AncientWays

      This Sabbath's reading portion is titled Ha'azinu, meaning "Listen." This Sabbath comes during the Ten Days of Awe between The Feast of Trumpets, Yom Teruah: literally "The Day of Blasts", and the Feast of Atonement, Yom Kippur (kapar - atonement, purge, reconciliation, forgive, pacify, appease, merciful, cleansed, pardon, cover over, expiate/cancel, overspread, obtain forgiveness). This reading portion starts in Deuteronomy 32, which is The Song of Moses. In this song, Moses begins by telling the heavens and the earth that the words he is singing have great importance, knowledge and understanding to bring to us: "Give ear (azan - to hear, listen, be obedient, broaden out the ear with the hand, prick up the ears), O heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching (leqah/laqah - teaching, insight, doctrine, teaching-power/take, seize, fetch, lay hold of, buy, take in marriage, carry off, flash of lightning) drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew...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).

     As Moses sings his words to "the heavens", it is the Hebrew word samayin, which means not only the abode of God, but also "the visible in which the clouds move and the higher ether where celestial bodies revolve, the firmament which seems to spread out like a vault [an arch that supports a roof or ceiling] over the globe as supported on foundations and columns, a place from where the rain is let down as through doors or floodgates." So not only does samayim heaven refer to the invisible realm of God, but also to the atmosphere and space that vaults the earth. We know that the rebellious spirits of wickedness inhabit this atmosphere, this vault of heaven, as Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air (aer - the air, the atmospheric region)", (Eph. 2:1-3). Paul also wrote about "spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (epouranios/ouranos - the abode of God and His angels; lower heavens of the stars, heavens of the clouds/the vaulted expanse of the sky)." (Eph. 6:10-12). 

     Moses sings about beloved Jeshurun ("upright one", a poetic term for Israel): "...he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed (see Isa. 53:1-6) the Rock of his salvation. They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons (sed/sud - demon, to rule, rulers/ruin, destroy, spoil, devastate, waste, strong, powerful, to act with violence, to rule, to master), not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals (qarob/qarab - from near, from the vicinity, of relationship and affinity, intimate acquaintance, within a short space/come near, approach, draw near, bring near) that your fathers did not fear (sa'ar - to feel a sacred awe). Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you." (Deut. 32:15-18). His own people chose to worship other gods, which were nothing less than demons, fallen angels.

     There is a generation that has corrupted themselves within their surroundings, nearby as the above scripture states, within the ways of the times and places, within their neglect and forgetfulness towards God and their Rock of salvation and their worship of the demon rulers and powers that are surrounding, rather than the worship of God: They have corrupted themselves; They are not His children, because of their blemish (me'um - blemish, spot, defect, moral stain): a perverse ('iqqes/aqas - distorted, false, crooked, perverted, perverse of mind and fraudulent of speech/to knot or distort, making the straight way crooked) and crooked generation...they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith" Moses said (Deut. 32:5, 20). The LORD lovingly named His people Jeshurun, the straight and upright ones, but they have allowed themselves to become twisted and crooked.

     The apostle Paul wrote to the church: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom. 12:1-2). The world of "here, now and nearby" seeps into us and corrupts us, and, as Moses said above, removes our faith from us. We are no longer recognizable as children of God. Jesus said of His disciples that they were in the world, but not of the world (Jn. 17:11, 14-17). We are also in this world but are not to become of this world.

      Moses in his song, calls Jeshurun to remember: "Remember the days (yom - day as defined by the warm, hot hours, time, chronicles, year, always, season) of old (olam/alam - ever, everlasting, perpetual, evermore, always, antiquity, ancient, continuous existence, unending future, eternity/to conceal, to hide, secret, veiled from sight), consider the years of many generations. Ask your father (ab - founder of a household, group, family; originator, generator, first ancestor), and he will show you; your elders (zaqen - ancient man, eldest, aged, ancient, old man), and they will tell you..." (v. 7).

