TheConsolation

      The title of this Sabbath's reading portion is Va-etchannan, meaning "And I besought." The portion begins with Moses' prayer to the LORD in Deuteronomy Chapter 3: Then I pleaded/besought with the LORD at that time saying: 'O LORD God, You have begun to show Your (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) servant Your greatness and Your mighty (vaw [nail]-aleph [Adonoi/Lord]-tav [cross/covenant]) hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon." (v. 23-25). Moses was referring to the previous event when he was instructed by the LORD to speak to the rock in the wilderness in order for the rock to supply abundant water for the people and their animals, but Moses, in anger against God's people, struck the rock instead. (Num. 20:7-11).

      Because of this action of "unbelief" and not hallowing the name of the LORD before the people, the LORD told Moses that he would not be allowed to lead the people into the promised land. (Num. 20:12-13).  Moses said that he besought (hanan/hana - have mercy on, graciousness, favor, pity, implore, beseech, make supplication/bow down) the LORD about His decision to keep Moses from crossing into the promised land with the people. The aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega servant of the LORD, Moses, was bowing down and begging God to show grace and mercy to him and to allow Moses to go into the promised land with the people. We would expect the LORD to hear this earnest prayer for mercy from His servant and grant it. However, Moses said that the LORD "was angry with me on your account and would not listen to me." The LORD then answered Moses: "Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter."  (Deut. 3:26). When Moses said that the LORD was angry with him "on your account", in Hebrew the word is ma'an and means: "purpose, to the end intent, for their benefit, for their welfare." The Lawgiver, Moses, could not lead the people in for the sake of their own good as the LORD saw it, but there was one who could: "But command (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Joshua ("Jehovah is salvation", Jehovah-saved), and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) land which you will see." (v. 28). For the people's own good, it was better for Joshua to lead them in. The law, represented by Moses, testifies of and leads to something greater - the salvation of the LORD as we will see, and it is the salvation that leads us in. 

     Jesus referred to this something greater, which was Himself as salvation, when He said to the religious people, "You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (Jn. 5:39-40).  Jesus also said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill (pleroo/pleres - to accomplish, to make full, to complete, to carry through to the end, to carry into effect, to bring to realization/complete, filled up, to perfect lacking nothing)." (Mt. 5:17). The LORD said to Moses the Lawgiver that it was for the good of the people, for their sake, that salvation, Joshua, leads them into the land.

     As Moses experienced this heartbreak, the LORD offered him consolation: "Go up (ala - go up, ascend, climb, be taken up, brought up) to the top (ros - head, chief, principal, first, beginning, summit, captain, ruler) of Pisgah (pisga/pasag - a cleft/to consider, to contemplate), and lift (nasa - lift up, exalt, carry, bear up, extol, forgive, lofty, raise up, receive, be high) your eyes (ayin - sight, fountain, well, face, countenance) toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over (abar - pass over, cross over, pass beyond, pass through, make to perish, make to cease to exist, make transition) this (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) Jordan (yarden/yarad - descender, descending/sink down, be brought down to a lower region)." (Deut. 3:27). Moses would be given a vision of the land to console him. He, the Lawgiver, will see it by revelation from afar off, but he will not be able to cross over death: the descending, the sinking down, to get there. But Joshua, "Jehovah (LORD [YHWH: 'Behold the hand, behold the nail'] is salvation", can and will. Not only will he cross over, but he will lead all of the people to cross over with him.

     The words of the Lawgiver, Moses, and the Prophets are a light and a lamp that illuminate a path, but the path leads to a destination - The LORD: "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." (Ps. 119:105). This verse is the first verse that is written under the Hebrew letter NUN (נ) in Psalm 119. The pictographic Hebrew letter nun means "son, heir to the throne." In this week's Sabbath reading portion, Moses wrote this about our destination: "Hear O Israel: The LORD (YHWH, see above) our God is one (ehad/ahad - first, one, united, alike, altogether and apiece, together unitedly/unite, inseparably joined together like a sword of three edges)! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." (Deut. 6:4-6).

     This Sabbath reading is also called Nachamu, meaning "Consolation". It is the Sabbath that follows the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, Tishah B'Av, the Ninth of Av. The Ninth of Av is the date of some tragic events in the history of the Jewish people (see the previous blog post "Speak" for more details). The Sabbath reading offers Isaiah 40 as a comfort and consolation to Israel after this day of mourning, just as the LORD offered revelation consolation to Moses in his moment of deep sadness mentioned above. Isaiah wrote the Word of the LORD to His people: "Comfort (naham - to console, to comfort, be comforted or consoled, repent, to draw a breath), yes, comfort (naham, see above) My people! Speak comfort (leb/lebab - heart, soul, inner man, kindly/mind, heart, soul, understanding) to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins." (Isa. 40:1-2).

