ForgivingtheUnforgivable

     

     

     "Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you (hypago - bring under, lead under, sink out of sight, drive back), Satan (satanas - adversary of God and Christ, one who opposes, inciter of sin and apostacy towards God, prince of evil spirits, controls idol worshippers, the accuser, the devil, Satan)! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. Then the devil left (aphiemi - send away, forsake) Him, and behold, angels came (proserchomai - draw near to, worship, visit, assent to) and ministered (diakoneo - to serve, to wait upon, the servant of a king) to Him." (Mt. 4:10-11). 

     The title of this week's Sabbath reading portion is Ki Tissa, meaning, "When you take/lift up/carry out", and the title is from Exodus 30:11-12. These verses say: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'When you take (nasa - bear up, lift up, take up, carry, forgive, exalt, rise up, support, endure, to cause one to bear, hold up, raise up, be high) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-census (ro's - sum, head, top, beginning, captain, highest, supreme, prince, height, chief) of the children of Israel for their number (paqad - number, visit upon, punish, appoint, judgment, reckon, lay upon as a charge), then every man shall give a ransom (koper/kapar - ransom, satisfaction, price of a life, henna plant [red-brown dye], atonement ordered by the LORD/atonement, purge, reconciliation, mercy, pardon, forgive) for himself to the LORD, when you number (paqad - see above) them, that there may be no plague (negeb/nagab - blow, striking, plague, infliction, stumbling, fatal blow/smite, slain, struck, beaten, plague, hurt) among them when you number (paqad - see above) them." 

     In the verses above, we see an atonement "ransom" commanded by the LORD to provide pardon and forgiveness for His people, Israel. This atonement "ransom" from the fatal blows of plague is connected to the lifting up/raising of a Prince who is the highest supreme, the Beginning. In the Hebrew word meanings above, I see a prophetic picture of the Messiah/Christ Jesus as this Prince who was lifted up on a cross, and then lifted or raised up from the dead. It is the atonement mercy and forgiveness commanded and provided by God by the blood (reddish-brown coloring - see henna above) of Jesus so that we do not have to suffer the fatal blow of plague which He suffered for us.

     This provides a powerful foundation to events that we read in this week's Sabbath portion, Ki Tissa. We will see God forgive the unforgivable.

     

     In Chapter 20 of Exodus, the LORD verbally gives The Ten Commandments to Moses to tell to the children of Israel, including the commands that they shall have no other gods before Him, and that they shall not make for themselves a carved image, nor bow down before them, nor serve them. "For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God..." (v. 3-5). Later, the LORD will repeat this to Moses to tell the people: "...Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: 'You have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. You shall not make anything to be with Me - gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves." (v. 22-23).

     Later, Moses wrote all of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) words of the LORD in the Book of the Covenant and read them to the people. The people said to Moses: "All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient." (Ex. 24:4-7). 

     Again, the LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and "He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." (Ex. 31:18). Now these same *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega words of the LORD would be written again, this time in stone, and by the hand of the LORD Himself. This brings us to Exodus 32. 

     While Moses was still on the Mountain with the LORD: "...when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, 'Come, make us gods the shall go before us; for as for this Moses...we do not know what has become of him." (Ex. 32:1).  Aaron then collected all of the gold earrings that the people were wearing in their ears, "...and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, 'This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!' So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it...Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." (v. 2-6).

     How can God forgive the unforgivable that we see taking place above? He sent an intercessor.

     The LORD said to Moses: "Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted (sahat - destroy, corrupt, ruin, mar, be rotted, injured, pervert, decay, perish, act wickedly) themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them....Now, therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation. Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God...'Turn from your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (meaning Jacob), Your servants to whom You swore...'. So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people." Ex. 32:7-14, excerpt). The LORD had seen the people as rotting corpses because of their destroying sinful act, according to the meaning of the Hebrew noted above.

     As Moses' anger broke out upon the Israelites for what they had done, he broke the tablets of stone upon which the LORD had written His word, and burned (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-calf of gold that had been made and made the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-children-of-Israel drink it. Three thousand lost their lives that day to the swords of the sons of Levi, the tribe of priests. Why is the calf identified with *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega, or the Messiah/Christ (see *note below)? Perhaps because they made the golden calf idol their substitute man-made savior, their deliverer, their Messiah in their eyes. It still happens today, even with believers in Christ, that gold, money, the work of our hands, our families, our government, our military power, science, the visible things of the world rather than the invisible things of the Spirit, become our answer, our dependence, and the receivers of our faith instead of the One who truly died for us. Paul rebuked the church for turning away from the Gospel truth of Jesus Christ that they had learned and for believing a falsehood instead. (see Gal. 1:6-7). Jesus, through His revelation to John, rebukes a worldly rich church that doesn't even realize that it is really "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked", and urging the church to buy from Him "gold refined in the fire, that...the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed." (Rev. 3:17-18). Satan, the opponent of God and Christ (see above), is always dangling this deception in front of our eyes in order to turn faith away from God.

