Enter

    

     "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:19-22).

     The above verses from the Book of Hebrews speaks about entering into the House of God, because of and through the way that has been made for us to enter, the flesh of Jesus Christ, torn open for us. Jesus also referred to Himself as "the Door" by which the sheep of God enter into His sheepfold of safety: "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture....I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (Jn. 10:9-10).

     This truth of "entering in" is also reflected in this week's Sabbath reading portion titled Bo, meaning, "Enter." The Hebrew letters that comprise the word bo are beyth and aleph. The individual meanings of these Hebrew letters are "house/family/within" and "the first, or Adonai/Lord." Therefore, just within the word bo itself is the meaning "the house of the Lord," as we saw in the top verse from Hebrews 10, in addition to the word meaning, "enter."

     The title "Bo", is found in Exodus 10:1-2, the first verses of this Sabbath reading portion: "Now the LORD said to Moses, 'Go in (bo' - enter, go in, lead in, come in) to Pharaoh; for I have hardened (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-his-heart and (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the hearts-of-his-servants, that I may show these signs ('ot - signs, miracles, distinguishing mark, banner, proof, beacon, monument, evidence, token/consent, agree, consent to any one) of Mine before him, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son's son the mighty things I have done in Egypt, and (*vaw-aleph-tav)-My-signs which I have done among them, that you may know that I am the LORD." Moses would enter into the house of Pharaoh again in order to repeat the LORD's command to let His people go to serve Him. (v. 3).

     Entering into the house of God as mentioned in the verses from Hebrews at the top of the page is connected with the way of entrance that Jesus made for us by the sacrifice of His own body and blood. As Jesus also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through (dia - through, with, by, by the means of) Me." (Jn. 14:6).

     It is very interesting that the concept of entering in this Bo Sabbath reading portion also contains three mentions of Passover, the sacrifice of the spotless lamb and the application of its blood upon the doorposts and lintels of each Hebrew home. Entering their homes through that blood-soaked doorway would assure their safety from the coming tenth and final judgment/plague of death to the first-born in Egypt. Therefore that sacrificed blood upon the door has a direct connection to the concept of "entering." into the salvation provision of God. The meal in which the Hebrews were to partake was within that blood-painted door: "Now the blood shall be a sign (see 'ot above) for you on the houses where you are. And when I see (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt....and none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning (boker/bawkar- end of night, coming of daylight, beginning of the day, bright joy after the darkness of distress/inquire, seek out, search for, look for, consider, admire, care for, inspect diligently, discern, contemplate, to cleave, to open, breaking forth and arising of light)." (Ex. 12:13, 22). 

     Up until this point, the earlier plagues of Egypt did not strike the territory of Goshen (meaning "drawing near") where the Hebrew slaves lived. However, against the plague of death, physical territory would not save them - only the lamb, sacrificed and eaten (Ex. 12:8, see also Jn. 6:53-58), and its blood painted on the doorposts and lintels of their homes would save them from the destroyer. For this protection, they would have to dwell or abide inside the body of the LORD. Jesus also said to abide in Him as branches abide in the vine. (Jn. 15:4-8).

 Isaiah also wrote the word of the LORD telling His people to enter (bo - see above) into their chambers (heder/hadar - within, inward or innermost parts, inner chamber, bedchamber, private chamber/encompass, surround, enclose as a room) until the indignation (za'am - foam at the mouth rage, anger, abominable, angrily indignant) has passed. (Isa. 26:20).

     In Exodus Ch. 12, which is also part of this Sabbath's Bo "Enter" reading portion, scripture says that "on that very same day" (v. 41 and 51), on the night of Passover, and as prophesied to Abraham generations before (v. 40, and Gen. 15:13-14), "that the LORD brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies."  In Ex. 13, another part of this Sabbath's reading, Moses told the children of Israel to "Remember (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-this-day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place...On this day (which is Passover) you are going out, in the month of Abib ('abib - fresh young ears of barley, green ears of corn, tender young ear)." (v. 3-4). In this same chapter, Ex. 13, Moses tells the children of Israel that when the LORD brings them into (bo -see above) the land of the Canaanites and other Canaanite tribes "that you shall keep this service in this month." Passover would then be immediately followed by the seven-day feast of Unleavened Bread. 

