InterimDays

This Sabbath falls within the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, also called the Feast of Ingathering. Because of this, this Sabbath reading is titled Chol Ha-Mo'ed Sukkot, or the "Intermediate days of Tabernacles". Within these intermediate days during Tabernacles, we have the opportunity to consider the great meaning of this feast. There are several scripture readings that are assigned to the seven days of the Feast including Ex. 23, Ex. 33-34, Ecclesiastes Chapters 1 and 12, and 1 Kings 8. For additional thoughts on the Feast of Tabernacles, I re-posted a previous blog entry on the right side of this page titled "Culmination", if you would also like to read it. As I was reading the assigned Sabbath selections for this feast, I found it interesting to see how an understanding or vision of the Feast of Tabernacles was gradually revealed in the scriptures. Even as the understanding of Tabernacles grew from a seemingly simple beginning, no one, aside from the prophets, could have imagined the tremendous depth of meaning that the LORD embedded in this feast. At the start, the feast was given by the LORD through Moses as an occasion to celebrate the harvest, particularly the grape harvest: "...the Feast of Ingathering (asip - "harvest; gather, assemble, collect, to be taken away") at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field." (Ex. 23:16). For Christians, the thought of harvest and ingathering has a spiritual meaning as a harvest of souls, and a gathering up of believers. The Feast of Tabernacles was a feast that required the bringing of offerings to the LORD, and rejoicing in the provision He has given in the fields. Continuing in the Sabbath reading portion, we see another aspect of the Feast of Tabernacles revealed as Solomon brought the ark of the covenant up to be placed in the new temple which he had built. He also dedicated the new temple with massive amounts of sacrifices. This was done "at the feast in the month of Ethanim (meaning perpetual, flowing, enduring), which is the seventh month (1 Kings 8:2). Solomon offered thanks to the LORD that he had been given the task as the son of David to complete this new house of the LORD (v. 18-19). After the priests placed the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place in the new temple, "...the cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD." (v. 10-11). Solomon spoke of this overwhelming event by saying to the LORD, "I have surely built You an exalted house, and a place for You to dwell in forever."(1 Kings 8:13, see also 2 Sam. 7:12-14, Ps. 132:14). The celebration went on for seven days, and then an additional seven days more when "..the people...went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant, David, and for Israel His people." (1 Kings 8:65-66). From the details given here, I believe that the temple of Solomon was dedicated on the Feast of Tabernacles. This joyous feast takes place in the seventh month, and lasts for seven days. As God's glory filled the temple, perhaps Solomon thought that the completion of this great temple fulfilled the Feast of Tabernacles. Solomon must have considered the temple that he built for the presence and worship of the LORD to be the high point of his reign as king of Israel. The temple was magnificent and opulent by all of the accounts in scripture, with an interior covered with gold, and built with the finest and most beautiful materials that could be found. Only the most expert craftsmen were allowed to work on the building and furnishings of this temple. Some since that time have included Solomon's temple on the list of the wonders of the ancient world. From his words, it seems that Solomon felt that this temple would stand forever. All of Israel probably assumed the same thing. It is one of the reasons why they thought that the LORD would never allow Jerusalem to be captured by an enemy - because His House was there. However, this temple would not stand forever. A few hundred years later, a mighty army came into Jerusalem and looted the beautiful and sacred furnishings of this great temple, and destroyed it. The prophets had warned that this would happen as the people of God turned away from Him, worshipped other gods, and became filled with iniquity. However, the Feast of Tabernacles was never just about a harvest of crops, or about the building of a great edifice. In another portion from this Sabbath's readings, we hear again from Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He draws this conclusion regarding all of man's natural toils and efforts: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed all is vanity, and grasping for the wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be numbered." (Eccl. 1:14-15). The Feast of Tabernacles is not found in the work of men's hands. Who could have imagined from its first mention that the Feast of Tabernacles would be fulfilled, not by a harvest of crops, or a great building, but by the atonement accomplished by another Son of David, Jesus, who would build a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, not of this creation? (Heb. 9:11). Who could imagine that the tabernacle of God would be in us? We would become His living temple. His Spirit, His glory and His presence dwells within us. God has placed these treasures in earthen vessels, rather than in a building (1 Cor. 3:16, Jn. 17:21-22, 2 Cor. 4:7). Who could have anticipated that the glory of Christ could dwell in men? In another of this Sabbath's readings, Moses asked to see God's glory, and the LORD had to hide Moses in the cleft of a rock, and cover him with His hand, allowing Moses to see only His back parts as the LORD passed by him (Ex. 33:18-23). The glory given to us is not glory that passes by or fades, but it is a glory that remains (2 Cor. 3:10-13). Moses knew the passing glory of the commandments of God engraved upon tablets of stone, encased in a wooden ark, and placed within a tabernacle of animal skins. Did he ever imagine the living Word of God, Jesus, written upon living hearts, placed within a living tabernacle, sealed by the Spirit of God in the promise of everlasting life? Jesus asked the Father that we be given the same glory as He had from the beginning, and this is the eternal glory that we contain as the tabernacles of God. The Feast of Tabernacles reflects a dwelling with and in God, and He with and in us. The separation or veil between God and man caused by our sin has been removed through Christ (Heb. 10:10, 19-22). The revelation of the Feast of Tabernacles doesn't end there. It is also promised that the Lord will bring a city, New Jerusalem, down from heaven arrayed as a bride adorned for her husband (Rev. 21:2). We are the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7-9, Eph. 5:25-27). The original tabernacle built in the desert to house the presence of God is described as a kind of Chuppah, or bridal canopy like those used in a Jewish wedding. This is the inseparable union created by the tabernacle. God will dwell among men, and tabernacle with them, as He has always planned (Rev. 21:3-5). Who could have imagined the greatness hidden in the Feast of Tabernacles: "But as it is written, 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Cor. 2:9). If you would like to become part of the living tabernacle of God, you can pray: "Lord Jesus, You have made me a living temple, filled with Your Holy Spirit, Your glory, and Your presence. During these days of the Feast of Tabernacles and beyond, show me how to be the Temple of God, not built by human hands, but by Your atoning blood, and the presence of Your Holy Spirit. Open the eyes of my understanding, and lead me to walk in this unity with You. You died for my sins and rose from the dead to bring me near to You and the Father, to make us one. Forgive me Lord, and cleanse me from all that separates me from You. I ask these things in Your name. AMEN."

Listen

"Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me...He will provide atonement for His land and His people." (Deut. 32:39, 43). This is from the Song of Moses, given to Israel as a way to return to God, and His promise of atonement. Moses knew that after his death, the people would turn away from the LORD who created and delivered them. Today, as I am writing this, it is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, one of the appointed feasts of the LORD. Some Christians don't observe this day, thinking that it only applies to Jewish people. However, the Day of Atonement is also a basic New Testament truth as well, having been fulfilled by Jesus in His sacrifice. For those who do observe this day in the traditional manner and understanding, both Jew and Gentile, I would like to offer an additional thought that emerges from this Sabbath's reading. We are in the appointed season where God is calling His people to return to Him. He has provided first the prophetic promise of this feast day, and then the fulfillment of that promise in the atoning blood of Christ, placed upon the Mercy Seat of God on our behalf: "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption...how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:11-14). These verses refer to Christ's fulfillment of the prophetic command of God under the law of Moses that the high priest was to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of sacrifice on the Mercy Seat for the yearly covering of the sins of God's people. It is interesting that the verses from Hebrews Ch. 9 not only show us the fulfillment already accomplished by Christ, but "of the good things to come" in the greater and more perfect tabernacle not of this creation (the Feast of Tabernacles is soon to begin after Yom Kippur). Christ sealed this future for us in the Spirit as He fulfilled the Atonement. These verses also talk about the atoning work of Christ as cleansing our conscience from "dead works". The phrase, dead works, in the Greek is translated as "lifeless (as a corpse), spiritually dead, destitute of force or power in that which any one is occupied". The LORD describes the Day of Atonement as a day to afflict our souls (Lev. 23:27, 29, 32). According to the Hebrew meaning of that phrase used in these verses from Leviticus, this means for us to humble, stoop, bow down, become low, to submit (to God) our soul, our person, and the activities of our mind, will and character. In addition to our understanding of the traditional practices of the observance of Yom Kippur, we should also seek to include this instruction from God in our observance of the Day of Atonement. Therefore, entering Yom Kippur we should remind ourselves of Who God is, and what God has done, and humble ourselves before Him as a result. This