     Viewing the people, Moses had seen them as "unrestrained/naked," ((para' - uncover, bare, naked, perish, expose). Telling the people that perhaps he could make atonement (see kapar above) for them with the LORD, Moses returned to the presence of the LORD on the Mountain and said: "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin - but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." (v. 31-32). Seeing that the people had been uncovered or made spiritually naked before their enemies because of their sin, Moses sought God's kapar atonement covering for the people, even offering the removal of himself from God's book. The apostle Paul also said that he would have offered his own salvation if he could on behalf of the salvation of his Jewish brethren who did not believe Messiah/Christ Jesus. (see Rom. 9:1-5).

      I offer the following as food for thought only regarding nakedness and the atonement covering, and not as any kind of doctrine. This is the connection that I am seeing in my spirit. There is another instance of "nakedness" in scripture. It is from the Book of Genesis, when Adam and his wife, Eve, after their choice to rely upon themselves rather than the LORD, having believed the lies of the serpent (see Gen. 3:1-6), discovered that they were naked ('erom/'aram - nakedness, naked and helpless/to make bare, make naked, to be subtle, shrewd, crafty, cunning, smooth, impudent, spiteful as manifesting one's malevolent mind) (see Gen. 3:7). The Hebrew root meaning of "naked" above, 'aram, leads us directly to the serpent who is described as being subtle or cunning in Gen. 3:1. The Hebrew word and root word for "serpent" are 'arum and 'aram. We see the connection between the serpent and the nakedness of man through the Hebrew language here. We can see then that it is Satan's strategy for man to remove his kapar atonement covering, leaving him naked and helpless. How could Adam have had the atonement covering many generations before Jesus Messiah/Christ was slain on the cross? Scripture describes Jesus as the Lamb slain before the foundation of the earth. In Isaiah 53, the prophet saw the Servant of God already beaten and slain for the iniquity of us all because the prophet writes of this in the past tense even though Jesus wouldn't be born until 750 years after Isaiah wrote his prophecy. David saw and prophesied of the crucifixion as if it was occurring to him in his present time even though he lived 1,000 years before the birth of Christ and never suffered crucifixion himself (see Ps. 22:1-18). This is the nature of prophecy and the things of the Spirit, as well as the nature of God and His Son: He is past, present and future all at the same time. (see Jn. 1:1-2, Rev. 1:8, Rev. 4:8). It is also interesting that the name "Adam", which is usually translated as meaning "man", has a deeper meaning of "dyed red, be red, to show red, to look red". A related Hebrew word dam means "blood, bloody, wine". Perhaps we can say that Adam's name could mean "a man of the blood". Paul called Jesus the "last Adam" and the "second man" in scripture. (see 1 Cor. 15:45-49).  In Rom. 5:14, Paul wrote that Adam was "a type of Him (meaning Christ) who was to come." When the LORD created "Adam" and his wife, they were naked then also, but scripture says that they were not "ashamed" (bus - ashamed, confounded, troubled, disconcerted, disappointed or delayed, to fail in hope and expectation). If they were not ashamed, then they were in hope and expectation - hope and expectation of what or Whom? Jesus Messiah/Christ is our hope and expectation, our assurance. (see Ps. 62:5-7, Prov. 23:18, Ps. 5:7, Mt. 24:30-31, Rom. 15:12-13). Adam "wore" the atonement covering of the Lord through faith, and he was not ashamed - until he rejected the faith in the atoning blood covering. They then attempted to cover themselves with 'ale/'ala raised-up branch(es).

     In another reading portion of this week's Ki-Tissa Sabbath, we find that the whole nation of Israel, including their royal family, had turned from the worship of God to the worship of the false god, Ba'al.

     How can God forgive this unforgivable thing? He again sent an intercessor, the prophet Elijah: "So Ahab (King of Israel) sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.' But the people answered not a word." (1 Kings 18:20-21).

     Elijah took twelve stones representing the twelve tribes of Israel and built an altar in the name of the LORD. (v. 30-32). Elijah faced off against the prophets of Baal who were to offer a bull on an alter to their god, while Elijah prepared an offering of a bull on the altar that he had built to the LORD. The prophets of Baal could not get their god to answer them, and Elijah began to pray to the LORD: "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel (Jacob), let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-all-these-things (dabar - thing, matter, commandment) at Your word (dabar - see above). Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-their-hearts back to You again." (v. 36-37).

     The fire of the LORD fell and consumed Elijah's (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-burnt-sacrifice, including (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-stones of the altar: "Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" (v. 38-39). The LORD had turned the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega hearts of the people back to Himself.

