Zion's Voice

Haftarah Reflections   39

Torah portion           Numbers 19 : 1 to 22 : 1

Haftarah portion     Judges 11 : 1 - 33

Listen to the Prophets

Imagine, if you can, the period of time from the days of Martin Luther to today. Think of some of the amazing things that have happened in those years. Then try to imagine what might be included in an abbreviated history of that period. You may be sure that everything which would be included was both momentous and important.

After the Israelites began to occupy the Land of Promise, they were led by a succession of people who were known as “judges”, righteous living, honourable people, who feared God and kept His statutes. In all, the books of Joshua, Judges and the first part of 1 Samuel, occupy a time frame of about 450 years (approximately the same time as from Martin Luther to today). They recount illuminating events of history, and they are there for our example and edification. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. (1 Timothy 3:16).

So as we look at the haftarah parashah today, be assured that this unusual story has important lessons for us to learn.

Jephthah was an outcast. His family resided in Gilead. This was what we today know as Jordan, just to the south of Syria. The circumstances of Jephthah’s birth, caused angst with his half-brothers, and even though Jephthah is described as a ‘mighty man of valour’, (read pretty tough) he chose to leave the family home rather than continue a squabble with his siblings.

He moved to the “land of Tob” (no-one knows the precise location of Tob, but it must have been close to a trade route and not very far from Gilead). There he befriended some “worthless men” and headed up a gang of thieves (bandits). We also know from later revelation in our parashah, that he had a degree of familiarity with the Ammonites (next door neighbours to the Gileadites).

For what seems the umpteenth time, the Israelites again lost sight of the covenant they had made with Almighty God and were serving the gods of the Baals and Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and Philistines. And for that, they paid a terrible price.

God has allowed each of us the opportunity to serve Him, but always under His conditions. He also allows us to exercise ‘freewill’ to go our own way, and we often do, just like the Israelites in our parashah. The lesson from this story of Jephthah is that there is a price to pay. In their case, they were harassed by the Ammonites for another eighteen years. Left to their own devices they floundered, had trouble they couldn’t even imagine, until they again turned back to the Lord for help.

We may all have a personal story to recount of times when, having started out with good resolve to live righteously, we turned our back on God, at first slowly, a bit at a time, a compromise here, a compromise there, and before we knew it we were living in a ‘different kingdom’.

There is no doubting that God was angry with the Israelites. And yet, His mercy towards them knows no bounds. That, my dear friends is the nature and character of the God we serve. Do you remember the old hymn we used to sing:-

“His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men,
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.”

That hymn speaks of the love of God towards us who believe. But it doesn’t stop God’s disappointment and even anger at our behaviour when we forget the promises we made when we came to faith in Him.

Jephthah was invited back from his life of crime to lead the people against the Ammonites. He tried to reason with them. He tried to appeal to their sense of fairness. Nothing influenced a change in their behaviour towards the Israelites. We are not told what sort of an army Jephthah assembled, but we do know that the Spirit of God was with him, and the army of the Ammonites was defeated.

But even that is not the end of the story.

Jephthah made a promise to God. Read the account for yourself in (Judges 11: 30-35). It is very difficult for us to understand that part of the story, but the vow was made by Jephthah, not by God. Because he was a man of honour he kept his word.

One more ‘reflection’ regarding Jephthah. Read again the beginning of our parashah. What an unlikely person God used to rescue His chosen ones from unfaithfulness and chaos. Does it occur to you, as it does to me, that if God is able to use an outcast who gave his life to crime, He can use anyone He chooses. You see “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart”.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   38

Torah portion           Numbers 16 : 1 to 18 : 32

Haftarah portion     1 Samuel 11 : 14 to 12 : 22

Listen to the Prophets

The faithful and righteous Samuel, prophet and judge of Israel, had succeeded Samson, the last of 12 judges, beginning with Othniel, who had ruled over Israel for more than 300 years.

In that time the people were first faithful to their promises to God, but then inevitably slipped into worship of other gods, got into serious trouble with their neighbours, became remorseful, called out to God for help, and invariably God responded by raising up another faithful “Judge” to lead them. After the death of Samson, the scriptures tell us that “there was no ‘king’ (leader) in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17: 6)

That was before God raised up leadership under Eli, followed by the very young Samuel as their leader.

But as we look at our Haftarah parashah this week we discover that time has moved on and Samuel is now in advanced years. His sons, who might have been his natural successors, did not follow the Lord and were not considered suitable for leadership. The people wanted leadership security for the future. They observed that all the Nations around them had kings to lead them, and thus they decided that it would be best for them to have a king also.

It is a measure of Samuel’s standing before Almighty God that he was able to have dialogue with the Lord about the matter. God assured Samuel that he was not the problem, but the people were rejecting His authority. Most disappointing. (Read 1 Samuel 8:4-22 for the account of that conversation).

Eventually, Saul, a strong man, and something of a bully (1 Samuel 11:7) was made king. But the authority was still with Samuel, so he called an assembly of the people in Gilgal. This was the place, just north of Jericho, where the people first camped when they entered the land under Joshua’s leadership. It seems as though Samuel was saying “You have rejected the leading of the Lord in His appointment of leaders, so now we will go back to where it all started and you can try it your way”.

