Zion's Voice

Haftarah Reflections   26

Torah portion           Leviticus 9 : 1  to 11 : 47

Haftarah portion     Ezekiel  36 : 16 - 38  

Listen to the Prophets

What a start to this week’s haftarah.

YHWH Elohim is telling Ezekiel that Israel behaved abominably when they were presented with the privilege of having a Land to call their own. God had pleaded with the Israelites to live righteously, with each other, and before Him, so that their example would be a ‘light to the nations around them’. Instead, God saw that their behaviour was outrageously bad. He describes it as like a discarded menstrual pad. Isaiah has a similar description of ‘all our righteousness’.  His use of the term ‘filthy rags’ in Isaiah 64 is precisely the same as that here in Ezekiel.

So God has given Ezekiel the reason why He chose to disperse the Judeans, which in Ezekiel’ day was to Babylon, where he himself was exiled. But the language of this message suggests that it is much broader in scope than just Babylon. The text indicates that the dispersion was to many nations. Our knowledge of history tells us that this is prophetic of another dispersion which took place about 750 years later, when the Romans expelled the Jews from the Land entirely in bout 134 C.E.

What follows is one of the most illuminating passages of Scripture, declaring the unfailing love God has for the Jewish people, and the reasons why He is restoring them to the Land, in spite of their many failings.

The predication is that the nations to which they were scattered would be somewhat puzzled by the fact that, even though they hold to their faith as Jews, they have been exiled from the Land. Our text tells us that God is vitally concerned that this amounts to a profanity to His Name. So, in the fullness of time, He has chosen to restore the Jews to their Land.

This is a great mystery to those in our churches who adhere to a doctrine known as “Replacement Theology”. It is a doctrine which sees the ‘church’ as having replaced Israel as God’s chosen ones. A brand new ‘special treasure’ if you will.

There are many places in the Scriptures which demonstrate this doctrine to be false. But none so clear as this haftarah parashah today. God clearly says that it is ‘not for their sakes’ that they are being restored to the Land, but “for MY holy Name’s sake”. Why is that important? That the world may know that I am the LORD. When will the world see that? When they see that YHWH Elohim is “hallowed” in you (Israel) before their eyes.

“Hallowed” means to respect, revere, honour as holy, consecrate.

We see the Jews returning to Israel in increasing numbers this very day. But the vast majority of those making ‘aliyah’ are secular Jews. They are returning to the Land in unbelief. But they are returning.

Now here is the prophetic message for us as we study this parashah. It is spelled out very clearly.

The plan of God for man is unfolding before our eyes. Be excited about it. Understand it. Get on board with it. Play your part in it. (The ministry of Zion’s Voice is literally “up to its neck” in supporting this move of God both by prayer, and financially.)

And this is the really exciting part.

When God’s timing is right, He “will sprinkle clean water on them” and “they will be cleansed of all their filthiness and idolatry”. And finally He says “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you”. At which time “I will cause you to walk in My statutes and you WILL keep My judgements and do them”.

My dear friends, this is the time when God will make that NEW COVENANT with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. The prophet Ezekiel is showing us that God is taking the Jews back to the Land so that He can enter into that covenant which they will NOT BE ABLE TO BREAK. Jeremiah said it, the writer to the Hebrews restated it, and Ezekiel is confirming it.

I would like to suggest that all who read this ‘reflection’ take time to read the parashah again. Marvel at the fact that we are seeing prophecy unfold before us, and determine to participate in God’s plan for Israel, by prayer, and by financially supporting those ministries which are front and centre in harmony with this prophecy.

Finally, as God leads us, let us be bold to speak. Let us be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. And, if I am correct in my ‘reflection’ on this parashah, we have found all the reason we need.

To His great Name be the glory.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   25

Torah portion           Leviticus 6 : 8  to 8 : 36

Haftarah portion     Jeremiah  7 : 21  to 8 : 3 and 9 : 22,23  

Listen to the Prophets

As we open the parashah this week we immediately become conscious of the anger of God towards the Israelites of Jeremiah’s day. The tone of this discourse is set by the words at the beginning of this chapter which precede this reading. God is telling Jeremiah that he should continue his warnings of judgement, but that the people would not listen. How sad and discouraging. But the faithful Jeremiah spoke anyway.

The corresponding Torah reading this week concerns the instructions regarding the various sacrificial offerings and the anointing of the High priest to accept such offerings.

To paraphrase this haftarah portion, God was saying, “When I brought you out of Egypt (and that was hundreds of years earlier), I didn’t demand that you make sacrifices, I wanted you to obey My voice, to live in harmony with Me, to be My people”.  Of course, God did introduce the sacrificial system of drawing close to Himself in Moses day, but by their wanton disobedience they were now seemingly making a mockery of those sacrifices. So God says “don’t offer them to Me, eat them yourselves”.

