SabbathMystery

      The title of this week's Sabbath reading is Va-yakheil, which means "And he assembled". This comes from the first verse of this week's reading portion in Ex. 35: "Then Moses gathered (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, 'These are the words which the LORD has commanded you to do: Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath (sabat - produce of the Sabbath year, to cease, to rest, exterminate, destroy, remove, cause to fail, desist from exertion, be completed, day of rest of heart as in the propitiation of the Deity [meaning to appease and gain the favor and good will of God as by the atonement sacrifice of Jesus Christ], intermission) of rest (sabaton - Sabbath observance, Day of Atonement, Feast of Trumpets, Great Sabbath, solemn Sabbath) to the LORD. Whoever does (asa - execute, work, maker, accomplish, bring about, appoint, institute, bruise, provide, prepare to build) any work on it shall be put to death (mut - slay, dead, kill, die prematurely by neglect of wise moral conduct, perish, be destroyed). You shall kindle (ba'ar - burn, brutish, fierce, barbarous, burn up, consume by fire, God's wrath, be stupid, dull-hearted, unreceptive, to feed upon, eat up, de-pasture a field or a vineyard, remove, exterminate) no fire (es - fire, burning, fiery, flaming hot, God's anger, the fire of God, any destruction, conflagration destroying or endangering crops) throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day." (v. 1-3).

     This is the fourteenth and last mention of the LORD's law dealing with the Sabbath day in the Book of Exodus only. The Sabbath, to me, is a mystery that is not satisfied with the religious rules of men that have surrounded it, obscured it and smothered it. The heavy emphasis that the LORD places on the Sabbath throughout all of the scriptures, and especially in the Book of Exodus, tells me that there is more here concerning the meaning of the Sabbath than meets the eye, and I seek here to have my understanding of that meaning deepened.

     I can start with the verses above. First, I can see that the repetition of the LORD's command regarding the Sabbath is for ALL of the people who are identified with Messiah/Christ, both Jew and Gentile, as indicated by the presence of the Aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega identity of Christ (see note below). This is borne out by Jesus when He taught that the Son of Man, speaking of Himself, is LORD of the Sabbath, because the Sabbath was created by God for the benefit of man, and not man for the benefit of the Sabbath. (see Mk. 2:27-28). We also see the identity of the Messiah/Christ in the fact that the Hebrew meaning of Sabbath includes the rested state of the heart/soul because atoning propitiation has been made (By Jesus Christ) to appease the wrath of God and turn it into His favor towards us instead. With this favor through the propitiation blood atonement also comes the right to be called sons/children of God because they have been born anew by the will of God (Jn. 1:10-13) and to receive eternal life as promised in scripture (Jn. 3:14-17). We can then also understand why death comes to those who do not receive the Sabbath and its holiness in the eyes of God, who gave His beloved Son for this atonement purpose. 

     We see this again in the Book of Hebrews, chapters 3 and 4, where the belief in the Son of God allows the believer to enter into God's rest, His Sabbath, while God had previously told His people that they could not enter His rest because of their unbelief. (Heb. 3:16-19, Heb. 4:1-3, Ps. 95:6-11).

     The Apostle John revealed this: "He who believes in Him (the Son of God) is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned (krino - pronounce judgment, to be judged, summoned to trial, examined and to have judgment passed, to separate, put asunder, to contend at law) already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (Jn. 3:18-19). Here is the death that God referred to in the verses above from Ex. 35. It is the death that comes from the condemnation of unbelief. The rest of the soul has not been entered because of the rejection of the atoning blood of the Messiah/Christ Jesus in rebellion against God.

     Next in our journey of understanding the Sabbath, we can see from the Hebrew meaning of the word Sabbath its connection to "produce", specifically the produce provided not by man but by God during the Sabbath. In fact, man's work to "produce" is strictly forbidden. Not only is there an appointed physical produce represented by this definition, but also a spiritual produce, which the LORD creates in His Sabbath.

