Reflections
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 04
Vayera. (And He appeared)
There are three times recorded in Genesis when the LORD appeared to Abraham. This is the second of those appearances.
Abraham sat in the door of his tent in the heat of the day. The text suggests he was perhaps ‘nodding off’! When he looked up, there were three men standing looking at him. Abraham ran towards them and bowed, addressing them as “my Lord” (Adonai is actually a plural word). The text makes it clear that even though there are different words used for “God” in this encounter, the common source is of God Almighty, and His purpose was to convey the news that the promise of a natural born child, previously conveyed to Abraham, was about to be fulfilled. Sarah overheard the announcement and couldn’t avoid a chuckle! That chuckle was countered by an amazing insight, which we do well to remember, perhaps especially in our day when we consider what is happening in the world today. “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Of course the answer is “NO”, but we also need to be mindful that God unfolds His plan in His own time, and not in a timeframe which we often expect because of our sincere supplication.
Again it is manifestly evident in the text that God had determined that His judgement was to be brought on the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why? Because “their sin was very great”, AND there had been an “outcry to the LORD” against it. Was that outcry from righteous people praying for change? We can only speculate. It certainly gives enormous encouragement to us to bring before the LORD matters which we can plainly see wrong and gravely sinful in our society today doesn’t it? Then an amazing dialogue occurred.
Why was God concerned about revealing to Abraham His intention to bring judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah? The “great and mighty nation”, which God had promised Abraham would spring from his loins, was unfulfilled at this stage. (I now take a bit of licence here, and disagree if you wish. But roll forward 4000 years to the time when God (in the person of Yeshua) came and dwelt bodily amongst us, for a comparison.) Abraham was righteous, God was faced with the judgement of severely unrighteous men. And NOT for the first time. What would a righteous man make of that judgement? Abraham was representative of a future nation of ‘priests’ before God. How would they prosecute judgement when faced with rank unrighteousness? Is that unrighteousness to be tolerated, or dealt with? As I pen this ‘reflection’, that is what I perceive to be God’s motive. But I may be wrong!! In any event God entered into dialogue with Abraham .. and Abraham was honest, and generous, in his attitude. (The Bible records another account similar in nature which God had with Moses after the exodus from Egypt .. Numbers 14) The dialogue which ensued appears to see God ‘giving ground’ in the light of Abraham’s concerns about numbers. The final number of “righteous men”, in order that the community avoid the severe judgement, TEN, is the minimum number much later decreed by the Rabbinate to be sufficient (and necessary) to be a “minion” to form a Jewish synagogue congregation.
The text, Genesis 18:19, says “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” It is from that statement that I have taken my licence!
Of course, we must acknowledge that God knew exactly how many ‘righteous’ men were there, but it seems to me that He wanted to ensure that Abraham (and those considered righteous who came after him) would accept the ‘fairness’ of the judgement. (my earlier reference to 4000 years later alludes to the fact that God, in the person of Yeshua, took on human form and had no cause, then, to determine what man might think about His judgement. He had become ‘flesh’ and dwelt among them. BUT we also know that unrighteous men do, and always will, consider God’s judgements to be harsh and inappropriate!!) Whatever God’s reasons, that’s what happened. Then followed the well know account of the judgement of Sodom and Gommorah
Isaac, the son of God’s promise to Abraham, was born when Abraham was 100 years old. How precious would that have been to him? But Abraham had another son, Ishmael, born about 14 years earlier as a result of Sarai trying to ‘help God out’ in providing Abram with an heir. The enmity which developed between the mothers of those two boys, passed to the sons, and remains to this very day. The enmity runs very deep, and is unlikely to end until God again intervenes by sending His Son, Yeshua, back to this earth as the King of kings. And that is another story, an event, still future to us, which will happen as sure as night follows day.
But God had one more test for the faithful Abraham. It is impossible for any father to imagine a more daunting test. MOST fathers would fail the test upon its suggestion. “Offer your son to Me as a burnt offering”. What would you think went through Abraham’s mind at that point? Again, I take licence here, because it is impossible to know. But shock and horror would be a first guess. God knew that there was a day coming when He Himself would have to make such a sacrifice. Was there a man on the earth who would do such a thing? Well we know the story. Abraham was such a man who FULLY TRUSTED his God. Selah! What an example he is.
What God expects of us is to put our trust in Him. No more, no less.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 03
Lekh - L’kha (get yourself out of here)
Just as Noah was a man of great faith, we are now introduced to the person God anointed to be the head of the one family to whom the rest of the Scriptures relate. Dr. Marvin R. Wilson, in seeking to expound the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, wrote much about him in his outstanding volume “Our Father Abraham”. A good read for those interested in the roots of our faith.
He was Abram, son of Terah, citizen of Ur of the Chaldeans. Terah took Abram and his wife Sarai (who had no children) and Abram’s nephew, Lot, intending to travel to Canaan. But they got no further than Haran in what is today, Syria. It was there that Terah died. (Legend has it that Terah made and sold idols for a living. It is speculated that this is how Abram abandoned the family idolatry and sought a new faith. He certainly was a man who heard from God and understood what he heard.)