The whole tone is one of deep disappointment. Frustration even. Over the centuries, God had sent warning after warning through His servants, the prophets, the judges, and the kings. Still the people were “doing that which was right in their own eyes”

As I read this message, and a timely one it is, I think that very little has changed. Aren’t the same things happening today? Everyone apparently doing that which is right in their own eyes. It may even be considered worse, because in addition to the verbal warnings of the prophets to the people, today we also have the written record of all that God had taught the people who are called by His Name. If God was frustrated with them, how much more with those of us who this day take little or no heed to His word. Then heap blame upon Him for all that is wrong in our world.

When God promised Abraham that He would provide a land in which his offspring would live, it was so that those people would be a “light to the nations around them”. Furthermore God told them that the reason why the Canaanites were to be dispossessed of the land was because of their abominations, which included human sacrifice, gross sexual misconduct and lewd living. Hadn’t He even provided a solemn warning in the days of Lot, when, for the same reasons, He had completely destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah? And now, Jeremiah is confronted with the same issues amongst his own people.

The Hinnom Valley, identified today approximately running from the Jaffa Gate, the Sultan’s Pool and joins the southern edge of the Kidron Valley, had a horrific history. Our text tells us that it would be known as the “Field of Slaughter”. It is the place where Judas Iscariot is said to have purchased a burial field with the ‘thirty pieces of silver’, and was well named the ‘field of blood’. It is a real place. It is not mythical. Here, was a place of sacrifice to Molech, where parents offered their children to be burned in the fire. Dreadful atrocities. It was here that some of the Israelites joined in this barbarous practice. This is the burden of Jeremiah’s task of warning in this parashah.

I also see a connection here with events still future to us. In Revelation 19 we read about the time when God will call the peoples of the nations to account. It will be a time of unspeakable slaughter as nations join in conflict with Israel. It is a time when the angel of God will call the birds to feast on the remains of those killed in the battle.(just as our reading this week declares) It hardly bears thinking about, but such will be the wrath of God on those who seek to destroy Israel in the last days.

But that is in the future. What about today.

Jeremiah’s message was prophetic of what would happen when the people continued in disobedience and idolatry. It did not have to be so. There was always the option of walking uprightly before the Lord. In all its history, there were times of great blessing for the Israelites as they walked obediently before God. Invariably, they were times when they had an upright and honourable leader. Not all leaders were honourable and the people suffered as a result.

Now here is the good news.

In His infinite love and grace towards us, God has provided the perfect leader for us today. His Name is Yeshua. The way has been made plain. The atoning sacrifice He made is complete. All that remains is our resolve to follow Him. To walk in obedience to His commandments. It is not “doing what is right in our own eyes”.

Just like the people in our parashah, we are presented with a choice between life and death. Choose life.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   24

Torah portion           Leviticus 1 : 1  to 6 : 7

Haftarah portion     1 Samuel  15 : 2  -  34

Listen to the Prophets

But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

This week we see the judgement of God in action. We are familiar with the ‘love’ aspect of God’s character, which even the world recognizes, and with which we readily identify. We are less able to fully understand the righteousness of God which is expressed in our parashah today. That is God, the righteous judge. But it is important that we do.

The Amalekites were a nomadic people. They take their name from Amalek, a grandson of Esau. They had a history of enmity towards Israel. They were a people which chose to harass the vulnerable Children of Israel when they first left Egypt, The Israelites were vulnerable because they were in a desert place, water was scarce, and they pined for the security they knew in Egypt, even though they were in slavery there.

At the place where Moses struck the rock at Horeb, Amalek came and fought with the Israelites. The story is well known. As Aaron and Hur held Moses arms high, the Israelites prevailed, and when Moses arms lowered in fatigue, Amalek prevailed. In the end Amalek was defeated. Moses there declared that God was “Jehovah Nissi” (The Lord is my banner). 

But God said two things to Moses. Firstly, that ‘there would be war with Amalek from generation to generation’.  Secondly, that He would ‘utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven’.  The Amalekites joined in with Midianites, Moabites, Hittites, Edomites, you name it, anyone who had a battle with Israel. But here, in our parashah today, God said “enough is enough”.

Samuel called Saul, the recently anointed king of Israel, and told him that he was to take an army and ‘blot out’ the Amalekites. Everything. Let nothing remain. Saul assembled a large army of over 200,000 foot soldiers, and struck them. They were chased across the length of their territory, which was at that time part of Edom. Many thousands died in that pursuit, But Saul saw that there were good flocks of sheep and cattle. He could not resist the temptation. The weak ones were killed, but the good stock he decided to take back as booty. And for reasons that only Saul would know, maybe as an act of bravado, or gloating, or pride, he took the Amalekite king, Agag, captive too. Triumphantly, he trooped back with his booty. Up to the north of the country, Carmel, where he set up a monument to himself, then back east to Gilgal. A march of triumph and boasting.