     The Sabbath provision of "produce" by the LORD is ample, even a double portion, and we will see this ample provision that comes after Moses declared the law of the Sabbath for this fourteenth (7 X 2) time in Ex. 35:1-3 above. This reminder of the importance of the Sabbath comes just before the people of God begin to bring their offerings forth for the building of the tabernacle. They brought forth so much that the master builders who had been given (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) all of the offerings had to come to Moses and asked him to command the people to stop bringing the offerings: "So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, 'Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.' And the people were restrained (kala - restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, forbid) from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done - indeed too much." (Ex. 36:2-7, excerpt). The Word of God also says that the LORD is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..." (Eph. 3:20).

    In God's command to Moses in Ex. 35 to give to the people of Israel, God includes a new thought into the observance of the Sabbath as we see above: "You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings (mosab/yasab - habitation, dwelling, seat, assembly, situation, location, territory, habitable places of the land/dwell, abide, inhabit, sit, to marry, seated on thrones of judges and kings, seated at the King's right hand) on the Sabbath day." (Ex. 35:3).

     The Sabbath rest of God produces more than enough for what is needed. Do we understand the real meaning of the Sabbath? Or do we think that it is just a particular day of the week? The Sabbath is not fulfilled with religious rules created by men, but the Sabbath reflects the character, heart and purpose of God.

     We see above that one's "dwelling" can extend from far beyond the personal dwelling and into the wider territory beyond. One's "dwelling" also includes the concept of being seated at the right hand of the King, and having the authority of a king or a judge seated on a throne. There are many references in scripture to the fact that the resurrected Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father (Ps. 110:1-2, Heb. 1:3-4, Acts 2:33, Acts 7:54-56, Rev. 3:21, Mt. 22:41-46, 1 Pet. 3:21-22). Not only does Jesus occupy the right hand of God, but we do also as we are in Him. (Col. 3:1-3, Rev. 3:21).

     The idea of kindling a fire within a dwelling may, or course, be taken literally, as many do, but if we look at the meaning of the words in Hebrew, we will discover a very important principle of the Sabbath. The word "kindle" in Hebrew is ba'ar, which means "burn, brutish, fierce, barbarous, burn up, consume by fire, God's wrath, be stupid, dull-hearted, unreceptive, to feed upon, eat up, de-pasture a field or a vineyard, remove, exterminate". Who would have thought that these extremely destructive thoughts and behaviors would be associated with this word?! God's Sabbath includes the blessing of produce, however, thus kindling consumes those pastures and fields of produce by fire.

     Included in the meaning of "fire", which is the Hebrew word es, is "fire, burning, fiery, flaming hot, God's anger, the fire of God, any destruction, conflagration, destroying or endangering crops". We can see how this kindling of fire would be everything opposite of what is intended by the Sabbath of God.

     One way that we kindle this kind of fire is with the words that we speak. The Apostle James wrote: "Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell....no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God." (James 3:5-9). How awful and pervasive is the absence of the Sabbath in our mouths!

     Even the great prophet, Isaiah, when gazing prophetically upon the glory of (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the Lord, the Messiah/Christ in His (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) temple, cried out, "Woe is me, for I am undone (dama - cut off, cease, perish, destroy, cut down, ruined, made silent in death)! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the King, The LORD of hosts." (Isa. 6:1, 5). Here also is the "death". Then one of the angels came to him with a coal from the altar and touched the lips of the prophet to cleanse them. (v. 6-7).

     When Jesus was rejected by a Samaritan town because He intended to head to Jerusalem, His disciples asked Him in pride of their spiritual authority if they should command fire to come down from heaven and consume them. Jesus rebuked them saying: "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." (Lk. 9:51-56). We carelessly kindle fires of destruction with our words thinking that we are doing God a favor, but the Lord of the Sabbath rebukes us as being of another spirit.