It is a little known fact that Noah was still alive for almost the first 60 years of Abram’s life, and the lives of Abram and Shem (Noah’s son) overlapped for over 150 years. And that provides a possible answer to the question as to how Abram knew about YHWH Elohim doesn’t it? Neither Noah nor Shem would have remained silent about their experience of God. Turn back to Genesis 9: 25-27 and understand the way the Canaanites bore the curse (Hebrew “A’rar”) which Noah placed on them. In the event, we do know that God spoke directly to Abram, and Abram not only heard God’s voice, but he was obedient to it. His destination? The cursed nation of Canaan!
Read the promises God made to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. They are staggering in scope and content, and I can only imagine that Abram was overwhelmed at the thought. But in verse 3, the English language uses the same word, “curse”, in translation of two different Hebrew words. “A’rar” which is a ‘bitter curse’ for the first, and “Qalal”, for the second, meaning ‘treating one lightly’ or ‘treating with contempt, or disregard’.
So now we get a glimpse of things to come. Abram is sent by God to the nation which was ‘bitterly cursed’ by Noah. There he is to establish a family,(nation), blessed by God, but with the added promise of ‘bitter curse’ on anyone (nation) who treats that family of Abram lightly, or with contempt. And if there is doubt in anyone’s mind, we read in Genesis 12:6 that Abram came to the place (known today as Nablus) called Shechem, which is built in a valley. High above Shechem is the township today called. Elon Moreh. It was there, with a commanding view of the surrounding area, that God appeared to Abram, and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” (I have had the personal experience of standing on the heights of Elon Moreh. To the North, Mount Hermon. East is the Jordan and beyond. South is the Negev. And west is the Mediterranean. It is a LOT of land, substantially more than that which is called Israel today.)
So Abram travelled through the land. He eventually, due to severe drought in the land, ended up in Egypt where he had that amazing encounter with the Egyptian Pharaoh over the identity of Sarai as his wife. (Rabbinic literature also identifies Sarai as a half sister to Abram) A consequence of this encounter with the Pharaoh seems to be that Abram acquired significant wealth in terms of silver and gold besides sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels and servants. Thus it was that Abram and his entourage returned to Canaan, specifically to the area near Bethel where he had earlier set up an altar of worship to God.
Some time later, Abram and his nephew Lot went their separate ways and that’s a whole new story. Read it in Genesis 13 and 14. Abram moved further south and dwelt near Hebron. Lot got into trouble with four local kings and lost his possessions, which Abram recovered and in the process met with the mysterious ‘Melchi Tzedek”, of whom much is written. (but not here!)
The remainder of our reading is pivotal to our faith as believers. It is here that we come to terms with God’s salvation plan for mankind. It is where Almighty God puts His credibility at stake, so to speak, by making that unconditional covenant promise to Abram, by which an elderly, barren woman, Abram’s wife Sarai, would give natural birth to her only son. It is a staggeringly challenging proposition. How easy it is today to take it all for granted because we know the end of the story .. BUT before it happened!! That’s a different matter. Genesis 15:6 says “And he (Abram) believed in the LORD, and He (the LORD) accounted it to him for righteousness.” Faith is counted as righteousness by Almighty God. And today, it is faith that God actually did what He promised to do which is counted as righteousness to those who believe and trust His word.
It is a measure of the enormity of what God requires of us in faith to read the account of how Sarai (and Abram) sought to give God a ‘helping hand’ in this, resulting in the birth of Ishmael. Abram was 86 years old at this time. And it was another 14 years before the child of God’s promise, Isaac, was born.
Genesis 17 gives us the account of the conversation God had with Abram as He was about to fulfil His promise of providing a naturally born child to him. God changed his name from Abram to Abraham, and Sarai to Sarah. At the same time God promised to establish His covenant with the as yet unborn Isaac, and his offspring, in perpetuity. LORD, give us faith to trust you, as did Abraham, that it may be counted as righteousness to us.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
TORAH REFLECTION
Torah Reflection 02
Noach (Noah)
Such was the state of mankind, with its contempt for God, violence, anarchy, evil thinking, disharmony, corruption, ‘thoughts of the heart continually bad’. Verse 12 informs us that “God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” And that is what forms the catalyst for the events which follow.
We ended our ‘reflection’ last week with a quotation. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth”. And the very last verse of last week’s reading said “But Noah found favour in the eyes of the LORD.”
Perhaps the most valuable comment of Noah in all the Scriptures is found in the very first verse of this week’s reading. “Noah walked with God.” It’s a most challenging lesson for any who read this passage. I ask myself, do I “find favour” in the eyes of the LORD? Would the people I relate to day by day know whether or not I “walk” with God? Am I “swimming against the current” (as Noah obviously was) or am I “going with the flow”? God, and ONLY God, knows.
So God told Noah to make a BIG box of gopher wood, three stories high, with compartments inside it. Now there wouldn’t be a child anywhere, who ever attended a Sunday School, who couldn’t recite to you the basics of the events which follow. But there are a few details which are worthwhile commenting upon because they have significant relationship to the future.