But Samuel was in intimate communion with the Lord, who told Samuel that He regretted making Saul king. The whole episode was revealed to Samuel. He was distraught. All night long he cried out to the Lord. By morning he knew what to do.

He went to see Saul, who immediately put on a cheerful greeting and declared that he had done all that was asked of him. (There is a sequel to this story in the Book of Esther, which is recalled every year at the Jewish festival of Purim. The wicked Haman, who plotted the annihilation of the Jews, was an Agagite, so clearly, the commission Saul was given was not completed as instructed.) Then Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

The rest of the story you may read for yourself. It is quite graphic in its description of events, and part of the story contains a damning description of what had happened in Saul’s life. (1 Samuel 15: 17-19)

But we need to see the lesson here for ourselves today.

Most of us are delighted to receive the call of God on our lives. As in the parashah today, because of our gifting and experience, many are called upon to carry out specific work in God’s Name, which only they can do. It is also the case, that not everyone completes the task. ‘Things’ get in the way. In Saul’s case it was arrogance and pride. But there are many other pitfalls for the unwary.

In fact, we may be sure that all who come to faith in Yeshua are called to service. Many of us appear not to understand what that calling requires. Consequently there are tasks that are not completed. In simple terms it is our responsibility to seek the Lord on that. Dare I suggest that sometimes it may be as plain as "letting our light so shine before men that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father in Heaven”. The prophet Micah gave us another guide. “to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God”. King Saul was in no such doubt, but he failed the test. What a tragedy it would be, when called to account, thinking that we have completed our mission to hear the words “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”

We will receive God’s blessing as we seek to do His will for us.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   23

Torah portion           Exodus 38 : 21  to 40 : 38

Haftarah portion     1 Kings  7 : 51 to 8 : 21

Listen to the Prophets

“So all the work that King Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished ..” But it was empty.

Solomon had put his very best into the work, He had recruited about 200,000 workers to carry out the various tasks required. It had taken about 7 years. All that work brought prosperity … for a lot of people … for a long time. (He also spent another 13 years building a home for himself with a separate place for his Egyptian wife). And so the House of the Lord stood, dominant, resplendent, magnificent, and beautiful, in its place of honour in Jerusalem. The place chosen by God Himself. Solomon called all the Elders of the people to witness the furnishing of the Temple. The priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and Levites brought the other special furnishings, which had previously adorned the Tabernacle, into the new Temple. It was ready for service. But it was still empty.

The joy of the people was expressed in their sacrificial giving. Everything seemed in order. Sheep and Oxen, countless in number, all without blemish, being brought as an offering to the Lord in the place He Himself had chosen.

The Temple had an outer court, the court of the Gentiles. There was then a barrier (in Scripture called the ‘middle wall of partition’) beyond which only Jews were allowed. Within this space, and up a flight of twelve steps we find the most important building. Before it was the Court of Women, beyond which was the place where gifts and sacrifices were made to the Lord. Then came the Court of the Priests with its great Altar of Sacrifice and the Bronze Laver for the ceremonial washing of the Priests. Then a porch leading to The Holy Place. It contained the Altar of Incense, the Table of Showbread, the Seven Branched Golden Lampstand and a beautiful embroidered curtain. The curtain divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, 9 metres x 9 metres and 18 metres high. Here rested the Ark of the Covenant containing the Tablets of stone given by God to Moses about 500 years earlier. What an impressive scene. Try to picture it if you can.

Then see the Priests bringing the Ark into the building, carefully placing the Ark inside the Holy of Holies, reverently backing out, through the curtain, through the Holy Place and into the Court of the Priests. Suddenly, without warning, the Shekinah of God filled the Place.

No longer empty, but filled with the very presence of YHWH ELOHIM.

The Priests were in amazement. They could no longer carry on with their tasks. The whole place was filled with the Glory of God.

What a picture.

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 3:16 declares that ‘we are the temple of God’. In Ephesians 2 he says that we are ‘being built together for a dwelling place of God’. It may be extremely difficult to see a comparison between that magnificent structure which King Solomon built, and that which we see when we look into a mirror! But, other than shape, size and appearance, there is actually no difference when we look to the purpose for which each was made. On their own, both are empty. It is when the Shekinah of God comes and dwells within them that they become the same.

In our parashah, when the Shekinah of God came into the Temple, ‘the glory of the Lord filled the House’. There was an immediate difference. It showed. The whole character of the place was changed. Everyone could see it, sense it, and experience it. It was an overwhelming, overcoming experience for those who witnessed it.