     Isaiah wrote the Word of the LORD concerning His Sabbath: "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isa. 58:13-14).

     This is one of the mysteries of the Sabbath revealed by the LORD in order to deepen our knowledge in Him. If you would like to learn more about the depths of the Sabbath, you can pray with me: "Our Father, You sent Your Son to be Lord of the Sabbath for us, and You called us to walk after Him and to be seated with Him in heavenly places. By Your Holy Spirit, help me to understand the depths and blessings of Your Sabbath which You have commanded us to keep holy. By that same Spirit, help me to guard the words of my mouth, not kindling the consuming fires of destruction, but bringing forth instead the fire of Your Spirit, with which I was baptized in the name of Jesus. Let the Lord of the Sabbath be pleased with the words of my mouth, and His Spirit within me. Let the words of my mouth lead others into the rest of God. I ask this 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 ΑΩ , 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.

AbovePerfection

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Sh'mini, which means "8th Day". The reading portion includes Lev. 9 through Lev. 11. The title comes from Lev. 9:1: "It came to pass (haya/hava/ava - exist, become (like), be established, to be finished/existence, shall be, become, breathe, the breath of living creatures, to live/ negatively, the root ava mentioned above includes the meaning: lust, greatly desire, covet, be greedy, crave, long for, turn aside) on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel." There is a positive and a negative meaning associated with the phrase "It came to pass", as we can see. Breathing life is created, existence is established, or the opposite of life - the darkness of heart that leads to sin and death is established.

     We see here in the meaning of the Hebrew of this verse that something became alive and breathing, came into existence on the eighth day. "Eighth" in Hebrew is semini. It is an ordinal number, showing a progression in order like sixth, seventh, eighth, and so on. The root words connected to semini: semone and samen, refer to "a surplus above the perfect seven" and "fatness, plenteousness". There is also a root word, saman, which can mean to shine from fat or oil, or, in a negative sense, to be covered in the grossness of fat, and to cover the heart with fat to render it callous so as not to heed the words of the prophet (see Isa. 6:10). Again, we can have a positive or negative result when going "above the perfect seven". The abundance above the seven can work two different ways depending upon the heart of the person. In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Solomon wrote of a man having great plenty in every way, "but his soul be not filled with good (tob - goodness, beauty, favor, gladness, joy, delight, merry, agreeable, to do rightly)". It would have been better, Solomon wrote, if that man had been a stillborn child rather than to not to see this goodness. He calls it vanity and an evil affliction (Eccl. 6:1-6). Good and goodness are part of the character and name of God (see Ex. 34:5-7, Ps. 23:5-6). Psalm 23 is an "eighth day Psalm" to me, incorporating the eighth day blessings of abundance, which are those blessings that result from exceeding above the perfection of "seven". We will read about those blessings and where they come from later.

     However, we see a problem today. We have a very prosperous society, but there is sickness of heart and mind, an evil affliction as Solomon wrote, because we consume the bounty, the fatness, but we as a society have systematically and deliberately removed the knowledge of the goodness of God. Without being able to incorporate that goodness, having all of earth's riches sickens the soul rather than gladdens it. Without the goodness that is rooted in God, Solomon wrote that man has no hope or future regardless of how much wealth he has or how long his days are (v. 10-12). Rather than the eighth day blessing, we are living the eighth day curse. Let's now see what happened on the eighth day in Lev. 9.