     This Word of consolation comes from the wilderness, the desert, crying "Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God...The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (v. 3-5). (See more about the mouth and words spoken in the wilderness in the previous blog entry "Speak".) The consolation of Israel is the fact that the LORD is coming, and all eyes shall see Him! There is a Person who is known to the Jewish people as "The Consolation of Israel", and that Person is the Messiah/Christ. The consolation commanded here is not just a comforting feeling, but it is the LORD Himself. The words spoken here in chapter 40 by Isaiah were a prophecy fulfilled by the arrival of John the Baptist, who was anointed by God to point Israel to the Messiah, whom he identified as Jesus, saying, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn. 1:19-36).

     This was the anointing of The Consolation from Isaiah 40: "He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (v. 29-31).

     When Jesus was born, eight days were completed for His circumcision, and Mary and her husband, Joseph, came to the temple in Jerusalem after the days of Mary's purification were completed as the Law required. There was a man in the temple named Simeon who was just and devout, and he was "waiting for the Consolation of Israel" to appear. Simeon had received a prophetic revelation from the Spirit of God that he would not die before he had seen The Consolation, and the Spirit had sent him to the temple on that very day: "And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he (Simeon) took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 'Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel." (Luke 2:22-32). Simeon connected The Consolation of Israel, the Messiah/Christ, to the LORD's salvation.

     The prophet Isaiah also wrote that the people of God will proclaim and praise the naham consolation or comfort of the LORD, while connecting it to His salvation: "...Your anger is turned away, and You console/comfort (naham, see above) me. Behold, God is my salvation (Yesua), I will trust and not be afraid; for YAH, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation (Yesua). Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation (Yesua)." (Isa. 12:1-3).

     The Apostle Paul also wrote that consolation and salvation were connected together even through men's suffering and tribulation. He pointed out the source of that consolation: "...our consolation also abounds through Messiah/Christ." (Col, 1:1-7).

     Paul wrote this blessing to the believers in The Consolation of Israel: "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ (Messiah) Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation (paraklesis/parakaleo - a calling near, consolation, comfort, solace, of Messianic salvation/call to one's side, receive consolation, be comforted, encouraged, strengthened - see Deut. 3:28) and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work." (2 Thess. 2:16-17). It is the Lord's consolation and the power of hope through His grace that enables us to walk in His Word and Works. In this verse above, we see that the meaning of "consolation" in Greek is directly tied to the salvation work of the Messiah/Christ. He allows us to call Him to our side, and He calls us to His side to console and comfort us. Jesus told His disciples that He would send The Comforter/Consoler (parakletos), the Holy Spirit, to help them after He returned to His Father in heaven. (Jn. 14:15-18, Jn. 15:26). The Salvation and The Consolation again are connected together.

     As we go back to Isa. 40, which cries out for the consolation of God for His people, Isaiah prophesied of the "good tidings" that would come out of Zion and Jerusalem (v. 9, see also Lk. 2:10-12). These good tidings that Isaiah prophesied declares "Behold your God!" Even though the LORD God would come with a strong hand and arm to rule in this prophetic Word, He is also described as The Consolation: "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young." (v. 10-11). Jesus (Yesua - "The LORD is salvation") said, "I am the good shepherd..." (see Jn. 10:11-16).

     This Sabbath of Nachamu, which follows Tishah B'Av, the Ninth of Av, a day of mourning and loss for the Jewish people, offers this promise of consolation to God's people. If you have suffered mourning and loss, His salvation consolation is available to you also. Who better to console and comfort His people than the LORD, YHWH (yod, hey, vaw, hey: "Behold the hand, behold the nail") who had experienced the suffering of man in His own flesh (Isa. 53:3-5), and welcomed the consolation and strengthening ministered to Him by angels? (Lk. 22:41-44, Mt. 4:10-11). Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Mt. 5:4). The LORD wants us to seek His consolation.

     If you would like to know more about The Consolation of Israel for your life, you can pray with me: "Heavenly and gracious Father, You have sent The Consolation of Israel, Your Son, Jesus, the Messiah/Christ, and my salvation. In these times, many who have suffered loss need Your consolation and comfort. In these challenging days, I and many others need the encouragement and strengthening of Your consolation to walk in Your Word and Works. You, the LORD's salvation, are able to lead me and this Your people to victoriously cross over the descent into death and to enter into the covenant promise of God, abundant and eternal life. I pray that many will begin to seek out Your salvation consolation, and You will lead them as Your flock. I ask these things in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as Α Ω , the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.