     The image that I am seeing here is one in which the same (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) day, meaning Passover, and consequently the same blood-painted door, that was their way of exit out of Egypt will be the same door by which they will bo enter into the land that the LORD promised to their forefathers by covenant. With the same sweet, striped, pierced and without the leaven-of-sin Bread that they ate on Passover, they would also remember, observe and eat for a Sabbath week (seven days) in the new land which they would enter. Both the exit and entrance were mentioned in the same context of Passover.

     Jesus prayed to the Father before His arrest and death, praying for His current believers, and those believers who would come in the future: "I do not pray for those (His present disciples) alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (Jn. 17:20-22). We become one with past believers, with current believers and with future believers because we are all in the Father and Son. We convince the world that Jesus Christ was sent by the Father, not only because of our faith, but because we are in the Son and also then in the Father, and it shows. It is a sign (see 'ot above).

      This is a level of intimacy that is more than "knowing" Him or even believing Him. This calls for being in Him. Many know of Jesus Christ. Many even concede that He is the Lord, but how many dwell inside of Him? The following verses reveal the importance of being "in Christ": 2 Cor. 5:16-17, Rom. 8:1-2, Eph. 1:3, and Eph. 2:4-10, 13, Gal. 3:27-28. As we read these verses listed here, what have we previously thought as regarding their meaning? Perhaps we thought that they mean for us to enter into faith in Christ? However, perhaps they mean as they say - to enter through and into the Person of Christ. We often think that being saved means to ask Jesus to come into (see bo above) our hearts, but perhaps salvation also means for us to desire and seek to enter into His heart.

     Finally, from another reading portion of this Bo "Enter" Sabbath, in 2 Chron. 35, we read about how King Josiah (meaning "the LORD is the foundation support"): "...kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem." (v. 1). On this occasion, the king restored the ministry of the priests and Levites in the house of the LORD. The king also restored the holy ark into its proper place in the temple. The king gave the people all of the lambs that would be necessary to offer for Passover, tens of thousands of them from the king's own possessions. They also kept the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread. (v. 17). There hadn't been a Passover kept in Israel since the days of Samuel. (v. 18). Imagine what this event must have meant to Jerusalem and Judah - the healing and restoration of their relationship with the LORD. It is also written of Josiah: "Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-all-who-were-present in Israel diligently serve (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers." (2 Chron. 34:33). When King Josiah died, "...all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah." 

     As I read these passages, the message for me this Sabbath and forward is to seek out and enter into the Lord Jesus in a new and deeper way, to have a deeper understanding of the meaning of the blood-painted doorway through which Israel exited and entered. We know Jesus as this Door of entrance into that innermost chamber, which is Himself.

     If you would like to learn more about entering into Christ, you can join me in my prayer: "Heavenly Father, You provided a holy, consecrated Door for us to enter into Your house and Your presence, a Door which is soaked with the blood of Your precious Son, Jesus. Show me Father, by Your Word and Spirit, the way to live, move and have my being in Christ, our Passover. Let me be one of those who dwells and abides in my Lord, Messiah/Christ, and in You, which is a miraculous sign to the world that You have indeed sent Your Son. Give me a greater understanding of the need to abide in Christ. 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. 

HeaveOffering

      This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled T'rumah, which means "Offering". The title comes from the first two verses of the reading portion which begins in Ex. 25: "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering (teruma/rum - contribution, heave offering in sacrifice, offering for sacred uses, an oblation/lifted up, exalt, high, heave, extol, to rise, rise up, be set on high, be raised). From everyone who gives it willingly (nadab - willingly offered, offered freely, to volunteer) with his heart you shall take (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) My offering."

     The offering that Moses has been told to receive from the Israelites has two characteristics: it is a heave offering, meaning lifted up, and it is voluntary, to be given from the heart. This special heave offering of specific items will go to the building of the tabernacle of God's presence, containing the ark of the covenant of God's Word, providing His atonement for sins, as His house of light and bread, and as His house of prayer. All of the reading portions assigned to this Sabbath pertain to the building of the tabernacle of the wilderness, or later in time, the temple built by King Solomon in Jerusalem.

     The two characteristics of the offerings to be brought are also reflective of Jesus Christ, who is the chief cornerstone of the spiritual house or temple of God (Eph. 2:19-22), of which we are the living building stones (1 Pet. 2:4-5). First, the heave offering is displayed to us as Jesus said: "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up (hypsoo/hypsos/hyper - to lift up on high, to raise, to elevate, to exalt/high, exalted, elevation/for the sake of, on behalf of, instead of, on the part of, above, exceedingly abundantly) from the earth, will draw all (peoples) to Myself.' This He said, signifying by what death He would die." (Jn. 12:31-33). Jesus identified Himself as a heave offering as we compare the meaning in the Greek to the similar meaning in the Hebrew above. The sacrifice of Messiah/Christ was also completed by His resurrection, when, again, He was "raised up". (see 1 Cor. 15:16-17).

     The second characteristic of this offering from the Israelites is that it must be voluntarily given out of love. We often think that Jesus' was killed by men, but it was not possible for men to take Jesus' life unless He allowed it. Jesus had at His beck and call legions of angels if He so desired to escape. (see Mt. 26:50-54). Of His death as a voluntary T'rumah heave offering, Jesus clearly stated: "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep...As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep...Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." (Jn. 10:11-18, excerpt).

     Like the heave offerings that built the tabernacle of God, Jesus' heave offering of Himself was voluntary and given from His heart - His heart for His Father in heaven, and His heart for His sheep.

     The voluntary T'rumah heave offerings to be brought for the building of the tabernacle, according to the instructions that the LORD gave to Moses, included fifteen specific items that ranged from precious metals and gems to various colored threads. (Ex. 25:3-7). All of these items according to their Hebrew meanings create an image of the characteristics and sacrifice of Jesus. Some of the translated meanings of the fifteen types of items to be offered include: to shine, shimmer, brilliance, white fine linen, alabaster, sacrificial victim, prevail, strong, doorposts and lintels (a reminder of the blood of the Passover Lamb, who is also Jesus), leader of a flock, noble leader, laid bare, made naked, fasten to wooden timbers or planks, carpenter, scourging thorns, to pierce, to whip, anointing, fruitfulness, light, glorious, consecrated, anointed, sweet smell or fragrance, sweet smoke of sacrifice, precious stone, build a house, temple, altar, foundation or family, Father/Son.

     The LORD continued His instructions to Moses: "And let them make Me a sanctuary (miqdas/qadas - sacred place, holy place, consecrated place/prepare, sanctuary, dedicate, holy, appointed, treated as sacred: set apart), that I may dwell among them (see also Jn. 1:14, Rev. 21:3). According to all that I show you, that is, the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it." (Ex. 25:8-9). Moses could not construct a tabernacle from his own ideas, but there was a specific pattern (tabnit - plan, resemblance, figure, form, likeness, similitude, image or likeness of a thing) that must be created for the tabernacle. This "pattern" is modified by an untranslated aleph-tav in the written Hebrew (or Alpha and Omega in Greek: see notation below), which, to those who have read the Book of Revelation, is how Jesus described Himself.

     Why is the LORD asking His people to voluntarily bring these fifteen specific items as a T'rumah heave offering? The meaning of the number fifteen to us might represent 3 (the Trinity) X 5 (the number of Grace), or perhaps 10 (the number of Completion) + 5 (the number of Grace).

     However, Jewish rabbis also teach about the meaning of the number fifteen that is not contradictory to the deepest and most powerful concepts of the New Testament as we will see. According to the rabbis, "fifteen" represents the rest achieved after the deliverance represented by the number "fourteen". It also signifies a new direction as well as the bond between husband and wife (see also Eph. 5:25, 30-33). The number fifteen also equals the number of the Psalms of Ascent (Ps. 120-134), which are equivalent to the fifteen steps of the temple, those steps achieving the elevation of the individual from the physical to the spiritual state as well as the joining together of heaven, represented by the number 7, and earth, represented by the number 8 together totaling 15. The rabbis write that there are also fifteen signs of the closeness of the appearing (or return by our belief) of the Messiah/Christ. These fifteen signs indicate that the Messiah/Christ is so close to appearing that "you can hear His footsteps". These fifteen signs are also very similar to Paul's teaching in Rom. 1:28-31 and 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

     The number fifteen is also represented by the two Hebrew letters yod and heh, letters which mean "Behold the Hand (of God)", and are the first two letters in the name of God: YHWH. So "fifteen" also represents the powerful work of the hand of God.

     What the rabbis write about the meaning of the number fifteen as shown above is revealed in the New Testament in what it means to be in Jesus Messiah/Christ as believers. In us, as we are in Messiah/Christ, heaven and earth are to be reconciled to God through His Son (2 Cor. 5:18-21) and joined together. Jesus taught His disciples the prayer, which states in part: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." (Mt. 6:9-10).

     Also, as we ascend into the presence of God through Christ, we are to be changed into new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17). We change from the physical state to the spiritual state, from corruption of the flesh to the incorruption of the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:50-54). A change takes place as we were crucified with Christ and as we offer ourselves as a living (heave) offering sacrifice to God (see Rom. 12:1-2, Gal. 2:20). Scripture says that we ascended into the heavenly places as we are in Christ (see Eph. 2:4-10), not conformed to the things of this world, but we are transformed into the image and likeness (see "tabnit - pattern" above) of the fulness of Jesus Messiah/Christ through His Word. (see also Eph. 4:11-15). 

     As we can see, the New Testament reflects what the rabbis teach regarding the number "15".

     These are not just words that we read but they are the expectation of God for us now as we remain in His Son, Jesus Messiah/Christ. These are not just promises for a "sweet by and by" after we have died but are to manifest in us now as the apostles wrote it. Do we have the faith to believe in the complete meaning of the accomplished work of Jesus as a T'rumah heave offering on the cross, and as the Resurrection and the Life for the now time in our lives? The rabbis foresaw God's miraculous and transforming purpose for us, but we New Testament believers have a difficult time "believing" it. We are very much caught up in the events and conditions of this world, focusing our eyes on the dirt beneath our feet, not wanting to let go of it long enough to reach out for the vision and things of heaven. We are to speak and believe in a transforming reconciliation of the two through Jesus Christ and His voluntary T'rumah heave offering.

     Eventually, the transformative change will be so extensive that it will result in new heavens and a new earth, with the holy city of heaven and the tabernacle of God descending to the earth as the Lord declares : "Behold, I make all things new...It is done! I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End..." (Rev. 21:1-6). Peter also wrote that we are to look (prosdokao - look for in expectation, denotes mental direction) for these things in order to hasten (speudo/pous - desire earnestly, to await eagerly, to study, to urge on/sit at the feet of a teacher, put one's foot on the vanquished in victory) them. (2 Peter 3:10-14). We are to have an active role in this transformation process promised by God since Genesis, not passively sitting on the sidelines.

     The house, tabernacle, or temple of God is built from T'rumah heave offerings given from the heart that are in the pattern of the Messiah/Christ.

     If you would like to know more about the pattern of the Messiah/Christ in the building of the house of God, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, after the pattern of Your Son, Jesus, I offer myself as a living heave offering for the building of Your living temple here on the earth, as it is in heaven. The purpose of this living temple is so You can dwell among Your people in the holy sanctuary created in me through Jesus. I earnestly desire to see Your will, Father, done on earth as it is in heaven. Transform my mind to walk in the ascended places by Your Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Teach me how to bring reconciliation between heaven and earth until new heavens and a new earth are manifested according to Your prophetic promise.  I ask these things in the name of Your Son, 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.

     

Message

       The Sabbath reading portion for this week is titled Va-y'chi, meaning, "and he lived". This reading portion covers Genesis chapters 47 through 49. The Sabbath reading gave me much food for thought, especially considering the fact that we have just finished celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, and we are looking at the end of one calendar year, and the beginning of a new one. In this week's reading, some great old patriarchs of our faith were passing away and leaving a message of instructions for their sons. 

     Our first father in this lesson is Jacob, who, at the age of 130, came to Egypt during a severe famine to be reunited with his son, Joseph. As Jacob was introduced to the Pharaoh that Joseph served, Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?" Jacob answered: "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few (me'at/ma'at - littleness, little worth, small matter/diminished, nothing, bring to nothing, gather least) and evil (ra/ra'a - wickedness, trouble, affliction, grievous, malignant, misery, sorrow, unhappy/bad, evil, harm, evil doer, broken in pieces) have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers (which included Abraham and Isaac) in the days of their pilgrimage." (Gen. 47:7-10). This sad testimony was Jacob's message before the king. If we consider the time of "Jacob's Trouble" that comes during the end times, it is prophesied as a time of darkness with an increase of wickedness and sorrows. However, Jacob was a man who had seen a ladder between heaven and earth with God enthroned at the top of it, and angels ascending and descending upon it. Jacob had also been renamed "Israel" (meaning "God prevails, he will rule as God, contender, soldier of God; have power as a prince, persist, to be leader, commander, to be noble") by God (see Gen. 32:28). This is a man to whom God spoke several times. His son, whom he thought was dead, was joyously revealed to be alive and ruling in Egypt, saving multitudes from the famine.  All of these events and more showed the miraculous hand of God in Jacob's life, yet his testimony to Pharaoh was that the days of his years had been small and evil compared to his fathers. Perhaps Jacob's message to Pharaoh regarding his life reflected the prophetic times of great tribulation ahead. Both Jacob, and later, his beloved son Joseph, gave instructions regarding their burials to their sons before dying, and those requests were obediently carried out by their descendants. Jacob also delivered a prophetic message over each of his sons, and the sons of Joseph as well, before he died. His prophetic message over his son, Judah, would call forth the Messiah many generations later.

   In another reading portion from this Sabbath, King David, as he aged, passed a message to his son, Solomon, who would rule Israel after him. He assembled all of the elders and rulers of Israel to bear witness to this message. David told them that it had been his heart's desire "to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made preparations to build it." (1 Chron. 28:1-2).  However, the LORD had told David that he could not build this house because, as a man of war, he had shed blood (v. 3). The LORD said instead: "It is your son Solomon (selomo/salom - peace, peaceable/completeness, welfare, soundness, prosperity, contentment, perfect such as be at peace) who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father." (v. 6). David then provided to Solomon all of his building plans for the house of God, instructions for the service of the priests and Levites, and all of the gold and silver necessary to construct the furnishings of worship for the house: "All this', said David, 'the LORD made me understand in writing, by His hand upon me, all the works of these plans." (v. 19). He then said to Solomon: "Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God - my God - will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service for the house of the LORD..." (v. 20, see also Deut. 31:6-8, Josh. 1:9, Mt. 28:20, Heb. 13:5-6). And David prayed to the LORD for his son, Solomon, and for God's people (v. 18-20). When Solomon later completed the house of God after his father's death, he prayed that all could come to it to pray for God's relief, forgiveness and healing (2 Chron. 6). This is the message that David passed to his son, which his son obediently carried out.

     We who believe in Christ are also each being built into the spiritual house of God, and this house is also being built upon a message: "...you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5). Peter passed this additional message to those who are obedient: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy." (v. 9-10, see also 1 Cor. 6:19-20: Glorify God). Here is another part of the message given to us: "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of the darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6). Jesus also prayed to His Father about the message to be contained in us: "And the glory which you gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me." (Jn. 17:22-23). This message given to us is so that "the world may know". Pharaoh represented the world before Jacob, but Jacob's message to him was a very different one, a message of smallness, diminishing glory and evil. We are to bring a different message. Solomon wrote a Psalm about the rule and reign of the Messiah (Christ). In part it proclaims: "...And men shall be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed...And blessed be His glorious name for ever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen." (Ps. 72:17-19). As this Psalm of Solomon concludes, scripture makes the notation in v. 20: "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended (kala - finished, accomplished, determined, be completed, be fulfilled)." The Psalm of Solomon completed the prayers and message of his father, David.  

     We have just been through the observance of Christmas when we celebrate the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ/Messiah. As I read the very familiar account of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels, where the angels were delivering a message to all mankind, I thought that it is a message that I, as a believer, should be carrying and living, not just at Christmas, but eternally. The message is very similar to the scriptures we read above: "And behold, an angel of the LORD stood before them (the shepherds), and the glory of the LORD shone around them. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men!" (Lk. 2:9-14).

     I don't want to live as if this message is meant for only one day out of the year. I think this is THE message for all eternity. This message tells all people that though they may be surrounded by the darkness of the night, as the shepherds were, a Savior has come in shining glory. Though we may be in sin, a Savior has come to bring us back to His Father's heart if we will receive Him. Though our hearts may be filled with unrighteousness and unrest, we can come and find the Babe who was sent to die on a cross and rise again by the will of the Father for His glory and for our righteousness. For all of us who will receive THE message, come to the house of God's glory and presence, and be reconciled with your Father through THE message hand-delivered to us all by His Son, Jesus. As Solomon wrote THE message in the Psalm:

                                              "Let the whole earth be filled with His glory!"

     If you would like to walk in the message of praise and glory to God, you can pray with me: "Dear Father in heaven, how You have put a message in my heart and spirit! I want to walk in it, live in it, and show it before all. Like the good fathers of faith in scripture, who handed down their message and instructions to their sons, You also have handed down Your message and instruction to Your sons and daughters, born of Your Spirit. As Your spiritual house, I open my doors to any who seek to be reconciled with You through belief in Your Son, Jesus, to any who desire to be brought out of darkness and into Your light, to any who are not a people, but desire to obtain Your mercy and become the people of God who proclaim Your praises. As David drew up plans for the house of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, fill me also with Your Spirit so that my life may conform to the plans for Your living house. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Destination

When the LORD led His people out of Egypt, He was also leading them to a destination. We know from scripture that the LORD was leading his people to the Promised Land, the land that He had promised in covenant to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, we have hints, as we will see, that the Israelites were aware that there was a greater destination accomplished spiritually than even the physical homeland they were promised. Abraham, scripture tells us, was looking for a city whose builder and maker was God: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (Heb. 11:8-10). While the forefathers passed down the knowledge of the promise of land to their future generations, Abraham was aware from the beginning that there was an even greater promise involved, the promise of the city of God. The title of this Sabbath's reading is B'shallach, which means "When he let go". The Hebrew letters which form the word B'shallach, beth, shin, lamedh and cheth could also form the meaning: "The house of God (El Shaddai) to which He guides by a shepherd's hook into an inner chamber". It is just as important to know where God is leading us to, as well as knowing what He is leading us from. The apostle Peter also revealed this when he wrote: "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Pet. 2:9). We were not just brought out of something, but we were brought into something, a destination, at the same time. By the meaning of the letters of the word, B'shallach used this Sabbath, God leads His people into an innermost chamber of His House. As part of this Sabbath's reading, we see, not only how God brought His people out, but also how He brought them in at the same time. After God stood the waters of the Red Sea up like solid walls, His people crossed over the Sea bed as if on dry land. As the Egyptian army and its princes pursued the Israelites through the divided Sea, the walls of water that had stood up solidly became liquified once again and drowned Pharaoh's army (Ex. 14:21-29, Ps. 78:12-13). After this miraculous victory, Moses and the Israelites sang a song rejoicing and praising God for His mighty works on their behalf (Ex. 15). Within this song, the Israelites sing of an accomplished destination beyond the physical land promised to their forefathers: "...You in Your mercy have led forth the people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation...Till the people pass over whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your own dwelling, the sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established. The LORD shall reign forever and ever." (v. 13, 16-18). Paul wrote that the Israelites' miraculous experience at the Red Sea was a type of baptism, and the Rock which followed them through the wilderness and provided them with water, was actually Christ (1 Cor. 10:1-4). So there is a spiritual change that took place here, besides the miraculous deliverance from the armies of Egypt. Unfortunately, the Israelites quickly forgot this accomplishment of God, and the destination to which He had guided them, and they began to complain about their current circumstances (Ex. 16:2-4). How easy it is to take our eyes off the miraculous destination into which the LORD has already delivered us, and to get enslaved once again in the things we see as lack! How easily we surrender ourselves once again to the land of bondage, and the Pharaoh who rules it! Jesus also reminded His disciples of the destination that is accomplished for them in the House of God through Himself: "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know." (Jn. 14:1-4). Not only does Jesus confirm the accomplishment of the promise that Abraham looked to so long ago, but Jesus connected His return to the fulfillment of that promise of being guided into the inner chamber of the House of God, a house whose builder is not man, but God, Himself. Jesus wanted us to have the knowledge of this finished work, and to be assured in it. This destination achieved through Christ is greater than any and all circumstances that we may encounter in our lives. This destination is not only a future habitation with God, but it is an accomplished reality now, as Jesus said: "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?...Therefore do not worry...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. 6:25, 31-33). In these times of trials and struggles, the knowledge of where we dwell in the Spirit becomes more important than ever. God has brought us to our destination in His House. If you would like to learn more about walking in the promise of the city of God, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You guide Your people into Your House. Through Jesus, Who has made a place for me, I enter into that eternal dwelling place with You. Fill me with the Holy Spirit to guide me into, and keep me in this inner most chamber of Your House, and to remind me that now, in this life, I already dwell in this great destination. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Departure

There is a point in our lives when we make a departure. We leave our parents' house, and begin a life on our own. We leave the familiar and begin a path that is unknown. Spiritually speaking, when God calls us, He leads us from what we have known, and we begin a journey into newness with Him. When the moment comes that God separates us out, He does it in a way that we remember all of our lives. In the most challenging circumstances, we look back at that moment, and we are reminded that God has His hand on our lives in a special way. This moment happened in Jacob's life also. He was forced from his parents' home because of his brother's threats against him. He also began a journey to his mother's family in Syria to find a wife from among her people. This past Sabbath's assigned reading comes from Gen. 28, and is titled "Va'yeitzi", meaning "And he went out". Jacob left from Beersheba (meaning "well of seven-fold oath)" towards a place called Haran (mountainous, to loom up). He went from a place of being well watered, and a place of sabbath (seven) promises, to an arduous, and looming destination. Shortly after his journey began. Jacob fell asleep one night taking one of the stones of the place under his head for his pillow. He had a dream in which he saw the angels of heaven: "...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. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "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 to the south; and in you and in your seed all the famiies 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. 28:12-15). Jacob awoke and thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." The use of the word, ladder, here in the dream is the only time it is used in scripture. Notice that the ladder goes from earth up to heaven, rather thn the other way around. The Hebrew word for ladder is cullum. It means "ladder, raise up, exalt, extol, esteem highly, to cast up in a heap like a pile of rocks that are piled on the side as a road is leveled". Worship, thanksgiving and praise raise up that ladder from earth. Relationship with God through Christ (the stone under Jacob's head: Ps. 118:22-24, Isa. 28:16, Mt. 21:42, 1 Pet. 2:4-8) raises up that ladder from earth to heaven. As Jacob began his exile from his home, he now had seen the activity between earth and heaven, he had heard the LORD's voice himself, and he had received a covenant promise from the LORD. In that promise, the LORD also told Jacob that he would someday return to the land he had left. Jacob now knew the LORD for himself, rather than from what his grandfather and father had relayed to him. He had a personal experience. In the days and years ahead, including twenty long years of servitude in his conniving uncle's house, Jacob must have recalled that experience with the LORD, and encouraged himself by it. His uncle's name was Laban. The root meaning is "to make white, to purify, to cleanse, to purge oneself, to make bricks". Although his uncle tricked and took advantage of Jacob at every turn, it would be for a cleansing and building experience for Jacob. A spiritual structure was being built within Jacob from the bricks of cleansing in his trying experience. He must have thought again and again about seeing the angels of God ascending and descending that ladder from earth into heaven. As God has promised to those who love Him and are "the called" by Him, He will make all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28). After Jacob woke from this powerful dream, he took the stone upon which he had laid his head, and poured out oil upon it, and called it a pillar (monument, image, to fix, establish, be determined) in the place "Bethel", meaning "the house of God". As Jacob set apart Bethel as the house of God, he also made a promise to God that ended, "And this stone, which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth to you." (v. 22). Paul in Ephesians wrote about a structure that is built from that same type of stone to become the house of God: "Now therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:19-22). This is a very special stone indeed, that begins the building of the house of God in Spirit. Peter described this beginning stone as a living stone. In this living stone, Jesus, we also are made living stones that complete this special dwelling of God. As God promised, in Jacob, all the families of the earth will be blessed. As Jacob established a pillar of the house of God with that anointed stone, he also promised God a tenth, or tithe, of all that Jacob would possess in the future. Some today have a problem with tithing. They believe that it is legalistic, something done under the Law. However, with both Abraham and Jacob, tithing is practiced before the Law of Moses was given to the people. However, Abraham and Jacob were not being legalistic in the giving of their tithe. They both had experienced the miracle and revelation of God directly, and they expressed their worship and thanksgiving through the tithe they gave. They gave as part of their covenant with God. God didn't need their tenth, but He accepted it as their thanks, awe, and worship. Remember, the ladder in Jacob's dream represented the exalting and extoling of God, according to the meaning of the word. He received it as their recognition that nothing they had came from their own efforts, but by the unmerited favor and covenant promises of God. Surely a tenth is not too much to give as "Bethels" are built from our lives, as ladders to heaven are extended through our worship and thanks. All things done by the Spirit bring forth fruit in the Spirit, including tithing. The haftarah portion of this past Sabbath reading is from Hosea 11 and 12. The LORD points out how Jacob sought God's favor for his provision in the unknown, yet God mourns for Jacob's descendants who have walked away from God in their hearts, and have sought wealth through man, and the ways of man, rather than through God's favor: "I taught Ephraim (a grandchild of Jacob and a tribe of Israel and used to refer to the Northern Kingdom) to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them...My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him." (Hos. 11:3-7). Though God touched Ephraim from the time they began, they did not know Him personally nor recognize Him. Though they knew His name, they never exalted Him. In a similar manner, Jesus talked about the fact that not everyone who claims to know Him will enter the kingdom of heaven, even if they did works in His name. Only those who do the will of His Father in heaven will enter. Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me..." (Mt. 7:21-23). In our spiritual walk, each of us must know God personally, having an experience with Him, as Jaoob did. We cannot know God because our father or mother knew Him. Though Ephraim had the evidence of God's hand upon them, according to these verses, they never established a personal, living relationship with Him, never sought to do His will, and therefore drifted away from God. May we each understand our place as a living stone, in the likeness of our chief cornerstone, Jesus, building up the house of God. Our Father has called us to establish His house. If you would like to experience Jesus, our living chief cornerstone, for yourself, and be established by Him in the House of God, you can do that with the belief in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for your sin, and the confession that God raised Him from the dead: "Lord Jesus, I believe that You died for my sins, and that You rose again from the dead, so that I may have eternal life in You. I believe that You will shepherd all of my days in You, turning all things, even tryng times, for my good. I believe that by You, I enter into the household of faith, the House and family of God. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as I become part of, and build, the House of God, in Your name, AMEN."