For example, in Chapter 7:2, we find a distinction about the numbers of animals between “clean” and “unclean”. It is the first reference to this distinction in the Scriptures. Much may be made of this, but to many people the distinction passes without comment. But in Genesis 8:20 we find that it is only the clean animals which are offered as burnt offerings to the LORD in thanksgiving for their preservation from the flood. Much later of course, when the people had ceased being ‘vegetarian’, God declared that ONLY the ‘clean’ animals were prescribed as ‘food’ for His people. (That list is documented in Deuteronomy 14 for those interested.)
Rev William Morford, in his enlightening translation of the Scriptures, “One New Man Bible”, draws attention to the Hebrew word “kopher”, translated as “pitch” in Genesis 6:14. It is a perfectly good and logical translation of that word. However, it also has a meaning ‘ransom’, even ‘atonement’ (covering). So Morford draws attention to the function of that box made of gopher wood as the means of salvation (atonement) for those who were privileged to be included as passengers in that box during those terrible days of judgement.
Then in Genesis 7:16 there is a simple phrase full of meaning. “And the LORD shut him in.” In His instruction to Noah, God specified that there should be a “pethach” in the side of the gopher wood box. That is literally an ‘opening’, a place of entry. Now I need to be careful here. Because in my mind’s eye I see an opening which is unrestricted. I presume that there were no guards preventing entry. But the only ones who actually passed through that entry opening were those who, by faith, trusted that God would perform what He had been warning that He would do for many, many years. Again, in my mind’s eye, I envisage scornful watchers, ridiculing those who did enter through that opening in the gopher wood box. And suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, so to speak, the opening was no more there! “The LORD had shut them in.” Then it began to rain!!! And in addition, “the fountains of the great deep were broken open”.
Does that present a picture to you, as it does to me, of a day still future which ONLY God knows, when the door to salvation will be closed? And then it will again (metaphorically) begin to rain!
The end of our reading contains a genealogy of the period from ‘the flood’ judgement right up to Abram. In addition to the covenant to never again ‘flood’ the earth, and its accompanying sign of the rainbow. (hasn’t that been hijacked in recent times by a quite rebellious group of people) God declared His control over the elements in saying “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” It also contains some detail about God’s dealings and covenants with the faithful Noah, which has been ‘codified’ into what has become know as “The Noahide Laws”. Much of which now forms part and parcel of our present day legal code.
The seven ‘laws’ are:-
- Not to worship idols.
- Not to curse God.
- To establish courts of justice.
- Not to commit murder.
- Not to commit adultery, bestiality, or sexual immorality.
- Not to steal.
- Not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.
God was totally in control of this earth then, and He is totally in control of the earth now .. in spite of what the climate alarmists tell us!!
Shabbat Shalom
RS
Torah Reflection
Torah Reflection 01
“B’reshite” (In the beginning)
“In the beginning”. O what disputes people have about this! Does it really matter when that ‘beginning’ was? What is infinitely more important is that God, our God, YHWH Elohim, was there “creating the heavens and the earth”. And the ONE sent to this earth to redeem sinful man, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, the Apostle John tells us, was there too. (John 1:1).
For those who choose to keep the Sabbath on the day appointed by God for so doing, it is carefully noted that our Creator Himself set the standard, after completing His perfect work of creation in six days, then rested of all His work on the seventh day. So here we find, very early in the Scriptures, the example of Sabbath keeping.
The account of that creative event is very well known and recorded for our information and understanding in the first two chapters of our reading. Then chapter 3 provides the account of what we know as ‘the fall of man’. In that account we become first introduced to the person of satan. Beautiful, cunning, deceitful, persuasive, attractive, friendly, tempting, invoking doubt. Since God created all animals, and there was no ‘fear’ present in that lovely garden, we can accept that the serpent was chosen by satan to convey his deceitful message. For his part in that deceit, that creature’s squirming in the dust, is the result of God’s judgement on him. The abhorrence which most people feel when confronted by a snake is also probably indicative of the untrustworthy and potentially deadly character ascribed to snakes in general.
The narrative provides enough information to show us that God had been quite clear and unambiguous in His instruction to the people He had created. “There is a garden full of food for you to eat”. They were vegetarians! “But there is one tree, the fruit of which is forbidden, because eating that fruit will cause you to die!!” Well, because we know the story, we know that they did eat that fruit, and we also know that they did not actually “die” as we know death today. So what was this death that they experienced? My thought on this is that ‘death’ caused them to be separated from their Creator. They were, in effect, cut off from all the contact they had, up until that moment experienced at the hand of their Creator, without any real understanding of what it involved and how important it was to their existence. (on a most personal level, I can attest to the devastating effect of death which caused separation from my wife of 64 years. But her death also hugely affects my ongoing life)
I have often commented on the fact that there are lessons for each one of us to learn from every encounter with the Scriptures. This may be one of them. Jealously guard and appreciate every moment you have with your spouse! Take care not be distracted by “that serpent” who may appear in all sorts of guises offering seeming attractions which God has clearly forbidden to us in His word. His instructions are not mere ‘suggestions’ !! There are consequences for disregarding those instructions.
At the commencement of this new reading cycle, which for many people is an annual series of reminders of God’s instruction for living righteously with Him and with their fellow citizens, we should briefly survey what is covered in this Torah. In essence, it is the story of one family. A family called by God for His own reasons and purposes to be a light to the nations.
