Thanksgiving

      We are in the season of Thanksgiving in several nations.  One of the most difficult things in our spiritual walk is the giving of thanks to God. You may question that statement, but the lack of thanks happens in our lives every day, especially if we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, but it is in those hardships that thanksgiving to God is our most powerful spiritual gift. We know this scripture: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thess. 5:18). Do we do it? I know that I don't. I am quick to thank the Lord for the good things in my life, but rarely think to thank God when I am suffering, or in difficulty. If anything, I am looking for where to place the blame!

     Paul wrote this about our incomplete understanding or knowledge of God: "For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part will be done away." (1 Cor. 13:9-10). This is what the LORD says about our understanding of Him: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55:7-8). The LORD makes very clear what His thoughts are towards us: "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you...and I will bring you back from your captivity..." (Jer. 29:11-14).  Although Judah was headed into Babylonian captivity at the time of this prophecy from Jeremiah, a fate they tried to avoid by any means, the LORD assured them that He still had thoughts and plans for them if they would seek Him. They didn't believe Him then, but God's thoughts and plans towards them are still in effect!

     This week's Sabbath portion is titled Va-yeitze, which means "And he left", referring to Jacob. It takes place in Gen. 28 through 31. Jacob is being forced to leave his home because his brother, Esau, has threatened to kill him. Esau believes that Jacob has repeatedly sought to steal his blessing from him. While Esau willingly gave away his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew, Jacob had indeed used deception to gain the blessing of his father, Isaac, for himself. In another reading portion from this Sabbath, Jacob (and his descendants, Israel) would later be noted by God as trying to gain God's blessing by his own strength: "...I will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his deeds...He (Jacob) took his brother by the heel in the womb, and in his strength he struggled with God. Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought favor from Him...that is the LORD God of hosts." (Hos. 12:2-5, see also Gen. 32:22-32). 

     As we go back to the moment when Jacob was forced to leave his home, we read: "Now Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones from that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." (Gen. 28:10-12). 

    Jacob left Beersheba behind. Beersheba was one of the great wells in Israel, established by Abraham (see Gen. 21:29-31, Gen. 21:14, 19), Jacob's grandfather. From this place of well-watered, covenant provision, Jacob was headed towards his mother's relatives in Haran, a place whose name means "parched, dried up, to burn, be hot, scorched, charred, be angry, kindle, to melt, fire, roast, a man in judgment". We don't know what Jacob, a man who was used to determining his own destiny, was thinking, but things were not looking good. An observer might think that a terrible fate awaited Jacob. A religious person might assume that Jacob was doomed for hell, according to the meaning of "Haran", but what are God's thoughts and plans for Jacob, which no man can know? It might help if we know that "Haran" also means "to be free, set at liberty, the brightness and purity of a man obscured by no stain". So which way will this story go?

     We need to look at the rest of the verses from above. The account in Gen. 28 tells us that Jacob "came (paga - encounter, meet, entreat, make intercession, join to, pray, meet together, reach) to a certain place". In Hebrew, "certain place", or maqom/qum, has great significance, meaning "a place to be raised up, "Arise!", raise up one fallen down, raise up a name, a seed or a posterity, become powerful, continue, be proven, be fulfilled, be established, confirm, the birth of a king or a prophet". Then it is written that Jacob took the (building) stone of raising up, or resurrection, and placed it at his head (mera'asot/ros - dominion, head place, headpiece, headship, principality/head, captain, chief, top, choicest). Through paga intercession and entreaty, Jacob made the building stone of resurrection, Jesus, his headship, his headpiece! Then Jacob laid down to sleep (sakab + sakab - lie down, rest, to be poured out of a vessel, decrease, to be prostrated, of those who are dying). In a moment, a life has been changed. A man, Jacob, has died to self, and surrendered himself to the One who lives forever, and can raise him up again. Could Jacob, at his lowest point, have remembered the story of his grandfather, Abraham, and his father, Isaac, who experienced that same ram of sacrifice on Mount Moriah? (Gen. 22:1-19)?

     What were God's thoughts and plans toward Jacob all along? The LORD stood at the top of that ladder that extended from earth to heaven that Jacob saw in his dream, and said to Jacob: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you." (Gen. 28:13-15).

     When Jacob awoke he said: "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it...How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!"  And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega/ Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:, Rev. 22:13) stone, or headship, of resurrection, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it." And he called the name of that (aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) place Bethel (meaning "House/family/temple/descendants of God"); but the name of that city had been Luz ("Almond Tree") previously." (Gen. 28:18-19).