So here is both the lesson, and the challenge for us. There is actually one significant difference between the Temple of Solomon we have reflected on in our parashah, and the Temple which we are as individuals. In the Temple which we are, the presence of God requires an invitation. In His infinite love towards us, God has given us a choice, a free will if you like. But when God is in that Temple, there will be a difference. His presence will be seen. Others will notice.

What then is the evidence of God’s presence?

Simply put, we enter a different kingdom. We voluntarily move from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Light. We place ourselves under a different authority. As the Apostle Paul said to the Romans, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law (i.e. the law of sin and death) but under grace.” When the power of sin is broken, we will speak, act, and live differently. If that is not in evidence in our lives, a spiritual check-up would appear to be in order.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   22

Torah portion           Exodus 35 : 1  to 38 : 20

Haftarah portion     2 Kings  11 : 21 to 12 : 16

Listen to the Prophets

This week we look at some events in the life of King Joash, but we need a bit of background to appreciate what he did.

The infamous Jezebel had a daughter named Athaliah. She is described in 2 Chronicles 24:7 as ‘that wicked woman’, and so she was. During her time of influence she completely corrupted the Temple worship, even selling or donating the holy articles of the Temple to the Baals. When her son, king Ahaziah died, she then arranged to have all the royal heirs (her own grandchildren) killed off. As a result, she ruled in her son’s place. The only woman to be ruler of Judah. However, unbeknown to Athaliah, one of her daughters (or maybe step daughter), the wife of the High Priest Jehoiada managed to save the life of one of the grandchildren, the young, one year old baby Joash. She kept him hidden for about six years in the Temple accommodation. So our parashah begins with the succession to the throne of the seven year old Joash (also called Jehoash). He reigned in Judah for 40 years, and, in his very early years, under the Godly tutelage of Jehoiada.

Judah was ruled by 20 kings. Of those, only 8 are described in the Scriptures as ‘good’ kings. That is ‘they did what was right in the sight of the Lord’. Joash, as a young man, whilst under the instruction of the High Priest Jehoida, was a ‘good’ king.

However, due to the laxity of earlier generations of Israelites, and because earlier kings had not all been ‘good’, there were still many ‘high places’ of worship to Baal which still stood. They had not been destroyed as God had instructed in Deuteronomy 12: 1-4.

One consequence of their laxity was evidenced in the Temple.  Joash became aware that the magnificent Temple which Solomon had constructed, had not been properly maintained. It was in a poor state of repair. So Joash instituted a ‘building fund’ out of various gifts and taxes which the people payed into the Temple treasury. (We are not told the specific date, but it is fair to assume that this order was given whilst Joash was still very young and under the influence of Jehoida). Joash became king at age 7, and when he was 30 years old he discovered that the repair work had still not been carried out.

Evidently, the priests were not as honourable as we might have expected them to be. They had taken the money, but used it for their own purposes rather than the purpose for which it was provided to them.

(I sometimes wonder how the many televangelists and megachurch leaders today managed to become so obscenely wealthy!)

Anyway, the income flow to these priests was stopped. At the same time they refused to carry out the repair work. So Jehoida devised a scheme to put a large wooden box near the place where the people entered the Temple to present their offerings. A hole was cut in the top of the box to receive the money gifts, and it was periodically emptied by the king’s scribe and the High Priest and used to pay the artisans directly.

There is a most interesting comment, 2 Kings 12:15, which tells us that there was no requirement for an account from these workmen because they ‘dealt faithfully’.  The contrast appears to be that the priests originally tasked with the work had not ‘dealt faithfully’. Great testimony of these workmen.

So that is the story. What is our lesson?

Firstly, this whole episode arose because of the initial laxity by the Israelites in treating God’s instruction with contempt. The laxity at the beginning grew into habit and practice in succeeding generations. From time to time, God raised up men like Joash to call the people to account. Today, God is calling people within the gentile community of believers to remind us that His standards remain. He has not changed. His Torah has not changed. And one future day, that same Torah will be engraved on our heart so that it can no longer be broken, as it has been down through the ages. Have we developed habits and practices which are not biblical?

Secondly, God has not, and will not, give up on His people. His mercy and love cause Him to remain faithful to His covenant promises. Today we are privileged to participate in those promises through faith in Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. God is meticulously fulfilling His plan for mankind. He delights to use us in His service. But if we choose not to participate, or try to cheat, like the priests in our parashah did, God finds a way to get His work done without us. In that case, we are the losers.

There were ‘good’ kings and there were ‘bad’ kings. God used them all to further His plans. He still does today. We have a choice. Moses once asked the people “whoever is on the Lord’s side ... come to me”. The Levites answered the call and God used them in a very special task.