Today’s reading takes us from antiquity to a point where God seemingly despaired of the disobedient and unrighteous ways of mankind. And in our reading next week we discover the tragedy which befell mankind as a result. Over the course of the next twelve months we will ‘reflect’ on the way God led and nurtured a people to have fellowship with Him and to be an example to other nations of how He expects those who know Him to order their lives. And finally, just as God provided a warning to these people of His first creation that in their disobedience in eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they would die (to Him), so a warning is provided to those with whom He had made a covenant, of the blessings which accrue from obedience and the curses which accompany disobedience.
The results of disobedience to the commands of God, for the believer, are not threats. They represent an honest appraisal, by God, to any who would take heed, of what the future will look like. On the one hand blessings, and on the other hand curses. Read the passage carefully today. Take note of what happened to the one aiding the deceit of satan. Take note of the assignment of childbearing and subservience to the man given to the disobedient woman. Take note of the life of toil and hardship in providing food assigned to the man. Take note of the change from the garden with plentiful food readily available. These are a direct result of disobedience to God’s command. These provide a timely lesson for everyone who reads the account in today’s reading.
Chapter 5 contains a genealogy of the descendants from Adam. They lived long lives and beget many children. Read the list. They all died after several hundred years. But in chapter 6, at the end of the week’s reading we find God saying “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was continually only bad … and God was grieved in His heart.” What a sad state of affairs.
Do you ever wonder what God thinks of our present generation?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 52
The “Silent Years” 1
Conclusion to ‘living in the Promised Land’
There is academic debate about the timing of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. This series of ‘reflections’ is not about date accuracy, even though there are precise dates included for some of the events. It is more about the experience of the Jews when they entered the land of God’s promise to them. Of necessity, it goes more to the relationship of the Israelites with their God when they got there. If we accept the commonly accepted date of 1446 BCE for the Exodus, we arrive at an approximate date of 1400 BCE for the entry of the Israelites into the land. If we also accept that Malachi prophesied about 430 BCE, towards the end of Nehemiah’s time, then the events ‘reflected’ on in this series covers a time frame of approximately 1,000 years.
Our Hebrew Scriptures are silent about events after Nehemiah. The Apostolic Scriptures take up events some 400 years later.
So what have we learned ?
Joshua led the people over the Jordan River about 1400 BCE and it was roughly another 25 years before the first Judge, Othniel, was appointed to rule the people. A succession of judges followed with very little success. No-one led the people to follow the LORD according to the covenant promises they had made. This situation prevailed for a further 300 years before Samuel was appointed judge over Israel, and it was a further 20 years or so before Saul became Israel’s first king. Samuel attempted to keep Saul under some check, but it was a very difficult and divisive period for the Israelites.
Forty years after Saul, David became king and for the first time in the history of the nation there was unity among the tribes and the LORD was honoured and worshipped as He expected. Solomon followed his dad and ‘kept the faith’ for a long while, but then he too faltered and after about 40 more years the nation was much distressed as division plagued them once again. The ten tribes occupying the north became “Israel”, and the two tribes in the south took the name “Judah”.
It is interesting to note, that under the leadership of Moses, when the people left Egypt as a fledgeling new nation, God provided them with a blueprint for living righteously before Him. It’s known as the “TORAH” (instructions). The whole nation assented to accept these instructions as good, and made a covenant with God concerning those instructions. Simply put, “Then Moses took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said ‘All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient’.” It was their continuing failure to honour that commitment which caused God, who gave them multiple warnings and chances to reform, to eventually say “ENOUGH”. It is a matter of regret for them that God expelled them from the land as a result. But in his boundless mercy and grace, some 850 years after their first entry to the land, God allowed them back again. However, the point of interest is this. The covenant, which the united Israel made with God, and broke when they became a divided nation, is not ended. God remains faithful to that covenant. However, through the prophet Jeremiah, (Jer 31:31) He told us that He will make “A NEW COVENANT” with the same people … the house of Israel and the house of Judah. BUT, that new covenant will be unbreakable because it will be put in the mind and written of the hearts of those people. In the DNA as it were.
In spite of all the failures and disappointments which we have seen in this series of ‘reflections’, God is determined to remain faithful to His covenant promises which He unilaterally made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And there is more. Because in His conversation with Abraham He said “I will bless those who bless you, and curse (Heb. ‘Orar’ ‘bitterly curse’) those who curse (Heb, ‘qalal’ ‘treat contemptuously’) you.” The Apostle Paul, asked the rhetorical question speaking of the Jews “Have they stumbled that they should fall?” Then he answered with a resounding “Certainly not ! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the gentiles.” (Romans 11:11)
So the conclusion is this. The story of the exploits of these people in the land God promised them is a rather sad and depressing one. It is very easy to point an accusing finger at them and wonder at their insensitivity and continuing failure. It is easy to say “they got exactly what they deserved”. And they did. But the whole point of the Scriptures is to provide understanding and example. It is an honest story. It tells it like it is. It is a story about God as much as it is a story about Israel. And therein lies an extremely important lesson. To quote the Apostle Paul again, also from Romans 11, talking about the Jews being branches broken off from the natural Olive tree. “Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either”.