     The eighth day in Lev. 9 marks the beginning of the priests' ministry, after Aaron and his sons spent seven days of consecration, being set apart as holy. So in numeral order, the eighth day is above or beyond the perfection of the seven of consecration. This priestly ministry started with peace offerings, sin offerings and burnt offerings made to the LORD to make atonement for the priests and the people. This eighth day would be a special day: "...for today the LORD will appear to you...and the glory of the LORD will appear to you." (v. 4, 6). From the sacrifices, Aaron's sons "presented (masa - find, attain, suffice, deliver, secure, to meet, to encounter, to detect, to discover, to come to, obtain knowledge of, be in possession of) to him the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) blood, which he sprinkled all around on the altar (mizbeah/zabah - altar/to slaughter, kill, sacrifice, to slaughter in divine judgment)." (v. 18).  After the offerings were completed, the LORD kept His promise: "Then Aaron lifted (nasa - lift up, bear up, carry, forgive, be exalted, take up) his (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down (yarad - descend, sink down, go down alive into Hades [see Ps. 55:15-16], those who go down to the grave) from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) people. Then the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces." (v. 22-24). This was an awesome eighth day event. The glory and fire of the LORD answered their offerings.

     The Hebrew word for blessing used above as Aaron blessed the people, also contains the meaning "to curse": (barak - bless, salute, kneel down, cause to kneel, be blessed, be adored, also to break down, to curse, to imprecate some evil on one by calling upon God, blaspheme, impious words against God, to wish ill). As we have seen above, the eighth day can have a dual meaning. What made the eighth day above such a wondrous event? 

     We can see the hint of the presence of Jesus Christ in this eighth day event. He is in the offering. He is in the knowledge of the blood. He is in the descent of Aaron from the brazen altar of sacrifice, just as Jesus descended into the realm of death and the grave after offering Himself as a sacrifice for us. There He led captivity captive, took the keys of authority over death, hell and the grave, and "ascended far above all the heavens". (see Ps. 68:18-19, Eph. 4:7-10, 1 Pet. 3:18-19, Jn. 20:16-18, Rev. 1:17-18). The eighth day to us must be all that is contained in the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ into the realm far above the highest realms: the realm of all glory, which He has delivered to us (Jn. 17:22-24). It is from this realm of glory above the highest realms that He blesses us with all of the riches and abundance, particularly spiritual riches, of that glory realm (Phil. 4:18-29). The word "above" in Hebrew is al, meaning, "over, in addition to, above, excess, pre-eminence, state of rest, on high, the Highest". The root word, ala, of "above" gives us a deeper understanding of this highest region: "offer up, bring, come, cause to ascend, go up, light, increase, raised, arose, to be taken up into, go up over, exalted".  The al "above" is the place of God (Gen. 28:12-13). We have the scripture also from Paul: "...to know the love of Christ which passes (hyperballo - beyond anything, surpass, exceed, excel) knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fulness (pleroma - fulness, abundance, copiousness) of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above (hyper - beyond, more than, above, very chiefest) all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph. 3:19-21). What a wonderful eighth day calling to which we have been called! Paul tells us to "walk worthy of the calling to which you were called...". (Eph. 4:1).

     We have seen the duality in meaning of the eighth day, which can be either abundant blessing, or abundantly empty and hopeless life, a curse. The dividing line between the two, as we saw in the Hebrew meanings of Lev. 9 above, is the new and abundant life of glory in Jesus Messiah/Christ (see Jn. 10:7-11), or the vanity and evil of a life without Him and the work of salvation which He completed (Eph. 2:12-13). 

     We see this duality again immediately after the glory was experienced on the eighth day. This is what occurred: "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane (zur - estranged, gone away, turn aside, depart, stranger, foreigner, enemy, loathsome, alienated, prostitute, adulterer, falsehood, lie) fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all people I must be glorified." (Lev. 10:1-3). These two priests, who had experienced the eighth day blood and glory, approached the LORD in a manner that did not respect His holiness and glory. By doing so, the LORD did not recognize them as priests, but as strangers, and destroyed them. Jesus mentioned the same thing about some of those who will claim to know Him and serve him doing spiritual works in His name. To them He will say: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (see Mt. 7:21-23). Jesus will not accept "strange fire" from us, a fire mixed with something loathsome and foreign to the Lord. Are we coming before the Lord with strange fire?