But Samuel had a few words of introduction to make! His speech called for a response from the people regarding his own leadership over many years. He challenged them to point out his failings as a leader, which they could not of course. His challenge, and their truthful observation about his leadership then enabled Samuel to give them a lesson about God’s faithful dealings with them over many hundreds of years. He reminded them that in spite of centuries of unfaithfulness, God had always protected them and delivered them from the hands of their enemies. The culmination of his speech about God’s faithfulness came when he told them (1 Samuel 12:12) that even though they seemed unable to recognize it, they had a King reigning over them all the time, and that was YHWH Elohim. Samuel had one final point to make. It is here that we might draw our lesson for today from this passage.

It may seem repetitious, and that is because it is, that Samuel assured them that in spite of their stubborn choice in asking for an earthly king for themselves, they could still find favour with God. But there was a condition attached. (see 1 Samuel 12: 14 and 24)

“If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God”

“Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you”.

It is unlikely that we would ask for an earthly king to reign over us, but there are plenty of other ways we have of rebelling against the commandment of the LORD. We are also pretty good at looking at the blessings offered to us in the Word of God, and thanking Him for them. BUT do we ever consider that there may be conditions attached to God’s promise of blessing?

How many times do we hear it today that “Jesus kept all the commandments, so we don’t have to, because we are ‘in Him’?

What a cop out that is. Didn’t Jesus tell us in John 14:15 “IF you love Me, you will keep My commandments”? Isn’t it Jesus who is the WORD, who was in the beginning with God?  Can we not see that the very commandments which were spoken to Moses on the mountain were spoken by HIM who is the WORD? They have never been annulled.

We worship a God who does not change. His dealings with the Israelites are written for our edification and example. There were plenty of gods to worship in the days of the prophets, and there are plenty of gods today, (and plenty of kings to follow too) BUT there is NO other God besides Him.    He is worthy of our praise, and He is worthy of our obedience.  Blessed be His Name.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   37

Torah portion           Numbers 13 : 1 to 15 : 41

Haftarah portion     Joshua 2 : 1 - 24

Listen to the Prophets

High tension! Excitement, apprehension, curiosity, emotion, fear. Forty years of wilderness wanderings and now the Israelites were camped on the East of the Jordan River. They could see the land on the other side. The time had come for them to enter the Land promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. But Joshua, a competent and careful leader, decided to carry out one final reconnoitre of the territory before they crossed the river. Two of his trusted aides were sent to secretly spy out the land, especially the nearby city of Jericho. They chose the house of Rahab as their base. Surely they would not arouse any suspicion since Rahab, because of her lifestyle, probably had a motley variety of visitors to her house.  But they were wrong.

Someone had not only seen their arrival and deduced their origins, but carefully noted where they were lodging and reported the whole plan to the king of Jericho. End of mission! Or was it?

Rahab is probably the least likely person we might have chosen to be a part of God’s master plan. But God’s ways are not our ways. Much later, God would choose the great, great grandson of Rahab to be King of Israel. And of him it was written “man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart”.

Look at some of the quotes in our Bible about Rahab.

“And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father's household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”  Joshua 6:23

“Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David, the king”.  Matthew 1:5,6

“By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”  Hebrews 11:31

“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” James 2:25

Rahab, looked down upon by ‘normal’ society, certainly not one to be invited to one’s home for dinner. And yet used by God in the lineage of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. Mentioned amongst the ‘giants’ of faith in Hebrews 11. And in James Epistle, justified by an act of “works”!! She did something which demonstrated her faith.

Obviously, Rahab was a woman of some perception. She had heard, as had everyone else, about the mighty act of God when He parted the Red Sea to facilitate the salvation of the Israelites from the hand of Pharoah. She had heard, as had everyone else, about the fate of Amorite king, Sihon, and of Og, king of Bashan, who had vainly attempted to hinder the passage of the Israelites on their journey (through the land we know today as Jordan).  So Rahab made a bold decision. A decision which saved her own life and that of her entire family. In effect she said “As for me and my house, we will be on the side of the Lord God of Israel” (my paraphrase).

Rahab took advantage of the revelation she had regarding those who opposed Israel, and those who joined them. It sounds rather ‘matter of fact’, but in effect that is what she did, as the Apostle James tells it.

So here is the lesson for us today. We have a Bible which tells us of God’s dealings with His people. There are stories galore of the miraculous events which brought those Israelites out of bondage in Egypt into a Land of their own. We might say that in a country such as ours, “everyone has heard it”. But not everyone is a “Rahab”. There are those who believe, and there are those who oppose. Even within the body of today’s church.

Many of the prophets we are ‘reflecting’ upon foretold the regathering of the Jews to their Land. An event we see taking place before our eyes today. That is practical. It is happening, and in increasing numbers. This is just one of the signs we are given which heralds the coming return of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.

 At the end of the Book, Joshua issues a challenge to the people under his command. It is worthy of our attention. “ … choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve …. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”

Shabbat Shalom

RS

 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