We have viewed this group as a whole nation, but they were dealt with by God as individuals too. Some very good servants of the LORD, like Daniel, Ezra, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, were exiled from the land. But we saw how strategically God was able to use those men to fulfil His purposes. May God bless you as you ponder His marvellous, gracious, merciful, ways. We should always check ourselves to determine if we are walking the path God intended.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 51
N E H E M I A H 1
Ezra had faithfully taught the people the historical detail of the journey of the forefathers of those now living in the land. He had successfully re-introduced the observance of the ‘mo’edim’ (appointed times of the LORD) specified Leviticus 23, and was delighted when the people made a covenant to observe and to do the commandments of the LORD. It heralded a new chapter in their relationship with God. Free of the influence of the kings of the divided kingdom (about which we have ‘reflected’ for some weeks), it was time to begin a new system of government, albeit concentrated on the tribal territory of Judah and Benjamin.
Nehemiah, had led the last wave of returnees. He ensured that Jerusalem’s walls were completely rebuilt and secure, and was recognised as Governor. However, he had committed himself (Nehemiah 2:6) to one day returning to his post as cup-bearer to king Artaxerses king of Babylon. He spent 12 years in Jerusalem before returning to serve the king again. Then, having dutifully returned to Artaxerxes, he again sought, and was given, permission to go back to Jerusalem (but it is not clear how long he was absent from Judah). He had put many administrative details in place. First was to ensure that Jerusalem was populated with more people than just those in leadership and those who had responsibilities in the temple. But ‘ordinary’ people too. They drew ‘lots’ to decide the ones who would be the extras (10% of the populace) who would augment the numbers of those who volunteered to be resident in Jerusalem. The other 90% were settled in the remaining cities of Judah. The Nethinim, (non Jewish temple assistants) lived in Ophel, a small compound just south of the temple, inside the city walls. Nehemiah brought orderliness and structure to Judah, which was largely centred on the worship of God and the proper use of the temple. (reference to the illustrative sketch in “reflections 49” might assist in understanding the layout of the city at this time).
A ceremony of dedication of the newly constructed walls of Jerusalem was arranged, and for that, all the Levites, wherever they lived, were sought out “to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps”. The “singers’”who had accompanied Nehemiah from Babylon, had settled in villages all around Jerusalem. They too were sought out to participate in the celebration. The Levites purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall. It must have been quite a spectacle. Ezra led the leaders up onto the wall, and the singers formed two large choirs, one to the right, the other to the left. They went in opposite directions around the wall until they met up in the temple area. (In some ways, it appears that Nehemiah attempted to replicate the celebration which occurred when David arranged the divisions of the priests for temple service in a similar ceremony described in 1 Chronicles 25).
However, it seems that whilst Nehemiah was out of the country certain things had been allowed which were inconsistent with the covenant the people had made. It evidently was a time of great trial and learning for them. The reading of the scroll on the day that included Deuteronomy 23, taught them that God had pronounced a judgment on the Ammonites and Moabites because of their refusal to assist the Israelites when they attempted to pass through their territory on their journey to the land of God’s promise. Also they hired Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites. For that reason the Judeans had separated themselves from ‘the foreigners’. But during Hezekiah’s absence Eliashib, the High priest, had allowed Tobiah, one of the three conspirators who tried to frustrate Nehemiah’s wall construction project, to have a room in the temple court. Nehemiah threw out Tobiah’s possessions and had the room cleansed. Then he discovered that the Levites and the singers hadn’t been looked after properly and had returned to their fields. He put that right. Then he found that the nobles were causing their workers to work on the Sabbath. So he commanded that the gates of the city remained closed on the Sabbath. He discovered that some of the people had married the women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Foreign women. And the last straw was that Eliashib had married the daughter on Sanballat the Horonite. Nehemiah got rid of him.
So Nehemiah prayed. “Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, and to bringing the wood offering and the first fruits at the appointed times. Remember me O my God, for good !”. Nehemiah had done all he physically could to restore right behaviour and practice to the people of the land.
During this time of trial and challenge for Nehemiah, God caused Malachi to prophecy in Judah (and possibly Joel too, but that is disputed by some). We will address that issue next week. Following this account, the Scriptures are silent for the next 400 years or so. But secular historians have much to say about this time. It is obvious to me that the people who returned to the land from Babylon needed strong leadership. Ezra and Nehemiah provided that while they lived, and we can only speculate about what happened after they died. The lessons which are to be learned for this whole episode of ‘life in the promised land’ is that it isn’t easy. Many temptations and pitfalls appear in order to distract all but the truly committed. God grant that we learn these lessons, and remain faithful in our times of trial.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 50
N E H E M I A H 1
The Torah (instruction for righteous living), given by God to Moses, contains a command that those instructions were to be read in full to the assembly of the people every seven years at the time they gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Ezra had declared his intent, on returning to the land, to engage in teaching the people the commandments of the LORD. (Ezra 7:10).