was Moses' vision of the atonement of God, which he incorporated into a Song to teach Israel. Moses brings us this point in this week's Sabbath reading from Deut. 32 titled Ha'azinu, or "Listen". As we read the Song of Moses in this chapter, Moses is attributing the future spiritual fall of His people to the fact that they have forgotten Who God is, and what He has done for them. The pathway to their return to God and His atonement provision (v. 43) that Moses has given to Israel in his Song is not in religious acts that seem good to do, but in remembering the truly awesome greatness of God. The people, Moses prophesied, would become puffed up in their own efforts, or "dead works", and would become continually dissatisfied, constantly wanting more, eventually serving other gods to attain what they want, because they have forgotten Who God is. Moses begins his Song of Return for Israel by telling the heavens and the earth to "listen" to his proclamation: "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth...for I proclaim the name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." (Deut. 32:1-4). Moses reminds Israel in his Song, that God had chosen and created Israel from the beginning "when He separated the sons of Adam..." (v. 8). At this same time, the LORD assigned boundaries to these separated sons of Adam and their descendants, always keeping in mind ahead of time the inheritance that He was reserving for the children of Israel not yet born. Of Israel, Moses wrote in his Song that the LORD found them in the wasteland, the howling wilderness,encircled them, instructed them, kept them as the apple of His eye, hovered over them as an eagle, spreading His wings over them and carrying them on those wings (v. 10-11). However, they would forget God, and grow (spiritually) fat, even obese (v. 15), and yet still be dissatisfied: "Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you." (v. 18). Our remembrance of Who God is, and what He has done brings us into a humbling, and a repentance before Him, and before the One who paid the price for our atonement in order to reconcile us back to our Father. Dead works won't do it, no matter how good they seem to us. In Isa. 58, God mocks Israel as they ask Him: "Why have we fasted," they say, "and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?" (Isa. 58:3). While their works impressed themselves, they didn't impress God, because the people had no reverence for Him, or for His precepts towards others. Dead works take something exalted and powerful and turn it into something that is all about us, and what we are doing. That road, however, is the road to "Fat City"! Let's go back instead to the root of the root: Let's remind ourselves Who God is, and be humbled by it. Remember when the thought of God used to humble us? Our remembrance would cause us to bow our heads. Yes, we have forgotten, I think. We have forgotten our beginnings, and what our Father miraculously and sovereignly did to bring us this far, and the price He paid to ensure the "good things to come" for each of us. When we are often easily discouraged and dissatisfied, and run to anything or anyone that might "feed" us, even if it satisfies for only a little while, then we have forgotten our God, and we have become "fat". In the haftarah portion for this Sabbath lesson, "Listen", David offers a similar declaration of exaltation to the one that Moses gave to the people of Israel in his Song: "Then David spoke to the LORD the words of this song, on the day when the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. And he said, 'The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength in whom I will trust; My shield, and the horn (strength; of rays of light) of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies...In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears." (2 Sam. 22:1-7). Besides keeping the beloved traditions and observances of the Day of Atonement that have been established over many generations, I think that the power of the Day is also in our return to Him, reminding ourselves of, and humbling and bowing ourselves to, Who God is, and what He has done. This is the Song of our Return, and the provision given in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. This is what brings us back to our Father. If you would like to return to the LORD through the atonement of His Son, you can pray: "Heavenly Father, how great and merciful You are! You have provided the way for me to return to You through the atoning blood of Your only Son, Jesus. From the beginning, You separated me out from many people, and provided my place in Your inheritance. You set the boundaries that would allow me to have a place and a future among those who belong to You. You found me in the wasteland, encircled me, instructed and kept me, hovered over me, and carried me on Your wings as an eagle's. You have brought me to Your side by Your atonement provision for me. You have also sealed the good things to come for me by the atonement of Your Son. You have heard my cry, and rescued me countless times. Father, I remember and declare Who You are to me, and I humble myself in thanks, and in service, before Your wonder and graciousness. I return to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus, who died and rose again for me, and who sprinkled His blood in atonement for me. AMEN."