     It is no surprise that God has also provided for us the perfect Intercessor - Jesus Messiah/Christ. The Book of Hebrews says of Christ: "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Heb. 7:25). Paul wrote of those who remain in the justification of God through Christ: "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Rom. 8:34-35). John wrote to the church so that we may not sin. However: "... if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation (meaning atoning blood covering sacrifice) for our sins, and not ours only but also for the whole world." (1 Jn. 2:1-2). We also are to pray and intercede continually for all of the saints in the same manner. (Eph. 6:18).

     If you would like to learn more about intercession and forgiveness of God and Jesus Christ, you can join my prayer: "Heavenly Father, when I didn't know you and had no hope in eternity, Your Word gave the promise of intercession on my behalf, and of an atonement covering for my spiritual vulnerability. You fulfilled these promises through Your beloved Son, Jesus. You forgave me of the unforgivable as I was determined to live a life without You. Your Son became not only my Intercessor, but my hope and expectation when I had none. Jesus poured out His blood in order to cover me when I didn't know I needed His covering. Father, I ask You to keep me from the temptation of the evil one and direct my steps so that I never leave the atonement covering Jesus provided for me. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I can pray and intercede for others as Your Son intercedes. 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 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. 

Zealous

     This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled Pinchas, referring to Phinehas, a man of zeal for God. His story begins in Numbers 25.

     Dealing with demonic false gods takes its toll on people, especially the people of God. Numbers 25 begins this way: "Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove/Shittim (sittaym/sotet - a large tree growing in dry areas covered with black thorns, a valley on the border of Moab, scourging thorns, wood used to build the holy furnishings of the tabernacle/scourge, to pierce, to flog, a whip), and the people began to commit harlotry (zana - harlot, whore, whoredom, fornication, commit adultery, to be a cult prostitute in worship of an idol, be unfaithful to God) with the women of Moab. They (the women) invited (qara - read, proclaim, invite, preach, to call with the name of God, to cry out, to call, to be named or called out or chosen) the people to the sacrifices (zebah - sacrifices of righteousness, the Passover sacrifice, covenant sacrifice, thank offering VS. sacrifice of strife, sacrifice to dead things) of their gods, and the people ate ('akal - eat, devour, burn up, feed, be wasted and destroyed of the flesh) and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined (samad - bind, join, fastened, to adhere) to Baal of Peor (false deity of Moab worshipped with licentious rites in which women prostitute themselves, and meaning "mouth gaping wide open like a ravenous beast"), and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel." (v. 1-3).

     We can see from the Hebrew meanings in the above verses that this place and these circumstances were to be a prophetic signpost of the prophesied Messiah/Christ to come, a valley of decision, but instead it became a perversion of the way, a twisting of the call and election of God and the Gospel (preaching, see above) of Messiah/Christ Jesus, a subversion of the offerings of righteousness into the offerings of licentiousness and things of death rather than life according to the meanings of the Hebrew words used. The demon gods and the evil spirits of wickedness could not have hoped for a better outcome: the people of God had joined themselves to demons.

     We find out later in scripture that the use of Moabite women against the Israelites was based on advice given by Balaam to King Balak of Moab in order to separate the Israelites from their God, and in doing so, defeat them. (Num. 31:14-16). This was not a one-time strategy from ancient history. The resurrected Jesus, in His message to the church at Pergamos in the Book of Revelation, judged the church for this. Jesus said to them: "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality." (Rev. 2:14).

     The meaning of Pergamos, the name of a church in Asia Minor, is very interesting. It means, "height or elevation, a tower, a fortified structure rising to a considerable height to repel a hostile attack or to enable a watchman to see in every direction." The church that had been elevated to a great spiritual height in order to watch, protect and defend the holiness of God and the human soul, had instead become a doorway into immorality and idolatry, which would prove to be a stumbling block to salvation for any Jewish person. The God and the practices of this Christian church bore no resemblance to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, nor to His commandments. Recent headlines tell us that there are again churches, like Pergamos, that have placed these same stumbling blocks between God and man through sexual immorality and abuse, as well as the idolatry of worldly dying things. Mankind was made a living soul (nefes) by the holy breath of God to be champions of Him and His righteousness, to eat from the tree of life, His Son Jesus, and to show others the way to this salvation from death to everlasting life.

     From that place of death, only the Messiah/Christ, as prophetically described in the above verses from Numbers 25, whom the Israelites should have been proclaiming in the valley of thorns and scourging, can turn the human soul back to the way of life. Zion (siyun) is a way marker, a signpost, a guiding pillar to the way of Truth, according to its root meaning in Hebrew.