     Jacob anointed with oil a physical place, but, to me, "Bethel" is any place where an earnest heart in prayer dies to self, and places the Resurrection and the Life, the Son of God, Jesus, at the headship over his life. To me, the ladder in the dream is the connection between earth and heaven and God, that is built through the prayer of one who seeks the Lord. Jacob sought blessing and favor by his own strength, but, blessing and favor was the LORD's plan for Jacob's life from the beginning. From our Sabbath reading this week, Proverbs says: "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches and honor and life." (Prov. 22:4). Jesus taught the same: "Therefore do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Mt. 6:31-33).

     We can give God thanks even in the most difficult times, because, as Paul wrote: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." This is the predestination and foreknowledge of God for each of us. (Rom. 8:28-30).  It was the plan of God for Jacob's life that he would be the father of the twelve tribes/princes of Israel. One of his sons, Joseph, would save the nation of Egypt from destruction. That same son, Joseph, although betrayed by his brothers, was able to forgive them when he saw them again, saying, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.'...And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them." (Gen. 50:19-21).

     Jesus thanked His Father, even on the night that He was betrayed, was to be arrested, broken and sacrificed for our salvation. (1 Cor. 11:23-26). The word used for Communion, or Eucharist, is from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning "thanksgiving". If Jesus could give thanks to God for His own sacrifice, and looking beyond it to the great victory for many that would result from it, what circumstance would entitle us to withhold our own thanksgiving?

     If we can receive and believe this about our God, then we can and should thank Him in all circumstances. If you would like to know more about thankfulness, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, I know that your thoughts and plans for me are perfect in wisdom and grace. Forgive me, Lord, when I fail to give You the thanks that acknowledges Your constant favor towards me, even in difficult times and circumstances. When I rely upon my own sight, understanding and strength, I fail to see Your thoughts towards me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that I will be able to say, "Teach me more, Lord!". Teach me the faith of the Son of man, a faith that goes beyond what I can see with my natural eyes, and beyond my own understanding, and relies instead upon what You have declared. Above all other things, Lord, I give You my thanks. Increase my thankfulness to You, Lord. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Thanksgiving

 