Return

This Sabbath is a special Sabbath called Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return. It comes within the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. These ten days between the feasts, and this Sabbath Shuvah are a time for repentance, prayer, and turning back to the LORD. This Sabbath's reading portion from Deuteronomy 31 is titled Va-yelech, or "Then he went" (see last week's post also). In Deut. 31, Moses is told by the LORD that these are the last days of his life, and that he should bring Joshua before the LORD so He can inaugurate (sava - "command, appoint, commission, ordain, cause to exist") him as the next leader of Israel (Deut. 31:14). We see from this that we cannot appoint ourselves, but we must be appointed by God. As we consider the closing days of Moses' life mentioned in Deut. 31, we can imagine that the thought of losing Moses must have been very traumatic for Israel. He had been their prophet and leader across two generations, through dangerous testing times, and used in miraculous wonders of deliverance and provision performed by God. People pass away, even important people. Places and things pass away, but God does not pass away. Moses told the Israelites: "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them (the various enemy tribes already in the land; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." (Deut. 31:6). Jesus promised His believers the same thing (Mt. 28:20). The LORD also told Moses at this time, that after his death, Israel would not remain faithful to Him, and would become idolators. They would break the covenant that they had with God. Because of this, the LORD said that evil would befall them in the latter days (v. 16-18, 29). Moses must have been very saddened to hear this prophecy regarding the people to whom he had dedicated himself for all of those years. However, with this prophecy in mind, Moses left God's people a song of repentance and return to God which he taught to all of Israel (see Deut. 32). In something else to consider, this Sabbath also falls on 9/11, one of the most tragic days of loss in American history. This loss not only affected a nation, but it affected the whole world, as America sought justice, or perhaps revenge, for the murderous act. In facing the loss suffered on this date, the most fruitful and important action for Americans to have taken was not measured in military might, but in repentance in the hearts of those who know God. Our strength is not measured in military power, nor the height of our great buildings and the wealth and success that they represent. Our strength, as the people who are called by God's name, is in our covenant with Him. Have we been looking at the wrong things for our security and success? Have we been relying on people and things that cannot save us? It seems that we have been going down the wrong path for many years, but it is not too late for God's people to turn back to Him. This Sabbath reading is about the things that pass away, and the things that don't. It is about returning to the LORD, and finding that He has been waiting for us all along. He was not far away from us, but we have travelled far from Him. Much of our everyday lives have been built like a shaky house on shifting sands, relying upon things that cannot endure (Mt. 7:24-27). We have seen buildings that were embedded into solid bedrock and constructed with steel, brought down in minutes. How much more shakable are lives and plans built upon far less? There is only one house that stands forever, indestructible, and that is the House of the LORD with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone, into which we, as living stones, are to be built. In the haftarah reading portion of this Shabbat Shuvah, the prophet Hosea wrote in Chapter 14:1-3, "O Israel, return to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity...Assyria shall not save us (referring to political and military alliances), we will not ride on horses (military might), nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, "You are our gods" (idols created by relying upon our own efforts). As Hosea continues, the LORD answers this cry from the heart of His people, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely,...I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like a lily...his branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon." (v. 4-6). Not only will the LORD turn and restore His people again because of their repentance, but they will become a fruitful and desired people. We need to be a fruitful people, especially now. The LORD said in Hosea that the fruitfulness that we need is found in our return to Him. In another haftarah reading for this Shabbat Shuva, the prophet Micah also brings us the message of returning to the LORD: "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over (abar - "march over, pass beyond, go in advance of, to cover in intimacy") the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?...He delights in mercy...and will subdue (kabas - "bring into bondage, dominate, tread down, conquer") our iniquities. You will cast (salak - "hurl, throw down") all our sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19). While we often look for the world to repent, the privilege of returning to the LORD is reserved for His people, His remnant, according to Micah. He even "subdues", a forceful verb, our iniquities, hurling them down, dominating those things that enslave us, and bringing them into bondage instead. The Father has given this dominion to Christ for our benefit. It is believed that Ephesians 4:7-8 brings us an image of Christ descending into the earth upon His death in order to conquer the power of sin and death, and bringing up with Him those who died with hope in His appearing. These verses can also be looked at in an additional way, mirroring the prophecy of Micah, based upon the meaning of the Greek words used. The verses are written: "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore He says: When He ascended on high He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men." The Greek meaning of the main words used in these verses from Ephesians 4 could also tell us that Christ forcefully made captive, or took as a prisoner of war to Himself, what had caused others to be captives. His doing so was a gift or advantage supplied to man. He "subdued" our iniquities in other words, as Micah had prophesied. We do not have to let iniquity, and a life away from the eternal things of God, take us captive again. This Sabbath, and the somber memorial occasion of 9/11 reminds us that life on earth, even the life of a man of God like Moses, is temporary. Buildings, places, possessions and institutions are temporary. Wealth and power are temporary. The LORD is calling His remnant to return to the eternal - to Himself. If you would like to return to the LORD, you can pray: "Father of Forgiveness and Mercy, I turn away from the love and reliance upon those things which cannot save or last, and I return to You with all my heart, soul, and strength. Your Son, Jesus, died and rose from the dead to destroy, and set me free from, the power of sin and death in my life, and I thank You for this gift that Jesus has supplied for me. As I ask You to forgive my sin, hurl it far from me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so that I can bear abundant fruit and renewing dew, that I may display the glory of God to all. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Hearts

This Sabbath reading portion, which includes Deuteronomy Chapters 29 through 31, titled Nitzavim-Vayelech, comes just before the new Hebrew calendar year begins, which will be year 5782, and right before the Feast of Trumpets, one of the appointed fall feasts commanded by the LORD. Therefore, I believe that this Sabbath portion has a great significance in this new beginning, and this season of the LORD's appointed feasts. In this Sabbath reading, Moses was preparing to depart life at the age of 120 (Deut. 31:1-2), and he was imparting to Israel, some important things to remember in their relationship with God. Moses knew that these things would make the difference between Israel's success or failure, even their life or death. One part of the two-part title of this reading is Vayelech meaning "Then he went out". Moses was speaking to these people whom he had led for over forty years as a leader and a prophet whose time was nearly up. Moses called all of Israel to assemble in order to enter into covenant with God for the keeping of His commandments, and God's covenant with them establishing them as a people for Himself (Deut. 29:9-13). The other part of the two-part title for this Sabbath portion is Nitzavim which means "Are standing". Not only was all of Israel to stand before the LORD in this assembly of covenant, but also anyone else who was in the camp as a stranger or a laborer. However, this assembly was not limited to those physically present. Moses said: "I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone, but with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today..." (v. 12-15). This perpetual covenant of obedience is not only with Israel and her generations to come, but with the future stranger and laborer in the camp also. In the same manner, as we stand before the LORD, we represent not only ourselves before Him, but those who are yet to come. It is easy to forget that those people who have not yet appeared are "in us" (see also Isa. 66:8-11, Heb. 7:9-10). As Moses prepared the people before his death, he stressed the importance of their covenant of love for God (Deut. 30:16), which is expressed in obedience to God and His Word. Although there was a curse associated with the breaking of this covenant of obedience to the commandments of God, Moses promised that the LORD would reverse the curse (example: the scattering of the people of Israel to foreign nations) if "...you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul...And the LORD God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live." (Deut. 