Zerubbabel had begun the work of rebuilding the temple which king Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed about 50 years earlier. The work proceeded slowly, and the prophet Haggai did what he could (Haggai 1:7,8) to expedite the process. It evidently was a poor sight compared to the one destroyed, but it had a functioning priesthood and the daily sacrifices were observed. Nehemiah had secured the walls of the city, so ensuring that the people were once again living in the land with a degree of normality. Ezra was making his presence felt with a determination to lead the people back to the righteous living required by God. On the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (The Feast of Trumpets), the people assembled in the square just below the temple compound. Ezra was asked to read the Torah Scroll. This had not happened for more than 140 years prior to this, so no-one present had witnessed this before. Ezra stood on a wooden platform so he could be seen and heard by all. In full view of everyone he opened the Scroll. Seven men stood on each side of him. Their purpose was to “read, explain, give meaning to, and help the understanding of the people close to them”. When Ezra began to read the Scroll, the whole congregation stood to their feet. From morning to mid-day Ezra read. And as the book was being read, “the people wept”.
We need to understand exactly what was happening here. It provides a timely lesson for us all. These people were well aware of their identity as citizens of Judah. It is evident that the vast majority had never lived in the land previously, or if they had, they were very old. (One might imagine, for example, a young Jewish child today being told for the first time about their parents or grandparents experience during the holocaust). They listened as they heard about their ancestors deprivation as slaves in Egypt. About the cruel Pharaoh. About Moses. About the exodus from Egypt. The way the LORD fed and protected the people on their journey to the land. The LORD giving Moses the words to which they were now listening. The covenant that was made by their ancestors, and the conditional nature of God’s promise for their occupation of the land from which their recent relatives had been exiled. Imagine, if you can, the shock of hearing these detailed instructions for living righteously and suddenly being aware of the lifestyle they knew, and had been engaged in themselves, and which had caused the expulsion of their forebears from the land. (My personal experience ? I remember so well the day I heard Billy Graham tell me that ‘I was weighed in the balances and found wanting’. And I remember how I wept bitterly!) In my heart, I think I understand why these people wept so much and had to be comforted by the Levites who attended to them. Then they were encouraged with the words “This day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength”. Then they understood the words that had been declared to them. But, the celebrations, and their understanding was just beginning. Ezra was a good teacher. The festivals which began with the feast of trumpets, were followed by the remembrance of the Day of Atonement 10 days later. Then on the 14th day of that same month the joyful celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, which ended 8 days later with “Simchat Torah” (rejoicing in the Torah, the beginning of the new reading cycle).
The effect of these festival celebrations impacted them greatly. Just two days later, as a sign of great mourning they gathered again, dressed in sackcloth, ashes on their heads. The Israelites separated themselves from the non Jews. “They stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for one fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshipped the LORD their God”. What an experience ! And what a lesson.
The Levites who were present encouraged them by repeating the story of their ancestors. Those who had been the survivors of the exodus from Egypt and had actually been with Joshua and Caleb when they crossed the Jordan to take residence in the land. Read it. (chapter 9:5-38). It does not ‘pull and punches’. It is a faithful account, in brief, of the sure goodness of God and the frailty of the people, of whom they said “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your Law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself …. And after they had rest, they again did evil against You”.
But the last word comes from the hearts of these people, who in sincerity arising from guilt, shame and thanksgiving. Ezra and his close associates must have been overjoyed when they witnessed the result. “All those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone who had knowledge and understanding … entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given to Moses, the servant of God, and to observe and to do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes.” A lesson in renewal of vows.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 49
N E H E M I A H 1
Zerubbabel led the first wave of returnees to the land in about 538 BCE. He was accompanied by a different Nehemiah to the one we are ‘reflecting’ on today. Ezra the scribe/priest/historian, who led the second wave of returnees about 448 BCE is considered by most scholars to also be the writer of the book which bears the name of Nehemiah, the kings cup-bearer, who led the third wave of returnees to the land about in about 445 BCE. (It may be of interest to recall that the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah were made about 20 years after the first wave of returnees under Zerubbabel, and the prophecies of Malachi and possibly Joel were made about 15 years after Nehemiah returned to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem).
Hanani, a brother of Nehemiah, had some distressing news about those who had left Babylon and returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Ezra, which he shared with Nehemiah. For many days Nehemiah wept, fasted and prayed for his fellow Jews as follows “You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants , and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned before You …. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.” That was a brave and honest confession, a good lesson for any seeking the forgiveness of the LORD. Nehemiah continued as he then reminded God of His word which said “If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the nations; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments, and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name”.
It would seem that Nehemiah was normally a cheerful sort of fellow. So when a few months later he was attending on the king looking rather glum, the king took notice and asked him the reason. In paraphrase he said “I would like to go to Jerusalem to help my countrymen build the walls of the city.” It was an answer to his prayer. The king not only agreed that he should go, but made provision for building materials to assist with the work. A few days after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem he surveyed the city to assess what needed to be done. When he shared his thoughts with his friends they agreed to start building. BUT, three local officials, Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, who were probably part of the group who had falsely offered to help Zerubbabel many years earlier, again mounted opposition to frustrate the work. Very soon building was in full swing with many people joining enthusiastically in the project. At a point approximately half way through the work, Sanballat, Tobias and Geshem conspired together attack the walls and cause confusion. But Nehemiah was ahead of them, and although it slowed the building work, he arranged for the men to work in shifts of building and standing guard. Sanballat and his group tried many deceitful ways to cause Nehemiah to halt the building works. But each time, the LORD was able to alert Nehemiah to the deception and so it was that the walls were completed in fifty two days. It was then that the opponents to the wall construction conceded that “this work was done by the LORD God of Israel”.