This Thanksgiving season of 2013 is a very unusual one.  For the first time since 1888, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will begin at the same time (Hanukkah beginning on the night before at sundown). It is calculated that this exact convergence will not happen again for over 70,000 years. So this special timing should capture our attention.
Hanukkah comes from the Hebrew word "to dedicate" and refers to a miraculous historical event that occurred in 165 BC. A generation before this date, Antiochus lll the Great, the Syrian King, was victorious in battle over the Egyptians and won the Judean territory from Egyptian control, and incorporated it into the Seleucid Empire. At the time, the king guaranteed the Jews the right to keep their ancestral customs, and practice their religion in the Temple in Jerusalem without interference.
However, when this king died, his son, Antiochus lV Epiphanes, did not keep that commitment. He outlawed Judaism, looted the Temple in Jerusalem, banned circumcision, erected an altar to Zeus in the Temple of God, and ordered the sacrifice of pigs on this pagan altar, which would have been a normal practice in that ancient Greek idolatry. These actions caused a rebellion among the Jews, led by a priest's family. The leader of the rebellion was Judah "the Hammer", or HaMakabi. From this we call the rebellion leaders "The Maccabees". The details of their victory over the Seleucid Empire is recorded in 1st and 2nd Maccabees in the Apocrypha, and by the historian, Flavius Josephus.
After their victory, as the Jews cleansed the profaned Temple, and rededicated it to the worship of God, they found only one sealed container of holy oil used to keep the Menorah, or Lamp, in the Temple lit. This amount of oil would only keep the Lamp lit for one day, and the Law of Moses said that the Lamp must stay lighted night and day, continually. A miracle occurred and the Lamp stayed lighted from this small amount of oil for eight days, until a new supply of special holy oil could be made. This miracle and rededication of the Temple of God is commemorated by Hanukkah.
Imagine the thanksgiving to God in Judea over this event. God had confirmed and blessed the victory, and His presence in the Temple among His people, by keeping that Lamp lighted miraculously.
Jesus also observed Hanukkah, as noted in John 10:22-23. It is called in scripture "the Feast of Dedication". At this time, Jesus was in the Temple and the Jews questioned Him again, and said to Him,"If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe...My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."    Jn. 10:24-30
Jesus made a powerful declaration, and "dedication" that day at the Feast. He declared that His sheep will never perish, and can never be snatched from His and His Father's hands. Like that lighted Menorah in the Temple, the Light of Christ and in His sheep will never be extinguished! The Father will keep that light burning with all of His power, because He is "greater than all".
What a powerful thing to celebrate, and for which to give thanksgiving.  It is perfect that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving coincide this year, and, in our hearts, every year.
Our nation is one of the few in earth that have instituted the concept of Thanksgiving to God as a law of this land. Though it may be to many just a day to eat and celebrate with family, to the people of God, it should continue to be a time of true thanksgiving to our Father, to our Creator, who supplies us with all things for our physical and spiritual lives, to the One who keeps our lamps lighted in everlasting life.
At least three of our Presidents have given specific commands to the nation to recognize and honor God with thanksgiving (you can read these proclamations below). It also happens that these proclamations came at turning points in the history of this country. Again, our nation seems to be at a turning point.
The first proclamation, under the presidency of George Washington, came at a time when this country was new and trying to unite and govern itself for the first time. How important it was for us to begin that journey in thanksgiving to God.
Another proclamation was given by Abraham Lincoln. It came as the nation was engaged in a terrible civil war that would effect our history for generations after the war would end. Rebuilding, and reunification would require the help of God. The President asked the nation to offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Him.
The third proclamation was by Franklin Roosevelt. It came as WWll was ending. The history of the world would be changed by that war forever. Old empires crumbled, and the United States would become the premier world power. Europe was in a shambles, and would require rebuilding for years, and at great expense. It was obvious that even as that war ended, the world would have to now deal with the rise of aggressive communism, both in Europe, and in Asia also, with the coming end of the Japanese empire. The President of the United States again called the nation to prayer and thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is an elemental principle in scripture. Sometimes thanksgiving to God comes with a great victory and with joy. Sometimes it comes as a sacrifice in times of trouble. It is a powerful spiritual weapon of warfare, and is a beacon for a mighty move of deliverance from God.
The prophet Jonah, in a powerful prayer, offered the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God as he was being enfolded in the dark terror and power of the waters of death. After that sacrifice of thanksgiving, God delivered Jonah miraculously from what seemed a hopeless situation 
(Jonah 2).
Thanksgiving transforms our situation from darkness into light.
At this time of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving, and every day in our lives, let us lift up a declaration of thanksgiving to our Father, whether we are in joy, or in despair, whether we have plenty or lack. Let us "rededicate" ourselves as His temples, cleansed and purified from the profane of this world, set apart for His purpose, filled with the unending holy oil of the Spirit of God, as lamps lighted and standing in the Holy Place being the "light of the world", as Jesus is, and has commanded us to be.
"O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good;
For His mercy endureth for ever."
                                                              Psalms 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1  
 

Our Father is Thanksgiving.

"I Just Want to Thank You, LORD"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb1Op5Wo8k0


Three Presidents' Thanksgiving Proclamations:

A. Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

  Abraham Lincoln
By the President:
William H. Seward
Secretary of State.

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Issued by President George Washington, at the request of Congress, on October 3, 1789

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and—Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”
Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favor, able interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go. Washington

A Proclamation by Franklin D. Roosevelt It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord." Across the uncertain ways of space and time our hearts echo those words, for the days are with us again when, at the gathering of the harvest, we solemnly express our dependence upon Almighty God. The final months of this year, now almost spent, find our Republic and the Nations joined with it waging a battle on many fronts for the preservation of liberty. In giving thanks for the greatest harvest in the history of our Nation, we who plant and reap can well resolve that in the year to come we will do all in our power to pass that milestone; for by our labors in the fields we can share some part of the sacrifice with our brothers and sons who wear the uniform of the United States. It is fitting that we recall now the reverent words of George Washington, "Almighty God, we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy Protection," and that every American in his own way lift his voice to heaven. I recommend that all of us bear in mind this great Psalm:"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. "He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." Inspired with faith and courage by these words, let us turn again to the work that confronts us in this time of national emergency: in the armed services and the merchant marine; in factories and offices; on farms and in the mines; on highways, railways, and airways; in other places of public service to the Nation; and in our homes. Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby invite the attention of the people to the joint resolution of Congress approved December 26, 1941, which designates the fourth Thursday in November of each year as Thanksgiving Day; and I request that both Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1942, and New Year's Day, January 1, 1943, be observed in prayer, publicly and privately. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT