Kings

This week's sabbath reading is titled Chayyai Sarah, or "The Life of Sarah". Sarah was the wife of Abraham, and had miraculously become a mother in her old age, as the LORD had promised her. It is interesting and important to us that the reading portion titled upon "the life of Sarah" begins with her death in Genesis 23. Genesis, or B'resheit in Hebrew, is about "Beginnings", and we will see another important "beginning" established here. I found that this week's reading portion is about two kinds of kings, and therefore two kinds of kingdoms as well. One thing we should know before we look at Gen. 23, is how the LORD changed Sarai's name to Sarah earlier in Gen. 17: "Then God said to Abraham, 'As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be by her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed..." (Gen. 17:15-17a). Her original name, Sarai, means in Hebrew "princess; ruler, steward, commander; prevail over, dominion, be a prince". All good stuff. so why rename her? As renamed by the LORD, Sarah, she becomes "a queen, the wife of a king". As we go then to Gen. 23 from this week's reading, there are at least two beginnings that we will see with Sarah's death. First of sll, the place of Sarah's death, Hebron/Kirjath Arba, has an important meaning. Hebron means "association, joining, join together, fellowship; to be marked with stripes and blows". It can also mean "charmer, spell, incantation". The other name that Hebron was known by, Kirjath Arba, means a city founded or "floored" on a square, or four-sided. This should remind us of the four-lettered name of God, and the "four-square" city of the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:16). Kirjath Arba also means the city founded by Arba - the greatest of the giants, and the father of Anak (Anakim). So whether we call the place of Sarah's death Hebron or its previous name, Kirjath Arba, we can see that this place represents two kingdoms. One of those kingdoms is the kingdom of God, and His Son, Jesus, who was marked with stripes and blows, and the other is a kingdom associated with witchcraft spells, and the giants who continually opposed God's people. In one of our beginnings found in this reading, Abraham will, for the first time, purchase a plot of land in what would become Israel in order to bury his wife: "...Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Heth ("Terror"), saying, 'I am a foreigner and a visitor (see also Jn. 17:16, 2 Peter 2:11, Heb. 13:14, Heb. 11:8-10) among you. Give me property for a burial place among you...I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there." (Gen. 23:4, 13). At first the sons of Heth did not want to sell, but rather give the place to Abraham. However, Abraham insisted upon buying the land that included a burial cave for his wife. Abraham bought it for 400 shekels of silver - again the presence of a multiple of the number four: "So the field of Ephron ("fawn-like, young goat; to be dust, to throw dust") ...and the cave which was in it...were deeded (qum - accomplished, established; arise, rise up, raise) to Abraham as a possession (miqna/miqne/qana - purchase price, bought/flocks, herds/redeem, recover, of God redeeming His people) in the presence of the sons of Heth ('Terror"), before all who went in at the gate of his city." (v. 17-18). There was a very important shift that took place here, and a vital beginning - Abraham had purchased a place in what would become Israel, and now owned it. Hebron became known as "the city of the friend of God (Abraham)". We also see, by the meaning of the Hebrew words used here, the principle of God redeeming His people. However, that's not all! When Abraham approached the sons of Heth to purchase the field for a burial ground, the sons of Heth addressed Abraham as "a mighty prince among us" (v. 6). In Hebrew, this is written as "elohim nasi" among us. Elohim is the name of God. Nasi/nasa means "prince, ruler, one lifted up, vapors ascending to become a cloud/forgive, bear, endure, to suffer, take away anyone's sin, to expiate, make atonement for sin, to lay sin upon oneself, to marry a wife, to receive anyone's prayer, to lift up, rise up, to look upon". "Mighty prince" or "Prince of God" is not a complete translation into English, as we can see. There is no doubt that the sons of Heth (Terror), identified Abraham with the risen God of forgiveness, suffering and Atonement, tavek: within us, in the midst of us, Whom we know as Jesus. This is the King that the sons of Heth saw in Abraham. However, kingship in God's kingdom is not merely determined by a physical relationship to Abraham and Sarah, but by a spiritual relationship, defined by a likeness to the same King by whom Abraham was called above. In another portion from this week's sabbath reading, we will see two kings. Which king will prevail? In 1 Kings 1, King David, anointed by God, and prophesied as the patriarch from whom the Messiah/Christ would come, is still alive, but very old. One of his sons, Adonijah, appoints himself to be the new king. Adonijah is David's fourth son, and his name means "The LORD is Jehovah (YHWH: "Behold the hand, Behold the nail"). Everything seems to look good for Adonijah to become the new king- after all, his name glorifies Jesus as Lord- but he is not the successor that David named, and he is not of the right spirit to be a king in God's kingdom: "Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, 'I will be king'; and he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him...And Adonijah sacrificed sheep and oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En Rogel; he also invited all his brothers, the king's sons, and all the men of Judah, the king's servants." (1 Kings 1:5,9). Adonijah exalted himself. Kings after the spirit of Abraham and Sarah do not exalt themselves, but rather, redeem or exalt others. Adonijah made great sacrifices as Abraham did, which looks good, but he is making those sacrifices at a place called Zoheleth, which means "serpent, afraid, worms, creeping, crawling". David's appointed successor, on the other hand, was his tenth son, Solomon, whose name means "peace, covenant of peace, prosperity, welfare, health, friendship, tranquility, whole, in full number, recompense, restore, restitution, finished". When David was informed that Adonijah had already made himself king, he reaffirmed his command before Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, taking an oath, that Solomon would become the king: "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my life from every distress, just as I swore to you by the LORD God of Israel, saying, 'Assuredly Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place', so I certainly will do this day." (1 Kings 1:28-30). David then had Solomon anointed king at Gihon, while David was still alive, Those who anointed him, according to David's command, blew the horn and proclaimed, "Long live King Solomon!". (v. 32-34). The place where Adonijah tried to take the kingship and kingdom, En Rogel (Spy, backbiter, slandered), was the source of the pool of Siloam, meaning "sent, cast out, put away". On the other hand, David sent Solomon to be anointed at Gihon, a spring outside of Jerusalem, whose name means "bursting forth, to come forth, bring forth, break forth, to issue forth from hiding places". It is also the name of one of the four rivers of the Garden of Eden, a river of paradise. As God renamed Sarah, kings would indeed come from her. Not just any kings, however, but the kings and kingdom that are of the image and likeness of the only King - Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, the King of kings and Lord of lords. These are also the spiritual kings which we are called to be (Rev. 1:6, 5:10), while recognizing our heroine of faith, Sarah, according to Heb. 11:11. If you would like to know more about being one of the kings born from Abraham and Sarah, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You prophesied to both Abraham and Sarah that they would be the father and mother of kings, not as the world identifies kings, but as those who are named after, and are identified with Your son, Jesus. There is no other King, and there is no other kingdom that delivers me from out of darkness and into Your glorious light. Your King, Jesus, has redeemed me from Terror and serpents, has laid my sin upon Himself, and made me His special possession, bought with a price. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit to guide me in the way of my King's truth, forgiveness and atonement. I ask this in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Appeared