30:1-2, 6). Then the people will again obey the voice of the LORD, causing them to prosper, abound, and increase (v.9). The Word of God, Moses said, was not in some unattainable place, "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it." (v. 14). Jesus said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." (Lk. 6:45). This is about the contents and work of the heart, not about a set of religious obligations. The treasures of our hearts must contain the love of God, and therefore the love of His Word, Jesus (Jn. 1:1-3, 14). From this treasure, our words and obedient actions will flow. It seems that trying to be religiously obedient to God's Word without the necessary foundation of love for Him, not only results in eventual spiritual error, but is without value to God (Isa. 29:13-14, Mt. 15:7-9, Ezek. 33:31). How do we view the commandments of God, and how do we relay this view to others? The type of relationship that Moses was urging to all of Israel, also leads us to a prophecy in Jeremiah. In the haftarah portion for this Sabbath, Jeremiah wrote of a "new covenant" that would reflect this type of heart relationship with God (Jer. 31:31-33). The Words of God, Jeremiah wrote, would be written internally in God's people...not just to do but to be. Moses took this relationship even further as he described the blessing or the curse that flows from whichever treasure we keep in our hearts regarding the love of God, and obedience to His Word: life and good, or death and evil (Deut. 30:15). "...I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice,, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days..." (v. 19-20). In his last days, Moses is imploring Israel to love God, not only to love Him, but to cling or cleave (dabaq - "to cling, to stick to, to be joined together, follow closely, pursue hard) to Him as spouses cleave to each other (Gen. 2:23-24). With these words, Moses was calling Israel to a marriage relationship with God. This is the only thing that will preserve them. The LORD prophesied through Isaiah in another haftarah portion of this sabbath's reading regarding the marriage relationship He has with His people. He prophetically called them "The Holy People" and "The Redeemed" (Isa. 62:12). Righteousness and salvation shine from these people like a burning lamp (v. 1). He will call these people and their land by a new name: Hephzibah, meaning "My delight is in her", and Beulah, meaning "to marry, to be lord (husband) over, married wife, take a wife, dominion" (v. 4). We can see that the purpose of the LORD for His people is that they should be in a loving marriage with Him. Jesus also, as the worthy Lamb of God, is the Bridegroom in marriage to His prepared Bride (Rev. 19:6-9). Here is an interesting point in reading Isaiah's prophecy regarding the use of the word Beulah, or "married. The word which has been translated as the word, Beulah in the verse from Isaiah, is the Hebrew word, ba'al. We also know Ba'al to be a false god whom Israel worshipped as an idol. Jezebel, the evil queen's name, means "Ba'al is husband to". The worship of Ba'al, in its demonic twisting of the true purpose, involved sexual impurity, perversion, and the use of both male and female prostitutes in worship. This is the corruption of God's concept of His marriage to His people. While the Beulah marriage with God brings forth offspring who are worshippers, the relationship with the demonic idol, Ba'al, calls for the sacrifice of children. The concept of marriage to God is so vital and powerful, that the counterfeit opposition to the holy concept still presents itself today. We cannot assume that we are immune to its influence. As John heard and saw the glory of the marriage of the Lamb to His Bride, he immediately fell down in worship of the one who revealed it to him. He was severely scolded for this by the one who identified himself as "of the brethren" (Rev. 19:10). The spirit of idolatry is quick to seek to corrupt this powerful revelation of God in order to destroy it, before we even realize that we have been susceptible to it. May we come to this time of new beginnings of the year, and the appointed fall feasts of the LORD, by allowing some of Moses' last instructions to bring us to a new understanding and determination to love the LORD with all our hearts and all our souls. If you would like to enter into this kind of relationship with the Lord, you can pray: "Dear Father in heaven, I come to You and to Your Son, Jesus, with the desire to establish myself in the love of God. I want a personal and intimate relationship with You, loving You with all of my heart and soul, and I want Your Word to be the treasure of my heart from which my obedience flows. I know that You loved me so much that You gave Your only Son for my sins. You raised Him from the dead so I would not have to know death. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to teach and quicken me in my loving relationship with You. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."