     Moses had two kinsmen of the dead priests to carry their dead (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) brethren from the front of the sanctuary, and out of the camp (v. 4-5). However, to Aaron and his two remaining sons who were still serving in the tabernacle, Moses gave a serious warning not to defile their holy priestly robes with signs of mourning for the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burning which the LORD had kindled, or to come out of the tabernacle "...lest you die, for the anointing oil of the LORD is upon you.' And they did according to the word of Moses." (v. 6-7). We want the anointing of the Lord, the priceless Holy Spirit, but do we understand the standards by which the Lord commands that we wear His anointing? Paul wrote: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." (1 Cor. 3:16-17, see also 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

     As those who are part of the eighth day new and abundant life in Messiah/Christ, which is above the perfection of seven, we also have been made priests by God (1 Pet. 2:9-10). We are purposed to be blessed, as we offer our pure worship to God. We are here to bring God's eighth day glory among His *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega people. Our golden bowls of incense are not filled with strange fire, but prayers, declaring the new song: "You (the Lamb, Jesus) are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5:9-10).

     Let's learn to walk worthy of this exceeding abundance from above that has been given to us from God through the death, burial (descent), resurrection and ascension of His Son.

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. 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, which is the name of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13.

     If you would like to know more about the eighth day and its calling and blessings, you can pray with me: "Dearest Father, You have called me into Your eighth day abundance through our Savior, Your Son, Jesus. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to lead me into the new life of glory and priestly ministry before You. You said that You have filled me with all fulness of God. Through Christ, I have been joined to You in the highest realm, the realm of glory and exceeding abundance. This is the substance of Your Kingdom, and this is the calling and purpose to which I have been called. Help my understanding so that my offerings to You in holiness will bring forth Your glory in the earth. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN."

     