     The people of God had/have become so corrupted by "the here, now and nearby" that they can no longer be called the children of the perfect, righteous God of truth, uprightness, and justice, because in their blemishes and imperfections they no longer bear a resemblance to Him. "They are not His children" is a very sad condition. The LORD wants to bring them beyond the "here, now and nearby" that corrupted them and have them consider and remember "the days of old", the eternal and everlasting things, the things that are generally concealed from man, but the knowledge of the ancient truths can be found within their heritage in Him. In the "here, now and nearby", man tends to think that the world is ruled by the will of man, however, there are ancient and everlasting foundational spiritual truths upon which all creation, including man, began and continues. The LORD spoke about these ancient ways: "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old (olam/alam - ever, everlasting, perpetual, evermore, always, antiquity, ancient, continuous existence, unending future, eternity/to conceal, to hide, secret, veiled from sight) paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen." (Jer. 6:16-17). During these present fall feasts, the trumpets or shofars are blown, calling for God's people to repent and return to Him.

     Not only does the LORD want His people to return to these ancient paths that lead to Him, but it is our ordained purpose to restore those ancient paths that have been forgotten, neglected and destroyed: "Those from among you shall build the old (olam - see above) waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In." (Isa. 58:12). It is interesting that this chapter of Isaiah begins with: "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." (v. 1). We may mistakenly think that we have nothing to repent for, that repentance is only for the unbeliever, but by believing so, we miss an opportunity to see the resulting restoration of eternal truths through us for the whole world. The whole creation groans for the manifestation of the sons/children of God (Rom. 8:20-22) who, through Jesus Christ, resemble their Father in truth, perfection, righteousness and justice, as Moses said. This is part of God's call for His people to return to Him, especially during this time of repentance and return (shuvah) during the fall feasts.

     During this shuvah return time of the fall feasts, part of this Sabbath reading portion is from the prophet, Micah: "He (God) does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy/lovingkindness. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old (qedem/qadam - old, ancient, before, aforetime, eternal, antiquity, Mount of the East, earliest time, beginning, that which is before/go before, go in front, beforehand, precede)." (Micah 7:18-20).

     Another reading portion from this Ha'azinu, "Listen", Sabbath is from the prophet, Hosea, calling the LORD's people to return to Him: "O Israel, return (shuv- return unto, come back, go back, restore, refresh, renew) to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity; Take words with you and return (shuv - see above) to the LORD. Say to Him, 'Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices of our lips." (Hos. 14:1-2).  The LORD says in response: "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from him...Those who dwell under His shadow shall return (shuv - see above); They shall be revived like grain (dagan/daga - wheat, corn, grain, increase, multiply, used for bread/multiply, increase, become numerous, to cover, covering over everything, great multitude), and grow like a vine..." (v. 7).

     In the meaning of the word, return (shuv), there is also the meaning of restore, refresh, renew as we see above. We saw this same truth in the verses from Isaiah 58 above. Hosea calls it "revived". So many want to see revival. So many are praying to see all men know the LORD and His salvation through Christ. The seeds of it can be found in the shuv return to the LORD by His people.

     The LORD said, "Return to Me and I will return to you." (see Mal. 3:7, Zech. 1:3, Neh. 1:7-9).

     As His people return to Him, the LORD promises: "I will be like the dew (tal/talal - night mist, to cover with a roof, distilled from heaven [see Deut. 32:2, above] to Israel; He shall grow like the lily (susan/sus - whiteness, trumpet-shaped/exult, rejoice, leap with joy), and lengthen his roots (seres - roots indicating permanence, footholds, flourishing in prosperity) like Lebanon (meaning whiteness, purified, make white). His branches shall spread; His beauty (hod - glory, beauty, majesty, honor, splendor, goodly) shall be like an olive tree (zayit - be bright, fresh, luxuriant, oil as clear and brilliant), and his fragrance (reah - pleasant scent, fragrance, perceive, breath, to blow) like Lebanon." (Mic. 14:5-6).

     If you would like to experience repentance and the restoration of the LORD, you can join me in my prayer: "Lord, I come to You in repentance. I desire to return to You, to the place of My salvation, restoration and renewal. Remove the spiritual blemishes from me. I turn away from the thoughts and ways of the world and turn to You, my Creator and King. Restore me to the ancient paths of righteousness and let me be a repairer and restorer of those ways for others. Fill my life with the fruits of repentance and the way of life everlasting, in Jesus' name, AMEN."