the ‘mighty’ acts of courage and achievement which were obvious in David’s life. But in these, Jonathan could see the way God Himself was taking care of David. He recognized the anointing of God on his friend. And Jonathan wanted to be part of that.

Now this provides another lesson. Most of us are sensitive enough to see, and know, when God is at work in a person’s life. There is an aura, a presence, which can be felt when we are in the company of a person who is walking closely with the Lord. An anointing which is palpable. Jonathan knew it. It is a characteristic which cannot be faked. And when faking is attempted, it becomes all the more obvious.

Jonathan risked his life to shield his friend David. Satan is hard at work trying to pull down those who are in God’s holy service. We should try to emulate Jonathan’s example. It is not ‘blind’ loyalty which is required, but a discerning spirit.

God grant that we too may seek His face, be faithful to His calling, and supportive of those who are doing the will of Almighty God.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   28

Torah portion              Leviticus 12 : 1  to 13 : 59

Haftarah portion      2 Kings  7 : 3 - 20   

Listen to the Prophets

We need to understand the background to this parashah.

Elisha was prophesying in Samaria, the capital city of the Northern kingdom. God had given him insight into the thoughts of the king of Syria, so that all his plans were laid open to Elisha. The city was besieged by the Syrians, and that resulted in a severe famine there. We do not know how long this siege lasted, but we do know it brought the inhabitants to a perilous state. The price of the little food which was available was astronomic. Then the king of Israel was told that some were even resorting to cannibalism. He was distraught. And he blamed Elisha for their predicament, threatening to put Elisha to death if he could find him.

Then the king of Israel uttered words which have been oft repeated by those who are ready to blame Him for everything that goes wrong in society. In paraphrase he said “What sort of God is it that brings such things on us. I cannot worship a god like that”.

Elisha knows what the king has just said, and he counters with this:- “Tomorrow,  at about this time, a seah of fine flour will sell for one shekel, and two seahs of barley for one shekel”. Cheap as chips so to speak. (it is difficult to be precise, but my research suggests that a ‘seah’ COULD be about 5 Kg.)

An officer of the king heard Elisha’s prophecy and ridiculed him. “even if it fell out of the sky it would never be that cheap”. Elisha, never shy or short of a comment, told the officer that he would see it with his own eyes, but he would not eat any of it. Another bold prophecy, since everyone was hungry.

So to the story, and the lesson, in this week’s parashah.

Four unfortunate men, stricken with leprosy, had been sent outside the gates of the city. This was strictly in accord with the Levitical law in order to prevent the spread of the disease. They were just as hungry as the people inside the walls of the city, and relied on those inside for their food. They had not eaten for some considerable time, and were obviously approaching desperation. They reasoned together. If we stay here, we die. If we go into the city, we die. If we surrender ourselves to the besieging Syrian army, they might feed us, if so, we live. If they don’t, we die. Better for us to take the one chance we have to survive. So they did.

When they arrived at the Syrian camp, it was empty of people. God had caused the Syrians to hear the sounds of a great advancing army. So they left in great haste and left everything behind. The four lepers set about eating the plenteous supply of food, and plundering the valuables. A short while into their binge, one of them stopped, called the others and said “what we are doing is not right”. The Spirit of God moved on them to see that they had found the means of survival available for the besieged city, but they were selfishly contenting themselves, and remaining silent. This was a day of good news, but they were keeping it to themselves.

An important lesson.

We might consider ourselves analogous to those lepers. We were lost, outside the camp, every option we had led to death, except one. In that analogy, the well-stocked Syrian camp, may be likened to the boundless grace of God, in Yeshua, who provided the means of our salvation. Many of us are content to ‘plunder’ the camp for all the goodies we can get, getting fatter, but not growing!  The voice of the Holy Spirit is prompting us in this parashah to consider if what we are doing is right. Should we keep this good news to ourselves, or should we, like the lepers in our parashah, go back to the city, and give them the good news that salvation is available to any who wish to step out of the starving city, and receive it.

Of course, in our story, eventually, the people heard the good news and rushed out to receive the food which was available.

The parashah ends with the confirmation of Elisha’s prophecy. In the gateway of the city, one seah of fine flour sold for one shekel, and two seahs of barley for the same. Such was the rush at the gate of the city that the king’s officer, who had been so sceptical, saw it all with his own eyes, but was trampled to death in the stampede of people.

Another important lesson.

God speaks as clearly today as He did in the days of Elisha. Often, that word comes as a still small voice, sometimes as a ‘rhema’ from the Holy Scriptures.  It could even be through a ‘reflection’ on this parashah! Occasionally it may come from a person with a prophetic gifting, but that is quite rare in our day, and we are cautioned in Scripture to test such prophets before we take notice of them. But however that word is received, it is very unwise to treat it with contempt. God’s Word will always accomplish the purpose for which it is sent.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   27

Torah portion           Leviticus `12 : 1  to 13 : 59

Haftarah portion     Ezekiel  45 : 16  to  46 :  18

Listen to the Prophets

Our parashah this week is set in the prophetic announcement of the Messianic Age Temple. Obviously not yet constructed. It presents challenges which most of us would rather not deal with! The whole vision of Ezekiel contains much detail and it is extremely difficult for us to comprehend. So we are left with a simple choice. God said it, so I believe it, OR Ezekiel got it wrong.

My conviction is that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable … etc”. Almost one fifth of Ezekiel’s message is taken up with this Temple vision. The conclusion I draw from that is the God considers it to be important.

The dilemma for many will result from teaching which has been prevalent in our churches over many years. That teaching concludes that Yeshua kept all the commandments, so a) we do not have to, and b) The “Old Testament” has been superseded by the “New Testament”. Both of those statements are demonstrably false. They do not have any foundation in the Scriptures. That teaching results from centuries of errant theology which commenced when the gentile believing community was severed from its Hebraic foundations. This has, in turn, resulted in a serious mal-nourishment regarding the Hebrew Scriptures in our churches today.

(It is somewhat ironic that the Torah portion assigned for this week’s reading deals with “uncleanness” and “leprous conditions”. What I have described above may be seen by some as analogous to both of those conditions in the church! Both conditions need to be dealt with so that healing may occur)

The parashah provides detail of the area assigned for this Holy place, the new Temple and its surrounds. It is an enormous tract of land. There is no need for me to dwell on that, other than to say that as you read the text, keep in mind that 25,000 cubits approximates to 12 Km. and 10,000 cubits would be nearly 5 Km. Those dimensions are approximate, but they provide an indication that it describes a future, rather than a former Temple district.

But then we have another dilemma. Who is “the prince”? The most obvious course is to consider that he is Messiah, and MANY commentators have made this conclusion. The main pointer being the fact that the “prince” appears to have exclusive access to the Eastern Gate of the Temple. But there are some difficulties with this conclusion. The first is immediately evident in the fact that this “prince” has only a relatively small allotment of land in the millennial kingdom. In Psalm 2 we read that “I have set My Kingdom My holy hill of Zion”. That is consistent with our universal belief that Yeshua will return to this earth to “rule and reign” in Jerusalem. The whole kingdom is His. In fact, the whole earth is His. So this apportionment of a quite large tract of land, which is in fact relatively small in relation to the whole, surely cannot be that of the King. One day we will know!!! I am not inclined to make this a point of dispute, but it is interesting.

The next issue which causes concern are the detailed instructions regarding the sacrificial system, no longer functioning today because there is no Temple in Jerusalem, which is evidently revived when the Temple described by Ezekiel is constructed.

Commentators are again divided on this. Why would there be a sacrificial system when the Messiah is reigning in Jerusalem? The answer is twofold. The first is fact. God has declared it in this word to Ezekiel. The second is speculative. They will be as a memorial to the finished work of Messiah.

Before we write off this second supposition, we should remember that when Yeshua shared His last Pesach seder with His disciples He instituted a memorial of that occasion. That memorial is called “Communion” or other names depending on the teaching of a particular Christian denomination. That memorial also varies in frequency in different congregations. My reading of the Scriptures cause me to see it as an annual memorial at Pesach. So the principle of memorial acts of celebration is not new. 

It is also worthy of note that there were several types of sacrifices, and none of them were for removal of sin, which is the unique characteristic of the sacrificial offering made by Yeshua. The Mosaic sacrificial system was introduced to allow the offeror to “draw near” to God. To recognize the ‘holiness’ of God, and to appreciate His unique status in their lives.

This parashah has probably raised more questions than answers. My ‘reflection’ on it has caused me to think more deeply, and to appreciate the wonder and majesty of Almighty God. I know He does all things well. My trust is in Him.

May the Lord provide insight into this Scripture, share it with someone and you will both be blessed.

Shabbat Shalom

RS