     We find out from this sad account in Numbers 25 that Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, walking in the zeal of God, stopped the plague that had broken out among the Israelites as a result of their choice of Ba'al and unfaithfulness to God in that Shittim valley: "And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Phinehas the son of Eleazar, that son of Aaron the priest, has turned back (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My wrath from (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) the children of Israel, because he was zealous with (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My zeal/for My sake among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel...Behold, I give to him (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My covenant of peace (salom/salam - peace, welfare, prosperity, safety, health, completeness, contentment, friendship/recompense, reward [see Rev. 22:12-14], render, restore, repay, restitution, finished, complete); and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel." (Num. 25:9-13). Our calling as believers in Christ requires the same zeal as God's for those who are dying spiritually and physically. Lives are in the balance. 

     This week's Pinchas Sabbath reading portion has another encounter with the false god, Ba'al, and involves another man of zeal for the LORD. The prophet of God, Elijah, brought to the rulers and people of Israel an example of the power of the LORD their God, who again, under pressure from an evil queen, had become involved in Ba'al worship. Elijah demanded that Israel choose between the worship of God and the worship of Ba'al. On Mount Carmel, Elijah set up a sacrifice on the altar of God, and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Ba'al set up a sacrifice on an altar to Ba'al. Elijah said to the false prophets: "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God." (1 Kings 18:19-24). Elijah had said to the people of Israel: "How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Ba'al, follow him." (v. 21). 

     The prophets of Ba'al called upon their god, but he did not answer, even as they "cut themselves as was their custom, with knives and lances until the blood gushed out of them." (v. 27-28). However, when Elijah called upon the name of the LORD: "...the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" The people seized the prophets of Ba'al and Elijah executed them at the Brook Kishon (qison/qos - winding, twisted, torturous/to lay bait, to lay a snare, to lure). (v. 38-40). The prophets of Ba'al were killed by the same snare and trap into which they had tried to lure all of Israel, according to the Hebrew meaning of "Kishon."

     There is an often-repeated principle in scripture that the wicked, the plotters, the nations who lay snares and traps for God's people will be caught in those snares themselves, as we see in the account of Elijah and the false prophets above. (see also Ps. 7:15-16, Ps. 9:15-16, Ps. 141:9-10, Prov. 26:26-27, Esther 7:9-10, Dan. 6:24). This principle of God's justice and judgment is very important for us to know in these current times before the return of Jesus. Jesus warned that there was a snare coming upon the whole earth, set against all of the people of the earth. This snare of deception is so spiritually and physically powerful, that even the elect of God could be caught in it. (see Mt. 24:24-25, Lk. 21:34-36).

     Even though Elijah brought forth a powerful demonstration from God that brought the worship of God back to Israel, after his encounter with the false prophets and the death threats from the evil queen of Israel who worshipped Ba'al, Elijah suffered an attack to his spirit. He prayed that he would die. He fled from the northern kingdom of Israel and ran to the southern kingdom, Judah, to Beersheba. There Elijah feel asleep under a broom (root word ratam - to bind, attach, to yoke up, thread tied around a finger as a reminder, horses bound to a chariot) tree. Then an angel touched him, telling him, "Arise and eat." Elijah found a cake baked on coals and a jar of water. This happened twice, as the angel then told Elijah that he had to be strengthened for a forty-day journey to "Horeb. the mountain of God." (1 Kings 19:1-8).

     The broom tree was like a thread tied around Elijah's finger, according to the Hebrew meaning, to remind him of an important principle. The broom tree is a symbol in scripture of God's provision: it provides shade from intense heat, its wood is used to make long-lasting coals for warmth and preparing food, it is able to grow in harsh and desolate places symbolizing the capacity for survival and endurance in the face of adversity, its roots are used by the poor for food in times of scarcity.

     In this place under the broom tree, the LORD sent an angel to provide for and strengthen his zealous prophet for what was to come.

     The angel instructed Elijah to make the long journey to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. Mount Horeb (meaning "glowing, heat") is also considered to be the same as Mount Sinai, the site of the burning bush to Moses, the place where the Word of God and the Covenant of God were given to His people, and where water was given from the rock. Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, is also a place of great spiritual warfare, as we can imagine. The Hebrew root word harab means "waste, desolate, destroyer, slay, decay, ruins, dried up, attack, smite down, fight." It also means "to be amazed and astonished." The LORD worked powerfully and miraculously in this place.

     Here Elijah would learn that he was not the only prophet left in Israel who was serving God zealously as he had thought. (1 Kings 19:18). Elijah would also receive on the mountain of God instructions that would bring about changes to power structures. Two new kings were to be anointed by Elijah, as well as a new prophet, Elisha. The LORD would use this combined new power structure to carry out His judgment. (v. 15-17).

     Jesus also instructed His disciples that when the abomination of the antichrist and the surrounding by armies came to Jerusalem in the days before His return, they were to immediately "flee to the mountains." (Mt. 24:15-16, Lk. 21:20-22). This is the time when the snare that had been laid for the people of God by the powerful enemies of God would be turned back upon those who had plotted to deceive the whole earth and destroy God's covenant people as mentioned in the verses above. 