The title of this week's sabbath reading. Va-yeira means "and He appeared", referring to this first sentence of Gen. 18: "Then the LORD appeared to him (Abraham) by the terebinth trees (plains) of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day." (v. 1). There is so much contained in the Hebrew words of this first sentence, that I don't want to present them in a confusing manner. We can start with the word "appeared". This is the Hebrew word ra'a, which means all of the usual meanings connected with the idea of "appearing". However, it also means "to see the face of God- a privilege conferred to few mortals, to be admitted to behold God", and "to enjoy the light, to live", "to see Jehovaah in the land of the living", "to be taught in visions divinely brought as said of the prophets". The terebinth or plains of Mamre in Hebrew refers to a place of great strength, mighty and strong like an oak; a ram as a symbol of the strength of God as a sacrifice, as food, and as dyed skins for the tabernacle, the curled horns of a ram twisted together for strength. One of its root meanings is to be invigorated, to beat the air with wings in order to rise up. The word for "tent" used in this first sentence is ohel/ahal meaning "tent, tabernacle, dwelling/to shine, a shining vibrating appearance". The door, petah, is an entrance or an opening, but also means "to begin, to utter words, to open the mouth to speak". The use of the word "day" or yom, can mean a single day, during daytime as opposed to the night, or it can also refer to "continually as yesterday, today, and tomorrow, perpetually, in all time", If you put all of this information together from just one sentence, we can see that this is not going to turn out to be an ordinary day in Abraham's life! This is a prophetic day, a day of great power and vision. As Genesis is the Book of Beginnings, or B'reishit, we will find a beginning being established here that will bless the people of God, and affect the rest of time. When the LORD appeared to Abraham, He appeared as three men together, which is a Trinity. When Abraham saw the three men, "...he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My LORD, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant...".(v. 2-3). Abraham quickly made arrangements for the Men to rest, wash their feet, and he had his household prepare a full meal, including a tender and good calf which Abraham had run to the herd to select himself (v. 6-8). Abraham stood by them under the tree as they ate: "Then they said to him, 'Where is Sarah your wife?' So he said, 'Here in the tent' (v. 9). We know the rest of the story. The LORD promised to return "according to the time of life", and Abraham's wife would have a son. This was a miracle, because both Abraham and Sarah were old, and had not had a child together (v. 10-11). In fact, Sarah, who had been listening at the tent door, found this prophecy to be very funny, considering their advanced ages, but the LORD wasn't joking. In fact, the LORD said to Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" (v. 14). Here we are seeing the beginning of something important for us to know, and we will see more in another reading portion from this week's sabbath. In 2 Kings 4, we read about a noble woman from Shunen: "Now it happened one day that Elisha (a prophet with a double-portion anointing) went to Shunem, where there was a notable (gadol - great, high, mighty, important, be magnified, of God Himself) woman, and she persuaded (hazaq - strong, prevail, courage, be resolute, press, be urgent, prevail upon, use one's strength) him to eat some food, and from then on, whenever he was in the area, he would turn in there, or turn aside there, to eat (2 Kings 4:8). Now Elisha's name (el-eeshua) means "God is Salvation". The unnamed woman of Shunem, meaning double portion of rest, practically dragged "God of Salvation" into her house to eat, and wouldn't take no for an answer. She and her unnamed husband even built a chamber (aliya/ala - roof chamber, upper room, going up, light arose, ascent, ascending the steps that went up to the temple/come up, arose, to come up (before God), to be a burnt offering, to raise, recover, restore) onto their house so that the prophet of God could rest there in their home during his travels in the area. There are some similarities here to the story of Abraham above, as we can see. "And it happened one day...he (Elisha) said to Gehazi (meaning "Valley of Vision"), his servant, 'Call this Shunammite woman'...and she stood before him." (v. 11-12). The prophet then asked his servant to ask the woman, '...What can I do for you?' because she had been concerned for him with all of this care. He offered to speak to the king, or to the commander of the army on her behalf, but she told him that she was fine among her own people and didn't need anything from those highest, most powerful earthly authorities. Who would turn down a favor from the king? But there was nothing that she wanted or needed that could be granted by an earthly king. Then the prophet's servant told him that she had no son, "and her husband is old". The prophet called her in to him again, and she stood in the doorway of the upper chamber(v. 14-15). Like Abraham, the only thing the Shunammite woman needed could only be miraculously given to her by God. The prophet said to her, "About this time next year, you shall embrace a son." Like Sarah, Abraham's wife, the Shunammite woman thought that this was absurdly impossible, "But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time (mo'ed/ya'ad - appointed time or season, tent of meeting, appointed sign, set feast, congregation, synagogue, of the feast sacrifices/assemble together, betrothed, to engage for marriage, come together at an appointed time or place) had come, of which Elisha had told her." (v. 16-17). There was a prophesied appointed time set to conceive and bear a child for this woman who had prevailed upon Elisha, "God of salvation", to enter into her house to eat food. This does not end the story of the Shunammite woman and the prophet Elisha. Sometime later "it happened one day" that her miracle son suddenly collapsed in pain. The woman sat the child on her knees (berek/barak - to bless, to adore, to praise, or to curse, blaspheme) until noon (sohar/sahar - midday, window for light (as in Noah's ark), a double light/to squeeze out oil, to make oil, to glisten) when he died. She enclosed the child in the prophet's upper chamber of her house and shut the door. She held that child in the place of blessing, praise and adoration to God, rather than in the place of cursing and blasphemy, until the precious, shining anointing oil had been squeezed out in her prayers. She then immediately left to go to the prophet at Mount Carmel at the greatest speed. The prophet saw her coming, and sent his servant to run to meet her. What she had been speaking up to this point is "It is well." Elisha sent his servant to race ahead. Then he also came to the woman's home because of her insistence, to the chamber that had been set aside for him where the child was now laid, and the child was revived to life by Elisha. The woman fell at Elisha's feet, and bowed to the ground. (v. 18-37). This household, that had prevailed upon "God is salvation", or Elisha, to come in, experienced not only a miraculous birth, but the raising of the dead as well. In another of this sabbath's reading portions, Hannah ("grace, entreaty, prayer, mercy, supplication, favor, pity, implore favor, to be shown consideration, to dwell, to pitch a tent"), who was barren and scorned, went up yearly with her husband and his other wife to worship and sacrifice at the tabernacle of the LORD at Shiloh (1 Sam. 1:1-3). Jewish tradition says that Hannah came with her family to Shiloh to observe Passover, but this is not written specifically in scripture. Her husband repeatedly asked her to eat the meal, which could have been the Seder meal, if it was indeed Passover, but her soul was too sorrowful. Hannah's husband, Elkanah (meaning "God has created") provided her with a double portion offering to give to God. She finished eating and drinking, and approached the tabernacle where Eli (ala- see above root for "chamber" - ascension, going up, etc.), the priest, was sitting "on the seat by the doorpost (mezuza/ziz - doorpost upon which the hinges turn/abundance, fulness, moving creatures or any moving thing) of the of the tabernacle of the LORD". (1 Sam. 1:1-9). There before Eli and the door of the tabernacle, Hannah wept bitterly and prayed because of her barrenness. Hannah vowed to the LORD that if He would remember her and give her a male child, she would offer that child back to the LORD in His service (v. 11). The priest, Eli, had at first thought that Hnnah was a drunken worshipper of the false god Belial because of her behavior. When Hannah told him that this was not so, Eli agreed with her prayer that the LORD would grant Hannah her petition, and told her to go in peace (v. 12-17). In any case, Hannah did indeed conceive and bear a son, who would grow to be the prophet and judge of Israel, Samuel. Hannah also went on to have additional children. In fact, 1 Sam. 2:21 says, "And the LORD visited (paqat - to visit, attend to, to pay attention to, to be watched over, to observe, to care for) Hannah, so that she conceived, and bear three sons and two daughters." So this week's sabbath readings titled Va-yeira, or "and He appeared", introduces us to a special phenomenon, when we join the LORD in a place where "He appears", and miracles, and answered prayers occur. We make a place, a tent door, an upper chamber (see also Lk. 22:7-8, 12-14, where Jesus keeps the Passover with His disciples in an upper room), where we meet the Salvation of God, not for everyday earthly needs, which your heavenly Father already knows you have need of (Mt. 6:30-32 - Don't pray as the Gentiles do!!), but pray there instead for the "impossible". God also spoke to Moses at the door of the Tent of Meeting: "All the people saw the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses." (Ex. 33:9-11). Jesus talked to a lukewarm church about meeting Him in this special spiritual place, and inviting Him in: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." (Rev. 3:20). That lukewarm, self-satisfied church, Jesus said, would go from being ineffective to being "overcomers" with Him. Jesus, the Salvation of God, also said, "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately...Blessed are these servants...Assuredly I say to you that he (the master) will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them." (Lk. 12:35-37). And, as Judas (not Iscariot) asked Jesus how He would manifest Himself (emphanizo/emphanes - to show oneself, appear, make known/God giving proof of His saving grace and thus manifesting Himself) to His disciples, but not to the world, Jesus answered: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." (Jn. 14:22-23). We see another example when Jesus is constrained (parabiazomai - to compel by employing force or by entreaties) to come in and stay, when He would have continued on, in a way similar to the Shunammite woman with Elisha, above. Jesus then sat at the table with them, and broke bread with them, and their eyes were "opened", and they knew Him (Lk. 24:27-35). Sadly, in the last sabbath reading portion for this week, the prophet Jeremiah wrote of how the people of God mis-used and abused this special and intimate spiritual place of meeting with the LORD, mixing in their worldly and profane beliefs, yet still expecting the LORD to manifest Himself as He did with Abraham, the Shunammite woman, and Hannah. This profane mis-use of the house called by the name of the LORD had turned it instead into a den of thieves. They received judgment when they could have received the appearing of the LORD, and "the impossible" from their prayers. (Jer. 7:1, 11, 20). Jesus also cleansed the temple, the place for meeting God, from being a den of thieves, and immediately afterwards, "...the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple; and He healed them." (Mt. 21:12-14). If you would like to learn more about the place where the LORD appears to us, and dines with us, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, God of our Salvation, do not pass by here, but come in and dine with me. Help me to understand how to prepare an upper chamber for You in my heart, which is the door of my tent, where the impossible becomes possible, because You have said, "Is there anything too hard for the LORD?" Let me prepare for You the finest things that I have, and then run to answer Your knock, and receive Your appearing. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Foundation

We are still in the Book of Genesis, or B'reshit: The Beginning, in the sabbath schedule of readings, and we will see another beginning this week. This week's Sabbath portion deals with a beginning of a people, a nation, a line of kings, a faith, and even principles of the Church, all accomplished through one man. An eternal, earth-shaking, history-changing foundation was established, and it was established by God out of nothing, and from nowhere. It starts with God saying to a man, "Go, leave!", or Lech L'cha, the title of this sabbath's assigned reading. The man receiving the order to "Go!" was, of course, Abram, who would later be renamed Abraham by God, meaning "Father of a multitude". This man who had no children at the time, would become the patriarch of multiple millions over many generations, because of a promise from God. Abram is described in scripture as having originally come from out of the Chaldees, which is geographically located at the end of the Tigris-Euphrates River system, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The Chaldeans were reportedly made up of Aramaic speaking tribes that had migrated there from the Levant (Middle Eastern area). The Chaldeans were under the rule of Neo-Babylon, which was under the rule of the sprawling Assyrian Empire. As we can see then, Abram was well "buried" in "the back of beyond" obscurity, but God knew him, found him, and called him out. This is the beginning of our foundation as God commanded Abram: "Get out of your country, from your family, and from your father's house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' So Abram departed (yalak/halak - go, go away, walk, to die, live, manner of life, carry) as the LORD had spoken to him..." (Gen. 12:1-4). The Hebrew word that is translated "departed" here also means "carry". Abram did not leave alone, but carried his wife, his nephew, all of the servants of his household, and the future generations within him that he never thought he would father (including all of us) with him as he began this walk into the unknown land to which the LORD was leading him. At one point in his relationship with God, Abraham was taken outside by the LORD to view the night sky, and the LORD said to him: "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them...so shall your descendants be." (Gen. 15:5, Heb. 11:12). Abraham believed this promise although his wife, Sarah, was barren, and, like himself, of advanced age. In order for a true foundation of God to be established, it is written that Jesus is, and must be, the Chief Cornerstone of that foundation of God's living temple of faith and salvation (Mt. 21:39-44, Eph. 2:19-22), 1 Pet. 2:4-8). We will soon see how Jesus was indeed the Chief Cornerstone of this foundation established by God in Abraham. From another of this sabbath's readings, the LORD reveals how He called the generations, including the generations of Abraham, before they ever appeared: "Who has performed and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first; And with the last I am He." (Isa. 41:4). As this verse refers to God as "the First" and "the Last", we can see Christ emerge because this was the name that identified Him to us (see Rev. 22:13). Many generations later, the descendants of Abraham would be told by the prophet how to be restored back to God from their rebellious ways: "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; For I called him alone, and blessed him and increased him." (Isa. 51:1-2). From this prophecy in Isaiah, which is also part of this sabbath's reading, while the LORD points Israel back to its foundation in Abraham, He also seeks to comfort Zion with the mention of His salvation in the same passage: "Listen to Me, My people; and give ear to Me, O My nation...My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth...The earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished." (v. 3-6, excerpt). The LORD speaks of His foundation in Abraham and connects it to His salvation here. We see Jesus make the same connection, as He admonished a generation who had not truly looked back to their foundation, their father, Abraham: "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you...If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this...Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad...Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." (Jn. 8:37-58, excerpt). Abraham, who, it is estimated, lived 2,000 years before Christ was born, "saw" Jesus' day of salvation, and rejoiced in it! Jesus, as the slain Lamb of God, existed in eternity with the Father before Abraham, and before the creation itself (see Rev. 13:8). The foundation that God built from Abraham definitely included Jesus as its Chief Cornerstone! The sovereign prophetic power of the foreknowledge of God is awesome to behold as He reveals it to His prophets and apostles (Eph. 2:20), as He did with Abraham. The Book of Hebrews tells us that the heroes of our faith, which included Abraham, saw the promises afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth because of them (Heb. 11:13). The promises of God that they received by faith separated them from the earth and its other inhabitants. Their home became not this world, but the heavenly realms. Hebrews 11 continues that Abraham specifically knew to wait "for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God." (v. 10). Abraham shared in the promise of the salvation of Christ by faith, because he had to wait for its fulfillment in us. (Heb. 11:39-40). In fact, many prophets saw and desired to receive the fulfillment of this promise of salvation through Christ in their lifetimes, but had to receive its fulfillment by faith as it was not yet time for Christ to appear (see Lk. 10:23-24). This is the purpose of this part of the foundation of faith that God established in Abraham - many additions would be built, and elevations added upon this foundation, of generations in Christ not yet born, in order to build that living city of God for which Abraham waited (Rev. 21:2-3). There is another interaction between God and Abraham included in this week's sabbath reading that will again mysteriously connect Abraham to Christ, and to the Church of believers. In Gen 17, the LORD appeared to Abraham and said: "I am Almighty God (Shaddai/saday- most powerful); walk before (halak + panim - come away, walk, depart, die, live, carry + face, presence, turn oneself to look at anything) Me and be blameless/perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, complete, whole, entirely in accord with truth/ finished, to be completely crossed over)...As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations...I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you, and to your descendants after you." (Gen. 17:1-7). As God called Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, we also are called to do the same (see Eph. 4:11-13, Eph. 5:25-27). These are principles established by the foundation created by God in Abraham. Again God called Abraham to "depart", but this departure would be with God's presence in covenant. "Covenant", meaning alliance, is the Hebrew word berit, meaning "create, birth, something new, cut, separate, cause to eat, cut in order to choose and separate". The word, berit, is composed of the Hebrew letters beth, reysh, yod, and tav. The meanings of these letters put together could be: "The house, body or family by the Highest's hand on the cross". There is no covenant made between God and man except through Jesus Christ, who is present in the very word "covenant", whether it was made before or after His physical appearing. Abraham was told of a token or sign that he and his generations must carry as part of this "cut" covenant. The sign or token, which is the Hebrew word ot, formed by the letters aleph, vaw, and tav, meaning "Adonai God nailed to the cross", is circumcision (mul - cut down, cut in pieces, cut off, destroy). Circumcision is meant to distinguish one from uncircumcision, which means "uncircumcised of the lips and heart, to remain unharvested, to regard as profane or unpure". Paul wrote that circumcision, rather than an outer, fleshly work, is truly fulfilled as an inner, spiritual work in the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). This is not just a New Testament concept, but this inner circumcision was also expressed clearly by Moses (Deut. 10:12-17, Deut. 30:6). In this week's sabbath reading, the prophet Jeremiah also repeated this truth: "For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem... 'Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your hearts...lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." (Jer. 4:3-4). However, Paul went even further regarding inner circumcision, writing: "For we ARE the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3). We, as the circumcision, are the sign or token of God's covenant of eternal life through Jesus, His Salvation. This was established in the foundation that God created in Abraham. God's encounters with Abraham are too numerous to be detailed here, but, as we read the words of Jesus, we can see that His words are life for the children of Abraham, Jew and Gentile, for Abraham was the father (ab- founder of a household, group, family, clan) of many nations, and a hero of faith. The children of Abraham are built upon his apostolic and prophetic foundation, with Christ as its Chief Cornerstone, who do as their father Abraham did. If you would like to know more about this foundation that was established by God in Abraham, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You called Abram out of the world and its empires, and into Your Presence. You revealed great mysteries of Christ to him as Your apostle and prophet for future generations. You gave him a new name, and separated him as You cut covenant with him, and all of his household. You have given him to us as a reminder of Your foundation, and the work of Christ in him, and in his descendants. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so that the work of Christ may be perfected and completed in my heart also. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Preserved

This week's sabbath reading is titled Noach, or the name "Noah" to us. Noach in English means "rest, resting place, quiet". If we look at the individual Hebrew letters of the word and name Noach, which are nun and cheth, we will see an additional meaning : "the Son, the Heir to the throne, separates and protects in an inner chamber". These letters can also mean at the same time : "the faithful seed or offspring that are separated from, divided from, and protected". The story of Noah is well known. Children's stories and toys tell the story of Noah and the Ark. However, we can be sure that there are deep things to learn in this account in scripture. In fact, the warning that Noah brought to the world as he built the ark, according to God's specific instructions, is still crying out a warning for us today. Jesus told us that the account of Noah, the ark, and the flood that brought destruction to the earth will again have meaning in end time events, and the return of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:36-39). The Apostle Peter also referred to the flood of Noah, and its relationship to end time beliefs, unbeliefs and deception: "Scoffers will come in the last days...saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water." (2 Peter 3:3-6). This past event of the flood is to remind us that as others scoff, God will do what He needs to do to establish justice and righteousness, and to preserve His remnant of people. Not only that, but Peter also wrote that the same word that ultimately preserved the heavens and earth then, is still active, and has caused the heavens and earth to reserve fire "until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (v. 7). Peter tells us that as much as the flood was an act of judgment, as the coming fire will be, he also tells us here that the flood was an act of preservation for a remnant. It is through this obedience to God's instructions for preservation, which was the ark, that Noah became listed as one of our fathers of faith, and an heir of righteousness by faith (Heb. 11:7). This sabbath reading, Noach, deals with God's merciful preservation out of evil, violence, ungodliness and calamity, one man, his family, and some from all of the animals that breath. We will see other examples of this from this sabbath's reading as well. In our first sabbath portion out of Genesis 6, we find out that the men of the earth had become filled with wickedness, evil, violence and corruption (sahat - corrupt, destroy, destroyer, waster, ruin, decay, be rotted, pervert). Because of their evil, the decay of rotting death had entered living man and, consequently, creation (Gen. 6:5, 11-12). Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death - even a living death, a living corruption. However, also according to Romans 6:23, there is a remedy to this living death, which is the gift (charisma/charizomai/charis/chairo - a gift, a favor one receives without any merit of his own, divine grace, faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue/give freely, bestow, to preserve a person in trouble, to pardon, rescue, forgive/grace, good will, loving-kindness, gift of grace/to rejoice, be glad, be well, thrive) of God, which is in Jesus Christ. We can't buy or earn this gift. It is freely bestowed by God for the asking, and even before we have the good sense to ask for it, so we can't even take the credit for having good sense! Anyone who has had the awesome experience of receiving the grace gift of the salvation of God has experienced this. It as a gift - you can't "earn" it, "deserve" it, or "buy/barter" it from God. It can't be done. The gift is given in Gen. 6: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD...Noah was a just (sadiq/sadaq - righteous, just as a judge or king is just, justified, to make one righteous, to speak truth) man, perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, without spot, complete, finished, shutting up, in accord with truth) in his generations. Noah walked with God." (v. 8-9). This gift of grace is not a one-time event. The gift continues to operate in us, making changes in our minds and hearts. The loving gift of grace will break our stony hearts, and build a new heart in us, if we will allow it to do so, leading and prompting us to righteous acts inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. The gift of grace is a life-changer, and a life-definer. Just ask Noah. As Noah received the gift of grace from God, he was given the qualities of justness and perfection. As we can see, both of these qualities are connected with the speaking of and agreement with truth. Jesus said that the truth of the Word of God sanctifies us and sets us free (Jn. 17:17, Jn. 8:31-32). Believers are to walk in truth (Ps. 86:11, 2 Jn. 3-4, 3 Jn. 1-4). The truth is a Person, Jesus (Jn. 1:16-17, Jn. 14:6-7, Rev. 19:11). There may be many who make claims to truth, but there is only one who IS Truth. God connected Noah to this Person of Truth, Jesus, but how? In the verse above, we see the phrase "Noah walked with God". God, in this case is Elohim here in this verse. However, in the Hebrew writing of this phrase, something additional is connected to the word "Elohim". Two Hebrew letters, Aleph and Tav, are joined to "Elohim". In Rev. 22:13, Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." "Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew equivalent of first and last letters, which is what Jesus would have used, is "the Aleph" and "the Tav". Besides this example in Gen. 6, there are many other places in scripture where the "Aleph-Tav" is connected to significant words and phrases, but their presence does not get translated into English. In this case, Noah has been given the gift of grace from God, and caused him to walk with God Aleph-Tav that will separate him, and rescue him and his household, as well as representatives from the animal kingdom, from the coming disaster. God told Noah: "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside (bayit/bana - house, shelter, family, descendants, temple, palace) and outside ( hus- outward, whatever is without, to sever or separate by a wall) with pitch (kapar - atonement, reconcile, purge, forgive, cleanse, merciful, to cover, pardon)." (Gen. 6:14). Noah was to "flood-proof" the ark with mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation and atonement. We also know that the kapar atonement of scripture is the blood of sacrifice, the Blood of the Lamb, Christ (1 Jn. 2:1-2, Heb. 9:11-14). There is another interesting reference to Jesus Christ in the account of Noah as God commanded Noah to build a window into the top of the ark, and a door into the side (Gen. 6:16). "Window" is the word sohar/sahar meaning "noon, nonday, suddenly, unexpectedly as an attack upon an enemy/to press out oil, to glisten, to shine, come forth, reveal oneself, light, splendor". We have a verse in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, which refers to the destruction of the lawless one, or antichrist: "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." The word for "door" used above is the Hebrew word petah/patah, which means "door, gate, open, loose, grave, break forth, appear, open wide". We know that Jesus called Himself "the Door", and He broke open the grave for us all (see Jn. 10:7-10, Mt. 27:51-53, Mt. 28:2-6). There are many more details in the account of Noah that we could look at, but we will end this section from Genesis 6 with the promise of God to Noah: "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth...everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Gen. 6:17-18). Another example of preservation out of destruction from this week's sabbath reading titled Noach, or "Rest", is from Isaiah 54. God in His anger had turned His back on His people, Israel, like a wife rejected by her husband, like a woman made barren of children: "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the LORD your Redeemer. For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you...My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed." (Isa. 54:1-10, excerpt). Under the same promise that God made to Noah, He would extend His undeserved mercy and kindness again to this remnant of Noah's descendants who had turned from Him. As we see these mercies of God once again extended here to Israel to serve as an example for us, it should cause our own hearts to soften with love and repentance towards Him as well. In Jeremiah 31, another portion from this week's sabbath reading, Israel had rebelled against God, had broken their covenant with Him, and brought destruction to their doors, as Jeremiah had prophesied would happen. However, Jeremiah also then brought this promise of undeserved mercy from the LORD: "Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...But...after those days...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people...For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). His people brought destruction on their own heads, but the LORD, as with Noah, would extend His gift of grace, change His people in their minds and hearts into righteousness, and forgive their sins. Again, a remnant shall be preserved by grace. In another sabbath reading portion, God's people have become corrupt, they have not trusted in, nor drawn near to the LORD. Because of this, the LORD will gather the nations. His wrath and fiery destruction will be poured out over all the earth. However, God will preserve a remnant, and restore "a pure language...and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth...Be glad and rejoice with all your heart...The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more." (Zeph. 3:8-15). The undeserved grace, mercy, and kindness of God seems to be the recurring theme through this week's sabbath readings. There is a place of rest in the LORD, His ark of Christ, like the one He established with Noah, if we will abide in it as Noah did. God remembers His floodwaters, and has not forgotten that place where His people are preserved by His grace. There is no other place nor means by which we may be preserved. (Acts 4:10-12). If you would like to learn more about being preserved by grace, you can pray with me: "LORD Jesus, the Father gave His grace to us through You, and as You preserved Noah and his household, and even the animals of the earth, You desire to preserve me. I want to walk with You, Aleph Tav-Elohim, as Noah walked with You, and You called him just and perfect, speaking and in accord with truth. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, as the dove returned to the ark with an olive leaf to give Noah sure knowledge and comfort that the waters had indeed receded for him. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were with Noah, and also, I ask, be with me and my household always. I don't wish to search for my place of rest anywhere else but in You, and in your gift of grace. I ask these things in Your holy name. AMEN."

B'reishit

After the recent conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Sabbath reading cycle swings back around to the beginning of scripture - Genesis 1. This sabbath reading is titled B'reishit translated as "(In) the beginning". The Hebrew meaning and root of the word is "beginning, the first (in order, rank. place or time), firstfruits, best, chief, captain, head, top, summit, to shake". When we think of the beginning of creation, we usually think of the physical elements that manifested when God spoke the words. However, the sabbath readings of B'reishit for this week began to lead me down a path that took me further than that first thought. As we start on the path of this week's sabbath readings together, we will find confirmation and additional revelation waiting for us in New Testament scriptures as well. What is the nature of "the Beginning" in God? When we look at an overview of Genesis 1, we can see that God created things that He called "good" (tob - goodness, prosperity, excelling, precious, first fruits, first of its kind, fine, beautiful, benefit, kind, right, happiness, welfare, glad, delight, confer benefits), and "very good" from an existing situation that was full of deep darkness and hopeless emptiness. The idea of "good" is not just a description, but contains the active quality of God's benevolence also. As we continue, we will also see that this good intent of God in the Beginning, included His Son, Jesus, before the world ever "saw" Jesus. In fact, He is the Person of the Beginning. In one of this sabbath's readings about "the Beginning", we are able to see that even after Adam and Eve fell by choosing to believe a lying serpent (nahas - serpent, snake, enchanter, practice divination, sorcery, fortune telling, whisper (hiss) a magic spell), God brought forth the goodness of His Son, Who had been hidden in "the Beginning", into this seemingly hopeless situation. To the serpent, God prophesied: "And I will put enmity (eba/ayab - hatred, hostile mind, be a foe to, be an adversary with anger and hatred) between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head (ros - head, chief, captain, rulers), and you shall bruise His heel." (Gen. 3:15). God brought forth "good", a benefit out of His kindness, hidden in the Beginning, by prophesying the Savior to be born who would overcome the serpent and its ruler(s). In another sabbath portion, Cain, only the second generation of man on the earth, murdered his brother, Abel. As Cain realized the consequences for this act, he cried to God: " My iniquity (aon/ava - iniquity, punishment, fault, sin, depravity, guilt from sin, evil, perversity, crime, wrongdoing) is greater than I can bear!...driven out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive (nua - stagger, wander, tremble, tottering, be tossed about) and a vagabond (nud - sorry, shake, grief, wander aimlessly) on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me." (Gen. 4:13-14). At this cry from Cain, the LORD set him apart with a "mark". What could this mark have been? It is the Hebrew word ot meaning "miraculous sign, token, mark, banner, warning, evidence, signal, consent, to come". The individual Hebrew letters of the word ot, or mark, form the meaning "Adonai God nailed to a cross". Cain committed one of the most heinous crimes there is - he murdered his brother. However, there was a hidden provision within the Beginning that set him apart with a hope - the crucified Christ as a "mark" upon Cain. Jesus, in Rev. 3:14, says that He is "the Beginning of the creation of God", so we shouldn't be surprised to see these references to His (hidden) presence from the very beginning of man's walk on earth. In another sabbath reading from this week's portion titled B'reishit, we see again an example of Jesus Christ in the Beginning of creation. God spoke a prophecy to Isaiah of the Messiah, the Savior. Revealing the Messiah to come, the LORD said: "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him...He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law...I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison..." (Isa. 42:1-4, 6-7, see also Mt. 12:15-21). God brought forth this prophecy in connection to the Beginning of His work of creation by saying: "Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens...who spread forth the earth...who gives breath to the people on it..." (v. 5). God established all things from the beginning of creation. As He said, "I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done...". (Isa. 46:9-10). Jesus also personified this same principle as He called Himself the Alpha (Aleph) and the Omega (Tav), the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Rev. 22:13). Looking at the Greek word and roots, arche/archomai/archo, translated as "Beginning" in this verse, we not only find that the meaning is a starting point, but also a ruler behind the starting point. The meaning is: "beginning, origin, that by which anything begins to be, the active cause/chief, ruler, leader/to lead, to rule". The Greek word and root for "End" used in the above verse, telos/tello, is also interesting. The meaning is: "end, uttermost, that by which a thing is finished, the end to which all things relate/to set out for a definite point or goal". According to the meanings of the Greek, the concept involved in the Beginning and End of something, in this case, creation, is not accidental or coincidental, but is specifically and deliberately introduced and directed towards a planned and expected conclusion. Intelligence and personal will must be behind it to purposefully start it, and direct it to a goal. In this case, the intelligence belongs to God, of course! Paul wrote the following to help us understand God's purposeful intentions behind "the Beginning": "He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (Col. 1:15-17). John also wrote: "He (the Word, Jesus) was in the beginning with God, and without Him nothing was made that was made (see Jn. 1:1-3). It is because of this preeminence in all things that Jesus is also stated by Paul as being "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead", and the One who is able "to reconcile all things to Himself". (Col. 1:18-20). Death was not beyond the scope of His preeminence, and therefore was under the same authority of that which was present in the Beginning. We see this when God was challenging Job regarding Job's limited understanding, and God's limitlessness that was set into the Beginning of creation, God said this to Job in another portion from this sabbath's reading: "Where were you when I laid the foundations (yasad - to found, to place, set, fix, establish, begin, appoint, ordain) of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding...Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me if you know all this." (Job 38:4, 16-18). God had set the limits or boundaries of all creation, including death, from the Beginning. Jesus said this about His authority over the gates and doors of death mentioned in Job above: "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys (kleis - key, the power to open and to shut) of Hades (Hell), and of death." (Rev. 1:17-18). God had already set the limits of death in and by Christ before physical creation and physical death had been established in the earth. We see this same connection to the Beginning when we read that Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8, see also 17:8). We have seen death's limits established in the Beginning, what about each individual life? David sang about his life that existed before he was physically born in another portion from this sabbath's B'reishit reading: "...You LORD understand my thoughts afar off...For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether...Such knowledge is too wonderful for me: It is high, I cannot attain it...For You formed my inward parts; You covered (sakak - a covering, defense, hedge in, shut in, overshadow, weave together) me in my mother's womb...My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret (seter/satar - covering, shelter, hiding place, secret place, protection, a veil/conceal, hide carefully, lie hidden, guard, defend), and skillfully wrought (raqam - embroider, mix or adorn with colors, woven, the formation of the embryo in the womb {of the formation of the members of Christ's mystical body})in the lowest parts (tahti/tahat/toah - the depths, low parts, the under part, from under the hand of, lowly, humble) of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." (Ps. 139:2, 4, 6, 13-16). Before David was born, God had already known the thoughts he would have and the words he would speak! Everything concerning David was known and written in God's book before David manifested in physical birth. We associate the creation of Genesis 1 with the physical elements of the heavens and the earth, including Adam and Eve, but all things, like David, were hidden in the depths of creation's Beginning. Even now, our lives are hidden in that Beginning, because we are hidden in Christ, "the Beginning and the End". (Col. 3:3, Rev. 22:13). Scripture also says: "...just as (God) chose us in (Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love..." (Eph. 1:4), and that even the good works in which we are to walk were prepared "beforehand" (Eph. 2:10). Christ, Himself, was hidden in the Beginning: "He (Christ) indeed was foreordained (proginosko - known before) before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you..." (1 Peter 1:20). So there are things that have been hidden in the Beginning, and then the hidden is made manifest, or visible. The meaning and roots of "manifest" are very helpful. The word in Greek is phaneroo meaning "to make actual and visible, to make visible and known what has been hidden or unknown". The Greek root words give us more understanding. When we look back to several roots, phaneros/ phaino/ phos, we begin to see the secret. The roots mean: "evident, plainly recognised or known/bring forth into the light, cause to shine, to become clear, to be seen/light, to shine, make manifest, that which is exposed to the view of all". Hidden things are made manifest in the presence of light, according to our meanings here. The first thing that God spoke in the Beginning, before any of the rest of creation came forth was: "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good." (Gen. 1:3-4). This light was not a natural source of light, which would be created later, but the revealing light by which all things hidden in the Beginning, would be made manifest or seen in the proper time, including God's Son. Paul also wrote about this revealed mystery saying, "...making all see what is the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beeginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places...", as Paul also additionally commnds us: "...now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." (Eph. 3:9-10, 5:8). The other side of the coin is that the evil things that are hidden are also made manifest by that same light. They are exposed at the appointed time for judgment: "But all things that are exposed (elegcho - admonish, convict, shame, to call to account) are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light." (Eph. 5:13). The world tries to convince us that the formation of creation, and life itself, is an undirected accident acted upon by a series of haphazard events, with no divine, intelligent planning, no direction, and no assigned purpose or goal. However, as we can see, when God said in His Word, "In the beginning...", or "B'reishit, in Genesis 1:1, He was saying an awesome mouthful! He was including everything that will ever exist, and His intelligent purpose that drives it to its completion or end. If you would like to know more about being part of God's Beginning in Christ, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, You created all that exists, including me, in a Beginning that is in and through Your Son, Jesus. You saw my form before it was made. You knew my thoughts and words before I was even born. I was, and am, hidden in Christ, the Beginning and End. My sabbath rest in You comes from the knowledge that You have declared the end from the beginning concerning all creation, including myself. You have revealed the mystery of purpose hidden in the Beginning, B'reishit. As David said, "These things are too wonderful for me!". Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and understanding so that I can walk in the light that makes the hidden things of the Beginning manifest in their appointed time. I ask these things in Jesus' name AMEN."

Tabernacles

The title of this week's sabbath reading portion is CHOL HA-MO'ED SUKKOT, which refers to the sabbath that occurs within the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles. So we are in the middle of that feast right now. Each of the readings assigned to this sabbath can give us a look into the importance of this feast to each of us. The topic of tabernacles is too large to completely discuss here, but there is a previous blog post on the right side of this page under "Featured Post". You can click on the post title "Culmination" to read that earlier post. We think of the tabernacle as a tent or building established for the worship and offerings brought to the LORD, and the atonement for the people, and it is that. However, that building is patterned after the heavenly things (Heb. 8:4-5). It is meant to be a representation of something greater. In one of the readings from this tabernacles sabbath, Moses has an experience with God that is different from his previous experiences. Up to this point, Moses has heard the voice of God from the middle of a burning bush. He has received and followed detailed instructions from God regarding the confrontations with Pharaoh, the night of the Passover, and the deliverance of the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt. Moses and the people have seen the LORD descend upon Mt. Sinai on the third day, in thunderings, lightnings, a thick cloud, fire and smoke, and the sound of a loud trumpet, which caused a great quake on the mountain: "And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up" (Ex. 19:15-20). God then spoke His Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17). The people were terrified and stood far away, "...but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was." (Ex. 20:21). We even learn that from a cloud at the door of the tabernacle, God "spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Ex. 33:9-11). These are remarkable experiences for a man to have with God, but Moses knew there was more. Moses was told by God that He knew Moses by name, and that Moses had found grace in God's sight (Ex. 33:12), but Moses knew there was more. Because of the grace that Moses had in God's sight, God also promised Moses: "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (v. 13-14), but Moses knew there was more. Moses acknowledged that if the presence of God went with the people and himself, "... we shall be separate (pala - separated, make wonderfully, set apart, marvelous, put a difference, marked out, be distinguished, illustrious), Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth", and the LORD answered, "I will also do this thing that you have spoken. For you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name." (v. 16-17). Grace was mentioned five times in this conversation between Moses and God. However, Moses knew of, and was seeking, something more! What could be more than speaking with God face to face like a friend? What is more than the presence of God causing His people to be distinguished and marvelous in the earth? What more could a man receive from God than the gift of His grace? What Moses was seeking from God in this sabbath's reading, which is specifically appointed during the Feast of Tabernacles, must be important to our understanding of that feast. We find out then what more Moses wanted from the LORD as he asked: "Please, show me Your glory (kabod/kabad - glory, abundance, honor, dignity, reverence, weighty, to endure adversity)." (v. 18). In order to fulfill this request of Moses, the LORD created a tabernacle for him. It was not the tabernacle that was made by the craftsmen from among the children of Israel. This was a tabernacle, instead, which was carved out of a rock, with a covering of God's own hand. The LORD spoke this to Moses: "I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you...You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me and live...Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the Rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen." (Ex. 33:18-23). Jesus was asked a similar question by one of His disciples, Philip, who requested: "Lord, show us the Father." Jesus answered that Philip should already know, "...He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? (Jn. 14:8-9). This conversation took place after Jesus had told His disciples that in His Father's house (oikia/oikos - tent (as a tabernacle), dwelling, temple), were many mansions (mone/meno - dwelling, indwelling/not to perish, continue to be, to last, endure, survive, live, to be held or kept continually), and that Jesus was going to prepare a place (topos - space marked off, rock) for "you". (see Jn. 14:1-4). Jesus expected them to know exactly what He was talking about (v. 4), as He used words to bring to their minds the tabernacle, and the encounter that Moses had with God that we read above. As we look again at the tabernacle that the LORD provided for Moses in order for him to experience God's glory, we see that it was within the opening of a rock (sur - rock, God, beauty, Mighty One, the refuge and protection of Israel, a stone knife used for circumcision, to shut up, enclose, secure, cutting). A cleft (neqara/naqar- hole, fissure, pierced, bore, pierced with pain) was made in the rock to hide and shelter Moses. The body of our Rock of Salvation was also pierced with pain.
He is our living tabernacle, if we abide in Him, and we are the tabernacle of His Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:16, 1 Cor. 6:19). God covered (sakak which is the root word of sukkah or tabernacle) Moses with His hand (kap/kapap- palm, hollow of the hand, clouds, to be bent, be bowed (as in a rainbow for example), arched, to curve, to bend over). While the earthly tabernacle, and more so the heavenly tabernacle, are glorious, the individual and personal tabernacle created for Moses in this encounter is even more precious and significant to me. It as a tabernacle created of clefted Rock and Hand by the gracious words spoken by God over Moses that day: "I will be gracious (hanan/hana - pity, favorable, be inclined towards, to make acceptable, intreat for mercy, compassionate/pitch a tent, bend down, abide and rest in tents) to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion (raham - mercy, compassion, love, pity, to behold with tenderest affection) on whom I will have compassion." (Ex. 33:19). This tabernacle, prepared by God for Moses, protected Moses and provided a safe place for Moses to experience the glory of God. We read in several places in scripture of how the glory of God filled the tabernacle or temple. On one occasion, which is found in another reading from this special sabbath, the priests could not stand to minister in the new temple as God filled it with His glory (1 Kings 8:10-11). However, this kind of personal tabernacle, which God provides for each of us in Christ, the Rock, also has a special meaning in these last days before Christ's expected and awaited return. There will be those who will seek another kind of tabernacle, one that is without the glory, graciousness and compassion of God. They will have determined to live apart from God. They will have no desire to ask of God, as Moses did, "Please show me Your glory". In the terrible days at the return of Jesus, there will be judgment against evil strongholds, and those who serve them, who perecute and make war against the people of God. Scripture says that men of all statures, from the lowest to the highest, will run to the rocks for safety. They will cry out "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Rev. 6:15-17). Isaiah prophesied: "Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty. The proud looks of man shall be humbled...The LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD, and the glory of His majesty...sever yourselves from such a man." (Isa. 2:8-22). They had rejected the tabernacle that God created out of His graciousness and compassion, until it was too late, and instead, they had joined themselves to the evil and the person who will seek to desolate the tabernacle of God with abomination (Dan. 9:27, 11:31, 12:10-11, Mt. 24:14-16). They will place their trust in substitute and worthless "tabernacles" in the rocks, not built for them from the graciousness and compassion of God, and not covered by God's own hand. The Feast of Tabernacles is the clefted Rock of Christ and Hand of God extended to each individual to join Him in the refuge that He has provided with His Words of graciousness and compassion, which are embodied in His Son, Jesus. We have this powerful and loving example of the tabernacle of God from a simple question asked by Moses: "Please show me Your glory." If you would like to know more about the tabernacle that God has prepared for you, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, Jesus has prepared a place for Me in Your tabernacle, where I can endure forever with Him. The tabernacle that has been prepared for me is created out of Your graciousness and compassion for me. It is the place where Your hand covers me, and I can share in Your glory. I pray that as I remember and rehearse Your Feast of Tabernacles this week with rejoicing, I pray that many others would also be gathered into the place of Your dwelling. I ask these things in the name of the clefted Rock Who is higher than I, Jesus. AMEN."