The call may still be heard. There is still much work to be accomplished.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   21

Torah portion           Exodus 30 : 11  to 34 : 35

Haftarah portion     1 Kings  18 : 1 - 39

Listen to the Prophets

The Sunday School teacher’s favourite story this week! Well, one of them.

After the death of King Solomon, the nation was divided, the North known as Israel, capital Samaria, and the South known as Judah, capital Jerusalem. There were 19 kings of Israel after Solomon. The Bible describes the whole lot of them as “bad kings”. Not a ‘good’ king amongst them. They did not worship in the appointed place (Jerusalem) and neither did they follow the commandments of Torah. King Ahab was the seventh of these kings, and he reigned for 22 years. The Bible says he was the worst of all. He led the people in the worship of the Baals and the Ashtoreths. His wife was the infamous Jezebel.

Elijah lived at this time, and he had plenty of run-ins with both Jezebel and Ahab. Because Ahab was so deliberate in his wilful denial of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and because he was leading the people in his rebellious worship of ‘strange gods’, Elijah, at God’s direction, pronounced to Ahab that there would be no rain in the land until he, Elijah, commanded rain. Three years later, our parashah this week picks up the story, by which time, the land was in serious drought.

It is evident in the text that Ahab had searched high and low to find Elijah. Had he done so he would undoubtedly ended Elijah’s life. But God had now determined that it was time for the rain to return. So Elijah was told by God to present himself before Ahab and make the announcement that rain was coming. Of course there was much more to happen, but the end result would be the return of the rain.

There are at least a dozen men called Obadiah in our Scriptures. The one mentioned in our text is not the prophet. He was a faithful servant of the Lord who served in Ahab’s court. Evidently, when king Ahab was in his most severe wrath because of Elijah’s pronouncement about the rain, he thrashed about at anyone who might be identified with Elijah. Obadiah made himself responsible for hiding 100 of these men in caves, and he fed them too.

Elijah sought him out and asked him to inform Ahab that he was ready to meet with him. Poor Obadiah was petrified. He thought that Elijah might not show up, and Ahab would take vengeance on him for misinforming him that Elijah was there.

What follows is the famous encounter, on Mount Carmel, with the 400 prophets of Baal. The story is so very well known, most can recall the fine detail! Perhaps less remembered is what happened to Elijah after that amazing demonstration of the power of Almighty God. He warned Ahab that the rain was coming and that he should get in his chariot and get out of there whilst he could. Ahab went home to Jezreel. Elijah, in the meantime, outran the chariot and got there first.

Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, made curses and death threats against Elijah, so much so, that Elijah feared for his own life and ran away. Continue reading into the next chapter to get the end of the story!

Now the lessons for us in this passage.

Comparisons with Elijah would be presumptuous. He is a giant of a man before God. He is one of only two men in the Scriptures who did not see death as we see it. (Enoch was the other). His name is linked with Moses. It was Elijah, with Moses, who stood on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17. It is Elijah who will herald the return of the Lord Yeshua.  So with that said, we know that Elijah was a human being, just like we are. He made choices to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he did so with all his might. He committed himself to do whatever the Lord our God commanded. And, as our parashah today clearly indicates, it was not always easy. In fact, it was downright dangerous and frightening some of the time. But God used him. God blessed him. God took care of him.

Some words spoken to Solomon come to mind.

 "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

Few are called upon to acts of heroism and valour, as was Elijah, but there are many other instances of service used in the Lord’s Name. Dare I say it. The only thing the Lord seeks in us is that “loyal heart and willing mind”. He will do the rest according to His mighty power and His perfect plan.

Ask Him and He will show you what to do.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   20

Torah portion           Exodus 27 : 20  to 30 : 10

Haftarah portion     Ezekiel  43 : 10 - 27 

Listen to the Prophets

Of all the matters God entrusted to Ezekiel, this prophetic vision and announcement about the building of a Temple is one of the most significant. But it is also the cause of some debate amongst theologians, because it is about a Temple which, even in our day, has not been built. Ezekiel’s vision of this Temple is remarkable. He spends about one fifth of his prophetic pronouncements on this topic.

Ezekiel was in Babylonian captivity as he wrote this prophecy. Earlier, in Ezekiel 33, we were told that Ezekiel was made aware of the destruction of Jerusalem. This would surely have been devastating news to all those who were in captivity. It marked, for them a kind of finality to their life in the Land of promise. The Temple was the place of residence of YHWH Elohim. The Temple was the very centre of their society. It was the ‘rock’ on which their nationhood was built. And now it was gone.

In spite of the importance of their Temple, as a people they had not valued, as they should, the ordinances, precepts and commandments which had clearly been conveyed to them as a pre-requisite of occupation of the Land. So they found themselves languishing in Babylon. Tragic.

God’s instruction to Ezekiel, to describe the Temple to the people, was designed to make the Israelites ashamed that they had put such little value on it. Moreover, Ezekiel was told to describe the plan of the Temple in some detail. Minute detail about its design and the ordinances which were to take place within it, that they should never forget them.

But as we read these details, and compare them to the details of the Tabernacle furniture which God gave to Moses in Exodus 27, which Solomon would have used in the building of the Temple, now destroyed, we find subtle differences. It is in these differences that we see that what God is describing is a Temple which, as yet, has not been built.

So here is the lesson for us.

If the Temple which Ezekiel describes has not yet been built, that can mean only one of two things. The first is that Ezekiel got it wrong! That he spoke presumptuously. And if that is the case, the Scriptures tell us to disregard everything he says. Or in the language of the Bible “do not fear him”. The second meaning is that Ezekiel got it right. Which is what I believe. That being the case, it is awaiting the right time for its construction.

This provides a huge dilemma for those who teach that the covenant which God made with Moses is obsolete. Because with that, also go the ordinances which took place in the Temple, and which are described great in detail in this vision of Ezekiel. So, if Temple worship was relevant in Moses day and after it, up to about 40 years after the death and resurrection of Yeshua. And will be restored in the future, according to this prophecy of Ezekiel, we need to be cautious about our attitude to the Mosaic covenant.

Some will say “hold on a minute”. The Temple was partially restored when Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Israel about 40 years after this prophecy. Josephus Flavius also informs us that it was enlarged, on a grand scale, by Herod the Great, a few hundred years later still. All that is true. But Ezekiel also tells us (Ezekiel 36:24) that these events will take place when the Jews return from their exile “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land”.  That is not just from Babylon. And this event has only happened on any scale at all in the last 100 years, and is gathering pace in our day. So the Temple of which Ezekiel writes is still unbuilt. But it will be.

But the really good news is in the effect of this prophecy on the captives in Babylon. From utter despair at their plight in Babylon, God restores their hope. The descriptions are familiar to them. This is how they were taught to ‘draw near’ to YHWH Elohim. By offering sacrifices to Him. Ezekiel’s prophetic writing says that it is to be renewed, and everything here points to that being in the millennial reign of Yeshua.

There is an enormous challenge to the gentile believer in this parashah. Could it be possible that the sacrificial system is to be restored? Haven’t we been taught that the sacrificial death of Yeshua is final? Well, unlikely as it may seem, that is exactly what Ezekiel is saying.

At this point I need to make a declaration. I did not write this parashah. I am a reader of it, just like everyone else, and I ‘reflect’ upon it.

Finally, for me, the important message is this. Regardless of what I may think, God is God. He is the ultimate authority, and He will choose how He is to be worshipped and praised. My role is to be obedient to Him, in all the circumstances of the future.

On that happy note, we conclude this very challenging parashah.

Ponder, study, reflect, and obey. You will receive truth and blessing.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   19

Torah portion           Exodus 25 : 1  to 27 : 19

Haftarah portion     1 Kings  5 : 12  to 6 : 13

Listen to the Prophets

King Solomon builds the temple of the Lord. That bald statement does not do justice to the effort made by the tens of thousands of people who were involved.

As our parashah opens, it looks as though King Solomon was the inventor of the ‘fly in fly out’ workforce we see in our large remote mining towns in Australia today. Ten thousand workers at a time, one month away in a foreign country, then two months back home. A staggering organizational task. Thirty thousand workers involved in that part of the programme.  Plus another eighty thousand quarrymen, and seventy thousand labourers. Amazing.

Those who have visited Jerusalem and walked through the excavated tunnel adjacent to the Kotel, and have seen the size of those foundation blocks of stone, (1 Kings 5:17) would agree that they are in themselves quite remarkable. Taking into account that they were quarried about three thousand years ago makes it even more so.

The parashah then describes some measurement detail of the building, another most important element of its design and construction. And it is not until we get to the very end of our reading that we find out the reason for this meticulous description.

It is repetitive of many other instances we have seen in our weekly ‘reflections’. “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgements, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.” It was to be the place where God would dwell amongst the people. A ready place of earthly identity for them. But we should also note that God is careful to declare the conditions attached to His statement.

Firstly, He undertakes to perform with Solomon, the covenant promises He made with his father David. It is a promise to continue that covenant. And secondly, it affirmed His covenants made with Abraham and Moses, to dwell among them and not forsake them.

 The condition:-“if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgements, keep all My commandments, and walk in them”.