     Before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's nephew Lot had also been instructed by angels: "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed." (Gen.19:17). Instead of fleeing to a high place for refuge, Lot asked to go to a nearby place closer than the mountains, which was called Zoar (meaning "insignificant, ignoble, be brought low").

     Spiritual enemies of God and His people are and will be rising up in these last days before Christ's return. The prophet Daniel also spoke about the people of God who would have zeal during this time: "Those who do wickedly against the covenant he (the defiler of the sanctuary) shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits." (Dan. 11:32). Instructions have been left for us in scripture, including the prophetic warnings of Christ.

     If you would like to know more about the role of the zealous people of God in this time, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You have provided for us the wisdom and instruction in Your Word for these times. Help me, LORD, to learn and receive in my heart this necessary understanding by Your Holy Spirit, and to walk in the role that You have purposed for Your people. These are not ordinary times, and we are not called to be "ordinary, insignificant, or ignoble," but we are called to walk in the high places as You have instructed. I give You thanks for preparing the believers in Christ for the times to come, and I pray with the Holy Spirit for the soon return of Your precious Son, our Lord, Jesus. I pray these things in Jesus' name. 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. 

idols

We have certain ideas of what constitutes an idol. We usually connect idol worship with a kind of paganism, and the worship of a god or gods other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Who is the God of all creation. Sometimes we view an idol as anything that we make more important than God in our lives. This week's sabbath reading portion from Exodus chapters 31 through 34 titled Ki Tissa, meaning "when you elevate", includes the familiar account of the golden calf. However, I began to think about what constitutes the worship of idols, and began to see some unexpected things. It made me think about what we may be "elevating", as stated in the reading portion title, that we may not usually associate with idolatry. As this week's sabbath reading begins, Moses had been on the mountain receiving detailed instructions regarding the construction of the tabernacle and everything connected with it. It is at this time that Moses also received what we call The Ten Commandments: "And when He (the LORD) had made an end of speaking/communing with him (Moses) on Mount Sinai (meaning "thorny"), He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony (edut - testimony, witness, precept of God, revelation), written with the finger (espa/seba - forefinger particularly as in the finger of the priest applying blood or oil/dip into divers colors, colored cloth) of God." (Ex. 31:18). The word "speaking/communing" used in the above verse is the Hebrew word dabar, which includes the meanings "to speak, say, commune, to speak together, to arrange in order, to lead flocks to pasture, to direct people, to subdue, to lay snares, to plot against, to destroy). From this we learn that the words spoken by God not only lead His flock, or people, to safe pasture, but at the same time, sets up plots and snares to destroy the enemy. This dabar Word that leads us is a type of exodus, or "the way or road out of" for God's people who heed it, and the way or road into trouble for those who do not. For me, it was also interesting to see that as God gave many detailed instructions for the building of His tabernacle to Moses, a tabernacle which would play a huge role in the spiritual lives of His people, the LORD immediately followed those instructions with a warning: "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My sabbaths shall you keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you...keep the Sabbath...observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested (sabat - rest, celebrate, sit down and be still, to cease, put an end to, exterminate, destroy, leave, take away, remove, restrain) and was refreshed (napas - take a breath, to be breathed upon, refreshed by a current of air)." (Ex. 31:13, 16-17). The consequences of not keeping the Sabbath holy, as the LORD views it as holy, was death (v. 15). Here is a warning against the first idol presented in this reading portion: the tabernacle. Does that surprise you? It surprised me! The tabernacle was to be a work of the finest craftsmen, who were appointed by God and called by name, who were filled with the Spirit of God, and gifted by God in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship (Ex. 31:1-6). The tabernacle itself was to be constructed of the finest elements including gold, jewels, and expensive dyes and fabrics. The tabernacle would be a prophetic image of the Messiah, the Savior to come. It would be the setting for the priesthood and the atoning and sacrificial power and presence of God, even the throne of God upon the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. However, in doing this appointed work, they were not to forget the Sabbath, and the holiness and power of the Sabbath for rest and refreshing, the power of the Sabbath as a sign (ot - a token, a distinguishing mark, miracles, proof, flag, beacon, a memorial sign of the past and a sign pointing to the future, a sign of the covenant) between the children of Israel and God. The tabernacle tent, and later, the temple building, became an idol to the Israelites. They wrongly felt that they were safe from attack as long as the temple of God, containing the Ark of the Covenant, was in their midst (see Jer. 7:1-2, 4). Creating an idol of the tabernacle/temple was a deception that weakened them, and kept them from seeking the LORD in repentance. Jesus corrected this attitude: "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice', you would not have condemned the guiltless..." (Mt. 12:6-7). Jesus also shocked His disciples when He said regarding the magnificent temple in Jerusalem that they were admiring: "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Mt. 24:1-2). Jesus was zealous for the temple fulfilling prophecy (Isa. 56:7, Jer. 7:11), not for the building's sake, but for what it represented - a house of prayer for all nations, a representation of the spiritual place where a soul could speak to God, and know that he is received (Mt. 21:12-13). The temple Jesus prophesied about here to His disciples was indeed destroyed by the Romans within a generation of Jesus' death and resurrection. The glorious temple that Solomon had built centuries earlier was also destroyed and ransacked by a conquering king from Babylon as prophesied. In our lives, the idolization of the temple may sometimes take the form of an idolization of a church building, or of the work that God has ordained for each of us to do. In these cases, the "work" becomes more important than what the work represents, which is God Himself, and God's fellowship, reconciliation, grace and salvation towards man while there is still time to receive it. In fact, one of the greatest tabernacles ever to exist was not one of the glorious structures, but the plain, personal tent of one man, Moses, which he moved and pitched (nata - outstretched, extend, elongate, bend down, coming down, descending) outside and far away from the camp of the Israelites (Ex. 33:7). So great was this personal aleph-tav-tabernacle (as written in the Hebrew), that whenever Moses entered it to speak to the LORD, all of the Israelites watched him, and they worshipped the LORD from the doorways of their own tents (v. 8-10). To this solitary, personal tent, the LORD descended in a cloud, and spoke to Moses face to face (v. 11). In this personal tabernacle, Moses called upon the grace of the LORD five times, seeking His forgiveness for the Israelites who had sinned against the LORD by worshipping a molded golden calf. The LORD answered Moses' pleas by His grace. (v. 12-17). This tabernacle had no outer glory, but was filled inwardly with the glory and presence of God. These are the temples that we are called to be also (1 Cor. 3:16-17, 1 Cor. 6:19-20). Some of the greatest "works" of the LORD are not accomplished on grand stages, in front of crowds of thousands, but are done in private, where no human eyes can see. The greatest "work" of all was accomplished in a lonely place, also outside the gates of the city, on a cross. In the same vein, we can sometimes "elevate" and take great pride in our own salvation, as if it was the result of an accomplishment of ours! We may fall into the trap of feeling superior to others because of the work of Jesus on our behalf. This then becomes an idol to us, which God brings to our eyes in this week's Sabbath portion. We read for the first time in scripture of the Book in which our names are written as belonging to God. As Moses pleads with God to spare the Israelites, he cries: "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold (referring to the golden calf)! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin - but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." (Ex. 32:31-32). Moses was willing to give up his own eternal relationship with God if the people of God could not be spared. The apostle Paul expressed a similar thought as he desired with all his heart to see his own Jewish people accept the Savior and Messiah, Jesus: "...I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites..." (Rom. 9:2-4). Who gets removed from the Lamb's Book of Life is up to the Lord, not us, but would we ever be able to lay our own salvation on the line for the salvation of others? Do we care enough about the salvation of others to even consider doing so? It is unthinkable! The prayers of Moses and Paul were not empty religious words, but heart-felt cries that reflected the cry of God's own heart, and I believe that those prayers were heard and understood by God in that spirit. As we read above, as God gave Moses the detailed plans for the tabernacle and priestly garments, He emphasized that His Sabbath should not be neglected. Here is another idol to many - the Sabbath. What does it mean to God, and what has man decided that it means? Jesus dealt with this idol when He healed, casted out demons, and spoke the truth regarding the Sabbath in the synagogues and temple. The people had made the Sabbath into a religious idol, creating rules, and persecution surrounding it. Jesus said that God was indeed working on the Sabbath, and so He was doing the same works as His Father- works of miracles, and healing: "For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, 'My Father has been working until now, and I have been working...Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." (Jn. 5:16-19). Also, as we saw in the meaning of the word "rest" above, spiritual enemies of man are being exterminated, destroyed, removed, and restrained in the Father's and the Son's "work" of the Sabbath. Jesus didn't break the Sabbath, He embodied the Sabbath, as He saw what His Father was doing on the Sabbath. God intended the Sabbath to be rest and refreshing to man, and as an eternal sign , the meaning of which includes "miracles" as discussed above. The Sabbath is holy because it is a time to stop the ordinary cares and activities of life in order to listen and hear, and look and see the works of rest, mercy and refreshing that the Father is doing, so we, like Jesus, may do the same. It is a sign of His covenant. There is a Lord of, and contained within, the Sabbath (Mt. 12:8), but the Sabbath itself is not lord over man. This is why Jesus also said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mk. 2:27-28). It is unfortunate that the marvelous, true intentions of the Sabbath are ignored, or have become subject to a form of idolatry that elevates man's own interpretations and doctrines, rather than God's. The Sabbath of man's interpretation becomes a form of godliness while denying its power (2 Tim. 3:5). A more obvious idol to our understanding, the golden calf that we heard about above, is found in this week's reading in Ex. 32. Moses had been on the mountain, communing with God for an extended period of time, and the Israelites grew fearful. They said to Aaron, Moses' brother and future high priest: "Come, make us god(s) that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." (Ex. 32:1). The first problem here is that the children o Israel so quickly lost touch with the truth that it was not Moses who brought them out of the land of Egypt, but God (Ex. 20:2, Ex. 29:45-46 and over 80 additional verses). Moses was His prophet, leader, and would become the one who delivers the Word of God to the people of God. With their eyes on Moses, they lost the knowledge of the sovereignty and salvation of God (Ex. 14:13-14). This is a type of idolatry also, isn't it? When Moses was removed from their sight, the people insisted that Aaron make them an idol to take the place of Moses and the God he served. Aaron listened to them, and fashioned a golden calf for them with an engraving tool. Then the people said: "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!" (Ex. 32:4). When Moses saw what they had done, he asked his brother, Aaron: "What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?" (v. 21). Aaron blamed the people as being evil, and then lied, telling Moses that he threw their gold into the fire, and the calf just came out by itself (v. 24). The voice and desires of the people became an idol to Aaron, "elevated" above the truth he knew of God. He did whatever they told him to do, even though he knew it was wrong, and called it evil. We see the same today, as churches listen to the voices of the people, even knowing it is evil, rather than the voice and Word of God which saves. Joshua described this voice of the people as "a noise of war", and not in a good way (Ex. 32:17-18). To me, the golden calf, although it may represent a specific pagan god of then and now, really represents the idolatrous worship of the fears and desires of the people. Idols, which are made by man, have no power, as was shown in another portion from our sabbath reading in 1 Kings 18. The prophet Elijah exposed the uselessness of the false gods that Israel had chosen to follow, which were Ba'al and Asherah. He confronted the King, four hundred and fifty of the false prophets who served these gods, and all the people of Israel who had turned to these gods. In the "showdown", the false prophets did all that they could to make their gods answer them, including sacrificing a bull, calling on their gods' names, leaping about, and eventually, out of desperation, cutting themselves until their own blood gushed out, but their gods did not answer (1 Kings 18:25-29). As Elijah set up a sacrifice to the true and only God of Israel, the LORD answered Elijah with fire from heaven that consumed the offering: "Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!" ( 1 Kings 18:38-39). Establishing and elevating idols of the work of men's hands and ways, or giving way to idols to please the people, may be easy and tempting to do, but they will never testify to the saving power of God. From another of this Sabbath's readings, Psalm 96, scripture says: "For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary (miqdas/qadas - sacred, holy place, hallowed part/sanctify, dedicate, consecrate, prepare, purified)...For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth." (v. 4-6, 13). If you would like to learn more about the worship of God in Spirit and in Truth, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, I want to give a true testimony of Who You are, or how You reign over all creation as the only God. I only want to elevate You and Your name. Cleanse me, Lord, and cleanse my nation, of all idols. There is only one name under heaven by which man may be saved, and it is the name of Jesus, Your only begotten Son. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, Who will lead me into all truth, and guard my heart. Let my heart, my mouth and my life be a testimony of You. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Remnant