With Sanballat, Tobias, and Geshem and their co-conspirators thoroughly put to shame, and the wall completed, many others who had ‘sat on their hands’ rejoiced that the city was again secure. The city in Nehemiah’s time was described as ‘large and spacious’, but there were not many houses yet reconstructed, hence few residents. Nehemiah handed control of security to his brother Hanani , with Hananiah the leader of the citadel (the effective guard [pasted-image.tiff] compound for the temple guards) organising the guards. (In the illustration, the area on the bottom right corner shows the ‘city of David’ with the square open space above it being the main residential part, plus the temple mount area. The large outer area shows the location of the walls of what is known as “the old city” today.).
Nehemiah then tells us that “the LORD put it into my heart to gather the nobles, (ones who did not put their shoulder to the work of the LORD ‘see ch 3:5’ ) the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered bu genealogy.” Evidently, this was done by Zerubbabel when he first led people back to the land almost 100 years earlier. Why was this important ? We know from our reading that there was a mixed group of returnees. Many were Jewish. But there were also non Jews, like the Nethinim. The answer may be found a little later when the read “So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their (own) cities.” Some tribal order was restored.
Looking to the future, there will be a time when God will make a new, unbreakable covenant with “the house of Israel and the house of Judah”. It seems that such a demarkation is important to God.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
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REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 48
E Z R A 1
There is a significant time interval between chapters 6 and 7 in the book of Ezra. The events described here took place about 60 years after Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Ezra was a well respected, knowledgeable, and faithful servant of the LORD. He was a gifted scribe in the law of Moses. Additionally, being a descendant of Aaron, in the priestly line. He left Babylon to travel to Jerusalem with the full approval of king Artaxerxes. The journey took four months “according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel”. A great lesson for us there. It is much easier to teach something of which one is well acquainted by knowledge, practice, and conviction. And Ezra “had prepared his heart” for the task. Well might we ponder how he did that.
The letter which king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra is recorded for us(Ezra 7: 12-26) Please read it carefully. And indeed Ezra’s response to it. “So I was encouraged” he said “as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me; and I gathered up leading men of Israel to go up (to Jerusalem) with me”. Clearly, the influence of having the Judean exiles living among the Babylonians for 70 years including such giants of faith as Daniel and his friends, had hugely impressed those in the highest ranks of authority. It might also be observed today, that when God chose this nation (Israel) to be “His special treasure”, and entrusted to them the role of being a blessing to others, often in ways not recognised by ‘the world’, His choice was well founded, notwithstanding the often fickle ways many of them have been distracted as they have assimilated into other cultures. There has always been ‘a faithful remnant’, even as there was in Babylon. And the role of that remnant has always been to demonstrate their trust in God and to attempt to live according to his commandments, statutes, and precepts. Just like Ezra did.
But Ezra, checking who had voluntarily chosen to return to Judah with him, discovered that there were NO Levites among them. The Levites were a very important group because they were the only ones allowed to serve in the temple. David had organised the various Levites into 24 ‘divisions’ of priests who would serve in the temple for a period of two weeks each year. So Ezra instructed his close associate, Iddo, to search for those who could serve in the temple. They found 38 Levite volunteers and 200 Nethinim (persons of Gibeonite heritage who performed non priestly service in the temple.) These were allocated in their ‘divisions’ in order that the temple could function in a regular manner when they returned to Jerusalem. When all was ready for the journey, Ezra proclaimed a fast for the assembly as he prayed for the LORD’s divine guidance and protection for that long journey. It is a measure of the stature of the man that he walked so closely with the LORD, seeking His guidance in relation to every detail of the task he had undertaken. Another lesson. We are told that they were safely protected all the way.
BUT, shock horror ! Ezra was soon informed that those priests who had returned to Judah with Zubbabel decades earlier, had again committed the same disobedient indiscretion of intermarriage with the local pagan peoples which was one of the causes of their being expelled form the land over 100 years earlier. To say that Ezra was ‘distressed’ would be an understatement. “He tore his garment” (an outward sign of grieving). Then humbled himself before God in shame, possibly fearing that God might again exercise judgment on the people with exile from the land. But while. Ezra was praying, confessing the sin, weeping and bowing down, a very large number of men women and children gathered around him, also weeping in repentance. One of the men, Shechaniah by name, spoke up. “Let us make a covenant with our God to put away these wives and those who had been born to them, according to the advice of my master (Ezra) and those who tremble at the commandment of our God; … be of good courage, and do it”.
Ezra, still burdened with the guilt of this transgression, required them to swear an oath that they would do as he would tell them. They did. So he called an assembly at Jerusalem for three days later, cautioning that any who did not present themselves would have their property confiscated, and be expelled from their community. When they assembled, Ezra rose before them and said “You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives” (Deuteronomy 7:2,3). They agreed. But it took another 3 months to investigate the matter fully. The reading of our Scripture today ends with a long list of 113 names of those who had taken pagan wives, some of whom also had children.