Now to the extent that the Scriptures are given to us as an example and as an illumination of God’s ways, it is vital that we discern to what extent these conditions, which are repeated over and over again in the Hebrew Scriptures, from our God who declares Himself to be unchanging (Malachi 3:6), apply to us today.

Some may quickly remind us that our parashah was set in the days of the “old covenant’ and today we live under the “new covenant”. But as I read the terms of the “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31 and Hebrew 8) I cannot see any distinction between the two in terms of God’s Torah, other than the fact that the “new covenant” says that whereas the “old covenant’ was breakable, the “new covenant” is not. Read it carefully and honestly.

So the lesson for me in this parashah is this. God is clearly intent on bringing lasting blessing to His people. We are as much His people as the Israelites of old when we express our faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Yeshua.  We are part of His kingdom. He is our King. The King has clearly laid out His instructions for holy and righteous living. His requirement is that we “walk in His ways”. So where is the problem?

Part of our problem lies in the very words used to describe the Scriptures as a ‘divided’ Old Testament, with connotations of antiquity and obsolescence, and New Testament, with connotations of modernity and freshness, even replacement.

If we see the whole Bible as the revealed Word of Almighty God, if we take literally the words of the Apostle John, that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. If we see Yeshua, not only as carrying a wooden cross up the hill at Calvary, but also on the mountain communicating His word, His instructions, to Moses. Only then, will we see the ‘reasonable service’ (Romans 12:1) which God requires of us, as His followers, today.

Shabbat Shalom

RS                                                                                                                     

Haftarah Reflections   18

Torah portion           Exodus 21 : 1  to 24 : 18

Haftarah portion     Jeremiah 34 : 8 – 22  and 33 : 25,26

Listen to the Prophets

The parashah this week concerns obedience to the commands of God. We should not be surprised. God had issues with the people regarding ‘obedience’ from the very moment they all, many years earlier, as a community, agreed to abide by His word. The details are recorded quite clearly in Exodus 24. It seems to be the never ending story of the Hebrew Scriptures. (In Nehemiah’s account, (Nehemiah 10:29) after some of the exiles returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, the whole community again ratified their commitment to ‘obedience’ to walk in the ways of the Lord. But that is getting ahead of ourselves)  Worse than that however, with all the knowledge we have of our God and His ways, through His revelation to us in those Scriptures, nothing seems to have changed! We still appear to have difficulty with obedience. The problem in Jeremiah’s day related to the “shemittah”. The year of release. (Exodus 21, Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 15 for the serious student of the Scriptures!).

It was a kind of “blow hot blow cold” situation. It seems that the people had decided to observe “shemittah” (releasing their ‘slaves’ from bondage in the seventh year) but when they no longer had their bond servants to do their work, they reneged on the deal and took them back into bondage again. It would also appear that this was the final straw for the Lord, because very shortly after this the whole nation of Judah was taken captive by the Babylonians.

In his pronouncement, the Lord majored on the principle of ‘liberty’. This is a most important element in God’s economy. He had brought this people out of their bondage in Egypt, in order to make them into a nation that would walk in His ways. To set the captive free. Isaiah put it well.  “To heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives.” That is God’s heart for His people, and that includes us. He wants us to walk safely in His ways, to enjoy all the blessing He has for us, and to be free from the bondage of sin.

This is the thrust of what Jeremiah is told in verse 17 of our text. To paraphrase here, God is saying “I want you to enjoy liberty, My liberty, liberty for every one of you, including those who are in your service as slaves.”  But then He goes on to say “the liberty you have chosen is the liberty to NOT walk in My ways”, that is the choice they had made. “But this is where that kind of liberty will lead you. To the sword, to pestilence, to famine, because that is what you will find when you walk in your own ways amongst the nations to where you are going”.

All too often we are ready to blame God for everything that we feel might be going wrong in our lives. A common exclamation is “Why me?” There is no answer to that rhetorical question. But it may be worth exploring the extent to which we consciously ‘walk in His ways’. Then to ask ourselves this question; “Which liberty have we chosen?”  That is exactly what Jeremiah put to these Israelites in our parashah.

There are two more interesting observations to be made in this reading. The first is in relation to the Abrahamic Covenant in verses 18,19. The detail is found in Genesis 15, which says that a deep sleep fell upon Abraham. So technically, Abraham did not participate in that covenant. It was one sided so to speak, unconditional, God bound himself to keep that covenant. However, the text here indicates that by their willing agreement to the Mosaic Covenant, it was as though in so doing they also participated as equals with God in the cutting of the Abrahamic Covenant too.