Often our eyes become focused on the horrible events happening across the world. Right has become wrong, and wrong has become right, and often it seems that the Church is silent. However, this week's Sabbath reading, titled Pinchas, which is the Hebrew version of the name Phinehas, focuses our eyes on something else - the faithful "remnant" of God. No matter how far astray God's people had gone from Him, He assured us in His Word that He always had a remnant, or preserved remainder, who continued to worship Him, remain obedient to Him, and accomplish great things in His name. We will see the qualities that make up the faithful remnant from this Sabbath's reading. From Number 25, we read that the congregation of the children of Israel had begun to join with idolatrous Moabite women. As they joined themselves to these idolators, the Israelites began to worship the Moabite god, Ba'al, instead of the God of Israel. In last week's entry, we read that Balak, the king of Moab, and also the Midianite people, sought out a soothsayer named Balaam, to get him to curse the Israelites for a reward. God did not allow Balaam to curse His people, but Balaam, we find out later in scripture, told the king of Moab how he could destroy God's people from within the congregation by sending the idolatrous Moabite women into their midst (see Num. 31:16). The Israelites would then leave the worship of their God and turn to the false god, Ba'al, Balaam promised the king. Jesus warned the Church that this kind of strategy is still being used to try to destroy the Body of Christ from within, turning the Church away from the Word of God to embrace the lies of men and devils (see Rev. 2:14-15). Once we fall for a lie, we fall period. This is what the Israelites experienced. As they joined themselves to the Moabite women, they also joined themselves to Ba'al: "...the women of Moab...invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel was joined to (samad - to fasten to, attach oneself to, to combine with) Ba'al of Pe'or, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. Scripture later tells us that the god Ba'al also required the sacrifice of living children in fire (see Jer. 19:4-6, Jer. 32:35, 2 Chron. 28:1-3). As a result of their idolatry, a plague broke out among the congregation of the children of Israel. One man dared to bring his Midianite woman in front of Moses and the weeping congregation standing before the tabernacle. "When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel and the Midianite woman, into the tent, and thrust both of them through...So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand." (Num. 25:6-9). The LORD said: "Phinehas...has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My Zeal. Therefore...behold, I give to him My covenant of peace;... to him and his descendants... a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel." (v. 11-13). Phinehas, out of the whole congregation, acted in zeal (qana -jealousy) for God. God allowed the zeal of Phinehas to satisfy His own, and the plague was stopped. A remnant is zealous for God. However, we are not zealous with natural javelins hurled into flesh and blood. The remnant of the new covenant in Christ is a remnant of the Spirit of God. This remnant does not use natural weapons, but spiritual weapons against spiritual powers, and that warfare begins within ourselves, through our obedience. By this spiritual warfare, we "make atonement" for many. This warfare is so powerful that it pulls down evil spiritual powers and strongholds over whole nations (2 Cor. 10:3-6, Eph. 6:11-18). Although this is spiritual warfare, it comes from the same place of zeal within the remnant as the zeal of Phinehas. The remnant is not here to gaze in horror at the trainwreck of wickedness in the world, but to spiritually act in the zeal of God. In another portion of this Sabbath's reading in Numbers 27, five daughters of Zelophehad (meaning "first born"), were denied their father's inheritance because they were not numbered among the men of Israel. As a result of that omission, they came before Moses and stood for their deceased father's inheritance saying: "Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD...Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son?..." (v. 1-4). Moses brought the issue before God and the LORD agreed with Zelophehad's daughters, and commanded that they should receive the inheritance in their father's name. Not only did they inherit, but it became the commandment of God that if a man died with no son, his inheritance should go to his daughter(s) (v. 7-8). A faithful remnant brings an injustice before God, and not only causes the injustice to be changed for themselves, but, as a result of the power of God's righteousness, for many others at the same time. In the same manner, the faithful remnant of the new covenant also stands in the inheritance of the Father's Firstborn Son, Jesus, not only on their own behalf, but on the behalf of many, even all creation (see Rom. 8:16-21, Eph. 1:11-14, Gal. 3:26-29). In another portion from this Sabbath's reading, the great prophet of Israel, Elijah, became overcome with fear and with bitterness against the people of Israel, believing that only he was left to defend the LORD before a wicked, and idolatrous queen and her false prophets (1 Kings 19:10, 14). In bitterness he prayed that he might die, that he had had enough! (1 Kings 19:1-4). It was wrong for Elijah to despise the people, because he was unintentionally despising the remnant in the midst of the people. Although he was a prophet, Elijah was unaware that God had kept a remnant for Himself among the people. God answered Elijah: "Yet I have reserved ( sa'ar- remain, remnant, survive, spare, keep over, to leave as a gift, reserve) seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Ba'al, and every mouth that has not kissed him." (v. 18). The LORD then commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha to be prophet in his place (v. 16). Elijah was to be removed from his position, and, in a miraculous way, he would be called home to God. In the first chapter of Isaiah, the LORD reveals His Word to the prophet regarding the nation of Israel's evil ways and rebellion against God (v. 2-4). As a result, the nation had been stricken with terrible spiritual wounds (v. 5-6). The nation was desolate in the sight of God, with this exception: "Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah..." (v. 7-9). In our despair over rampaging sin and violence, we tend to forget about the remnant of God, and its purpose. However, God does not forget. Their presence in a nation can act as a restraint against total destruction, as the LORD revealed to Isaiah, above. In this case, the LORD directed the remnant into repentance. Would they obey and heed the LORD for the sake of the land? Phinehas made atonement for the people by the zeal of the LORD. In this example From Isaiah 1, atonement could be made by the remnant only through repentance. Do we understand the responsibility and the grace of God given to His remnant? Paul had to remind the smug and prideful Gentile Church that God had a remnant in Israel which He had not forgotten, beloved for the sake of the fathers, called to receive salvation, and that He would keep His promise that "All Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:5, 26, 28-29). The hidden remnant in Israel that Paul recognized would act as a seed of salvation for all Israel. Micah 5:7 describes His remnant as being "...like dew from the LORD, like showers on the grass..." in the midst of many peoples. God always has a remnant in the earth, although we may not always see or know them. The remnant stands with and for the LORD, and brings changes to the earth. If you would like to know more about being part of the remnant of God, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, You have called a remnant in Your Son, Jesus, led by Your Holy Spirit, to stand in the earth among the people and the nations. Show me how to walk as part of Your remnant, zealous in the Spirit, but not warring against flesh and blood, standing for the name and inheritance of our Father, not to consume it upon myself, but for the benefit of many. In these challenging times, help me to pray for the remnant so that we will walk in obedience, wisdom, truth, and revelation. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."