Abundance

Sometimes, we read the Word of God, even experience His great miracles and deliverance, but we can still lack understanding. The Word and Person of God are not understood by the flesh, but by the Spirit. Scripture says that the things of the spirit can only be understood by the help of Holy Spirit: "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." But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God...no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God...But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things...we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor. 2:9-16). We cannot even know all of the things that God has freely given to us, according to the above verses, unless the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. About this, Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (Jn. 3:5). We can't find the kingdom of God with the best GPS in the world, unless it is revealed to us by His Spirit. Jesus again said, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (Jn. 4:24). We cannot even truly worship God except by spirit, because He is Spirit. The Sabbath readings for this week have more clearly illustrated to me the lack we suffer as the people of God when we try to comprehend Him without the help of the Spirit of God. This week's reading begins in Ex. 18. Moses received a visit from his father-in law, Jethro. Based upon outward appearances, we might not see the significance of Jethro, but the Sabbath readings are named for him: Yitro, meaning "his abundance, tent cord, that which exceeds measure or limit, eminence, remainder, to save over, to preserve alive". Jethro was a Midianite (meaning brawling, strife, discord). The Midianites were often connected to the tribes of Ishmael. Moses met Jethro when he was running away from Egypt as a young man. He married Jethro's daughter, and had two sons with her. When Jethro came to Moses, the people of Israel were encamped at the mountain of God. Jethro had brought Moses' wife and sons with him. Moses' greeting of Jethro is described: "So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him..." (Ex. 18:7). This man meant a great deal to Moses. Moses told his father-in-law all that God had done to bring them out of Egypt. "Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD...Now I know that the LORD is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they (Egypt/the gods) behaved proudly, He was above them." (v. 9-11). From Jethro's statements we can see that he rejoiced at the greatness of God that delivered Moses and Israel from the Egyptians. He may not have been a worshipper of the God of the Hebrews before that moment, but now he knew and understood: "Now I know...". In this same moment, what did the children of Israel "know" about Him? Even though they knew that God's miracles had brought them out "on the wings of eagles" to bring them to Himself (Ex. 19:4), and knew that He miraculously fed them, and gave them water, they spent every waking hour, from morning until evening, bringing their problems, disagreements and contentions to Moses to decide them. Jethro discovered God by the Spirit, but the people were still hopelessly mired in their own understanding. Jethro, whose natural cultural background meant brawling, strife and discord, only had to hear Moses' account to understand by the Spirit what God had done. The people of God, on the other hand, who had actually experienced Him, had failed to discern Him by the Spirit, and had descended into unending disagreements with each other. Jethro then gave his son-in-law wise advice on how to handle the many disagreements. Instead of standing before the people to settle their disagreements, Moses should delegate that to other "men of truth". Moses was to stand before God instead on behalf of the people, teach the people the statutes of God and show them the way to walk, and the work they must do, so they could learn for themselves. In another place in scripture, Num. 10:29, Jethro is referred to by the name Raguel, which means "friend of God". By the Spirit, Jethro had entered into the "abundance" and understanding of the free things of God given to us. In the haftarah reading for this Sabbath, which is from Isaiah 6, we see a tragic fate for a people of God who do not know Him by the Spirit, and therefore, do not know Him at all. Isaiah received a vision in the year King Uzziah of Judah died. The death of this king, I think, played a major role as an example before God's people. King Uzziah had started out being a good and godly king, but he became ruled by pride, and tried to burn incense at the altar of incense in the temple. This he was not allowed to do. Only consecrated (sanctified, set apart) priests were to burn the incense that represented the prayers of the people before God, which were considered holy by Him. The altar of incense also represents His Son, Jesus, who lives to make prayers of intercession for us before His Father. Immediately, Uzziah was struck with leprosy, and had to live the rest of his life separately. We can say that Uzziah knew of God, but didn't know Him by the Spirit. In any case, Isaiah in this vision saw the Lord in His heavenly temple. As the seraphim (fiery, burning) angels glorified Him, the pillars of the door shook, and smoke filled the heavenly temple. Isaiah immediately became aware of his own sin, and the sin of the people, and thought he was about to die being in this holy Presence. The fiery angel brought a burning coal to touch Isaiah's lips, saying, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." (Isa. 6:7). As he heard the Lord asking, "Whom shall I send for Us?", Isaiah answered, "Here I am! Send me." However, what he was about to be sent to do would be a very difficult task. Isaiah is known to us as one of the greatest prophets in scripture. He had profound and wonderful revelations from God regarding the Messiah to come, and many other glorious things of God. However, even as the prophet would faithfully record the prophetic Word he received, he did so knowing that the people of God to whom he was prophesying would not understand them. Like their king, their pride made them want to know God only by their natural understanding, rather than by the Spirit. The Lord told Isaiah at the time of this vision: "Go, and tell this people: "Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive." Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed." (v. 9-10). We have been called to have the mind of Christ. We have been called to walk in the Spirit, and know God by the Spirit, and to receive from Him all the things which He desires to freely give to us by His Spirit. Jethro, or Yitro, understood more in a moment by the Spirit, than the children of Israel would understand in forty years of experiencing God in the wilderness. When the world is using their natural understanding to face the confusing and dangerous events of this time, and not coming closer to either solutions or God, we are called to be Jethros, who speak wisdom and clarity by the Spirit of God. May we never let pride in our own understanding, quench the Spirit of God. It is better to walk an inch with God in the Spirit, than a mile in our own understanding. Overflowing abundance that exceeds measure or limit is found only by the Spirit of God. If you would like to receive the Lord, who is Spirit, you can pray: "Heavenly Father, I want to know You and worship You in Spirit and in Truth. Your Son, Jesus, allows me to be born of water, and the Spirit, so I can know You. Jesus has cleansed me of my iniquity, and purged me of sin by His sacrifice for me. I believe that He rose from the dead for me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, who teaches and leads me in all things concerning You. Let me be directed always and in all ways by Your Comforter, the Holy Spirit. I ask and receive these things from You in the name of Your Son, Jesus. Amen."