The second observation is found in the verses in chapter 33 of our reading. This reference has a close affinity with the New Covenant. In Jeremiah 31, immediately following his announcement of the terms of the New Covenant, God specifies the time when Israel will no longer be a nation before Him

“Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): "If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, Then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever."   Jeremiah 31 : 35,36

Now God is saying, had He not made that covenant with day and night, and not appointed the ordinances with heaven and earth, then He would already have cast Israel away.

But He did make that covenant, so His mercy and love towards these chosen ones is irrevocable. Our God is a covenant keeping God.

What a mighty, gracious, loving God we serve. Blessed be His Name for ever,

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   17

Torah portion           Exodus 18 : 1  to 20 : 23

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 6 : 1 to 7 : 6 and 9 : 6,7  

Listen to the Prophets

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”

What a triumphant exclamation to begin our parashah this week. Why? Because Isaiah “saw the Lord, high and lifted up”.  An experience rare in our day I suggest.

Isaiah makes note of the timing of this word “In the year that King Uzziah died”, so it would be possible to spend a lot of time ‘reflecting’ on that king. In Judah, 19 kings ruled after Solomon’s death. Only 8 of them are described as ‘good kings’. Uzziah was one of them. He reigned for 52 years, starting when he was just 16 years old. He was successful. He brought prosperity to the land. He built cities, and fortified others to increase the security of the people.  BUT ... there’s always a ‘BUT’ isn’t there?

Uzziah overstepped the mark. He grew proud of his considerable achievements, and, it seems, he thought himself ‘above the law’. He went into the Temple to offer incense on the altar. A role specifically forbidden for anyone other than the priests, who, to their credit, stood against the king. albeit unsuccessfully. The dreadful outcome for Uzziah was that as he argued with Azariah, the Chief Priest, God instantly struck him with leprosy in the very presence of the priests in the Temple, a condition which remained with him until his death.(see 2 Chronicles 26)

Jewish tradition has it that Isaiah was a cousin to Uzziah. In which case they would have known each other well. Maybe it was Uzziah’s death that caused Isaiah to see the Lord “high and lifted up” confirming that God will not be mocked, mistrusted or treated with contempt, by anyone, even a king. It was certainly a defining moment in Isaiah’s life. It heralded the beginning of his highly regarded prophetic ministry.

We are provided detail of the amazing encounter Isaiah experienced. Paraphrasing this experience, Isaiah thought he was finished. He had seen the King, the Lord of hosts. He might have recalled the time when Moses, that great servant of the Lord had asked the Lord to ‘Please, show me Your glory’ , and then he would have remembered the Lord’s reply “you cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20). But in this unique experience, God commissioned Isaiah to speak for Him to the people of Judah, who, as the first 5 chapters of Isaiah makes clear, were again in a dark place regarding their commitment to the covenant promises made by their forefathers. Promises of which they were all aware (Deuteronomy 31:9-13).  The Torah was publicly declared to all the people, by the priests, once every seven years (the ‘shemittah’ year) at the ‘mo’ed’ of the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles).

Furthermore, God instructed Isaiah to speak, not only to the people but also to kings. The fearful Rezin, king of Syria, was camped in Samaria, and moved to make war against the Judeans at Jerusalem. King Ahaz, Uzziah’s grandson, was terrified at the prospect. The Bible tells us that his heart, and the hearts of the people, fluttered like trees in the wind. But Isaiah met the king (just near what is the Mamilla Centre today), to encourage and strengthen him.

This whole story is interesting, but we need to find the lesson which is contained therein, by which we can benefit and learn.

As we stated at the commencement of this ‘reflection’, the experience Isaiah had of seeing the Lord was, and is, very rare. For that reason it is difficult to translate that encounter into modern day terms. But what we can take from it is the way that Isaiah dealt with his experience. So real was that experience, and his reaction, that God later entrusted Isaiah with the announcement of the coming of Messiah. A most accurate depiction of His coming.

Most, if not all the people who read this ‘reflection’, are doing so because there was a time when we had an encounter with God. The circumstance of each of us will be many and various. But every one of us came “through the same door”.

The first lesson then is to note that Isaiah took careful note of that which God spoke to him. And he acted upon it. It was not just an emotional, head knowledge experience. It was life changing. It was real. It struck at the very heart of his being, and became much more than mere verbal assent to what had happened.

I wonder how many of us, having had that encounter with the Lord which brought us to the place of acknowledging Yeshua as Messiah, and trusting Him as our Saviour, have experienced the inner drive to behave, act, think, speak, listen and generally conduct ourselves differently to the way we lived those things prior to our encounter. In simple terms, what differences are obvious in our life and lifestyle? What differences do our friends and family see?

Please understand, that as I ‘reflect’ on the Scriptures, I receive a challenge, every time, without fail. In love I pass on my challenges for your ‘reflection’.

You will be blessed as you ponder these things.         

Shabbat Shalom

RS