We cannot leave this situation without acknowledgment of a dilemma which arises from this event. The prophet Malachi clearly tells us that “God hates divorce” (Malachi 2:16), and yet that is what Ezra required of those who had married pagan wives. The alternative, unchecked, would also go against God’s commandment (Deut, 7:2,3) which was there for a very good reason. A further option would have been to kill them all, as was done on an earlier occasion (Numbers 25:1-9). So in this instance, we might conclude that Ezra was wise in his judgement, in that the divorced wives were, presumably, properly provided for, since the guilty men were clearly repentant for their actions.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE IN THE PROMISED LAND
The Promised Land “reflections” 47
E Z R a Return from captivity 1
In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra/Nehemiah is presented as a single book, which follows on the history of the Israelite and Judean kings recorded in the books of the Chronicles, and the calamitous exile of Judah to Babylon. The LORD also used the prophet Jeremiah to emphasise that, in spite of the shame of their exile from the land, there is a glorious return of the Israelite peoples of the world to the land of God’s promise. It started 70 years after that exile, which we will ‘reflect’ upon today, but it is incomplete. “The days are coming, says the LORD, that it shall no more be said ‘the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, but, ‘the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land the north and from all the lands where He had driven them’. For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14,15) A prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes this very day.
The book of Ezra opens with the words with which Chronicles ended. “The LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia." This is suggestive of the authorship of Chronicles being Ezra the Scribe/Priest/Historian. Students of Scripture will note that there were two separate phases of the return of people from Babylon to Jerusalem. The first is dealt with in the first 6 chapters of the book of Ezra, led by the brave Zerubbabel, whose role was to rebuild the temple. And a second phase, much later, led by Ezra, to rebuild the spiritual condition of those who had returned. Between these two phases it is notable that Esther reigned as queen of Persia, and that Babylon (situated in modern day Iraq) was captured by Persia (modern day Iran). We would be unwise if we ignored the possibility of Daniel also playing a part in the Jews receiving favour from king Cyrus, since, according to the Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, he was prime minister at the time. (See Daniel 6:28 and Isaiah 44:28).
There were 42,360 Jews, and 7,337 male and female servants who made the journey with Zerubbabel back to Judah. They settled in the towns from which they had left, but in the seventh month, they assembled in Jerusalem, where Zerubbabel and the priests had re-built the altar of sacrifice. For the first time in 70 years they again began to celebrate the festivals as required by the LORD (Leviticus 23:24-43). So it was that Zerubbabel got them off to a good start on their return to the land, even though the temple, destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzer, was still in ruins. By the second month of the second year after their return, they began to re-build that temple. Mixed emotions were laid bare when the foundations were completed. Those who had seen the splendour of Solomon’s temple were distressed, probably because it could not match that splendour, but also because they knew that the Ark, symbolic of the presence of the LORD was not there. On the other hand, there were others who were overjoyed at seeing the restoration take shape.
Then ‘the enemies’ of Judah came to offer help in the rebuilding of the temple. They would be the ones who had replaced the Israelites when the Assyrians exiled them from the land almost 200 years earlier, and had possibly occupied Judah as well during the 70 years of their exile to Babylon. Brave Zerubbabel said “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God. We alone will build to the LORD God of Israel”. The reaction, as expected, was that the ‘enemies’ did all they could to frustrate and hinder the building of the temple. Does that sound familiar to you, as it does to me? One of the clear indications of the return to this earth of our Messiah Yeshua today will be the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. Amongst other things, it will herald the beginning of the end for Satan. It will expose the identity of “the beast”, often referred to as Antichrist (which he is). And it was no different in the days of Zerubbabel. Satan was then, and is today, terrified of the God of Israel.
As it happened, the ‘enemies’ were successful in causing a halt to the reconstruction by appealing to Darius, who had ascended to the throne of Persia by this time. Darius ordered a search of the archives to verify that Cyrus had indeed not only commissioned the re-building work, but had specified the construction details. The building work was continued, greatly encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The temple was finished in the sixth year of Darius’ reign and was dedicated with great joy and multiple sacrifices to God. Then the various officers and priests were assigned their divisions of service according to the law of Moses.
The culmination of all this work and preparation was the celebration of the Passover at the prescribed time. It must have been a huge relief to those who had for so long been unable to celebrate the birth of their nation in this manner. The priests were purified in the prescribed manner (sprinkled with the ashes of a red Heifer) and then they ate together of the passover lamb and kept the feast of unleavened bread for seven days with great relief and joy. They were back in the land God had promised them.
Now for many Christians today, these things may seem trivial. But the people in Jerusalem at that time were those who longed to serve God with all their heart … and to do it HIS way. They were just a small remnant of the ones who had ben exiled (cast out of the land for crass disobedience). Amongst other things they recognised the faithfulness of God in keeping His covenant. And at this point in their lives, they were intent on keeping theirs.
Something to think about.
Shabbat Shalom
RS