Prophet

An amazing thing about the Word of God to me is that it proves itself to be true in many ways. Scripture does not rely on man to prove its truth, but it proves itself to be true. One of the ways that it does this is through prophecy, and its fulfillment in such a specific manner that we are left with no doubt that it was the Lord Himself who fulfilled His Word. Some of the prophecies in scripture are fulfilled within hours (Dan. 5:22-30), some within months (Lk. 1:26-38), some within years (Jer. 25:11-13), some within hundreds of years (Gen. 15:13-14), and even thousands of years (Dan. 9:26-27, Ezek. 38 and 39, Joel 3:12-21), but they have been, or will be fulfilled as written. God has prophesied the appearance of the Savior, His death, and His resurrection hundreds and even thousands of years before the events took place (Gen. 3:14-15, Isa. 53, Ps. 22, Hos. 6:2, Hos. 13:14). In the same way, the scriptures prophesy the return again of the Messiah, Jesus, (Ezek. 34:22-24, Ezek. 37:12, 23-28, Mt. 24:44, Acts 1:9-11, Rev. 19:11-16, Rev. 22:13-14). There are prophecies in the scriptures that deal with the events that will take place in what is referred to as "the last days, the end times, the latter days", which we associate with the events up to and including the Lord's return, especially as Jesus identified them in Mt. 24 and Lk. 21. God does nothing without telling His prophets (Amos 3:6-8). The LORD described the role of a prophet to Jeremiah this way: "...Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant." (Jer. 1:9-10). Often when we think of the great prophets of scripture, we fail to include Moses in that category, but Moses was indeed a great prophet of God. All that he brought forth to the Israelites was at the command of God saying: "Speak to the children of Israel, saying...". God showed Moses what to say and do, and Moses brought this to the people of God. In one of his final actions, Moses prophesied in a song regarding "the latter days" (see Deut. 31:29-30). He began to sing the prophecy to the heavens and the earth, saying to them "Give ear" and ""hear" (Deut. 32:1). The title of this sabbath's reading is Ha'azinu, meaning "LISTEN". The prophetic words of Moses' song were establishing in the heavens and in earth the events of the latter days. It is believed by many that because we are now seeing many of the signs prophesied in scripture, that we are indeed living in "the latter days" before the return of Christ and His reign on earth. Therefore, this prophecy of Moses in Deut. 32 is important for us to know. Moses used five different forms of the word "to say" in the first three verses of his song. Moses compared the spoken words of his song to the role of rain and dew upon the grass. Like Jeremiah, with his words, Moses will tear something down, and build something up through prophecy. First Moses declared to the heavens and the earth the character and greatness of God: "For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He." (Deut. 32:3-4). Because of this beginning statement by Moses to the heavens and the earth, we go into this prophecy knowing that what follows in Moses' song will be part of the perfect, true, just, and righteous work of God. Knowing this keeps us in hope and assurance through all that may come. Moses sang that the LORD's only portion is His people. The only place of His inheritance is wherever "Jacob" is (v. 9, see also Ezek. 37:26-28, Rev. 21:3-4). The King and Creator of all that exists claims no inheritance for Himself except for His beloved people. However, sadly, as his prophetic song regarding the latter days continued, Moses described the people of God as corrupt, blemished, crooked and perverse, foolish and unwise. This occurred even though the LORD had made His people to "ride in the heights of the earth", and supplied them with every provision of wealth: honey, oil, cattle, milk and curds, the fat of lambs, rams, and goats, the choicest wheat, and gave them wine from the blood of grapes to drink (v. 13-14). Then for the first time in scripture, here in Moses' song, God's people are called "Jeshurun". Jeshurun means "upright one", and is used to describe Israel's ideal character. It is a tender and loving name given by God to His people. However, in the latter days, something has happened to Jeshurun. They have treated the bountiful provision and wealth that God has provided to them as something to consume on themselves. As a result: "Jeshurun grew fat and kicked (ba'at - trample down, despise, condemn, neglect); you grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese! Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of His salvation." (v. 15). It is true that we have become plagued with physical obesity today, but I think this is also about a spiritual fatness or obesity, that takes the blessing and provision of God to serve ourselves, making it more important than the Person of God, Who made us, and from Whom the bounty comes, including our salvation. We become addicted to the bounty, having an unending craving for it that can never be satisfied. Jesus described a man who had accumulated crops and goods. His sole plan and focus was to build a bigger storehouse so that he could add to his accumulation. Unfortunately for him, he did not know that he would die that very night, and his accumulations would mean nothing compared to his soul which was then required by God. It is called the Parable of the Rich Fool (see Lk. 12:15-21). Moses was prophesying in his song that this would be a temptation and a serious problem for the people of God in the latter days. Several other latter day prophecies in scripture also refer to a covetous control of wealth and luxuries (see Rev. 17:4, Rev. 18:9, 11-19). We are seeing today a fragile economic condition created by unparalleled amounts of nationsl debts across the world, inflation, and currency devaluations that could lead to severe problems for the world economy, with the U.N. issuing warnings to national banks regarding the steps they are taking to alleviate the crisis. Meanwhile, accumulation and consumption are still increasing. We can take the prophetic song of Moses as a reminder to stay close to God, rather than the economic systems of the world, which will not save us nor provide for us. Moses' prophetic song was also warning of spiritual consequences to Jeshurun: "They provoked Him (God) to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear." (v. 16-17). In the latter days, according to Moses, we will be facing the works of demons and gods that we have not seen before, and are unknown to us. The Book of Revelation speaks of demonic creatures that are released in the latter days before Christ's return, and it's not a pretty picture (Rev. 9:1-6, Rev. 16:13-16). Daniel also prophesied of a king, whom many believe is the antichrist, who will make war against the House, the people, and Holy Covenant of God. This king has a god that is unknown to his fathers, whom he honors with "gold, silver, with precious stones and pleasant things." (Dan. 11:28, 31, 36-38). Meanwhile, Moses' prophetic song of the latter days continued: "For they are a nation void of counsel, nor is there any understanding in them....For their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah...Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of cobras." (v. 32-33). The spiritual wine that they drink will contain their own destruction (see Rev. 16:19, Rev. 18:1-3), which is the same destruction as Sodom and Gomorrah (see Rev. 18:8-10). Moses was prophesying this concerning Jeshurun, God's people, His portion, His place of inheritance. God said regarding them: "I will hide My face from them...for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith (see Lk. 18:7-8)....For a fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell; it shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains." (Deut. 32:20-22). In scripture, there is a judgment of destruction by fire before the new heavens and a new earth are brought forth (2 Peter 3:7-13). This prophetic song of Moses is a foundational prophecy that would be confirmed in future prophetic visions and words in scripture, as we have seen. This prophetic song sets a great challenge for Jeshurun, the people, the inheritance, of God in the latter days. However, as this prophetic song began with the declaration of God's perfect work, truth, justice, and righteousness, it ends with the LORD saying: "Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand...Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people." (v. 39, 43). Moses saw prophetically the nations or Gentiles who will serve God. If we look up the Hebrew word that is translated as nations or Gentiles, we find the following words and roots: goy/geva/gev/ga'a/gab. These Hebrew words have the meanings "among, body, to be lifted up, raised up, gloriously risen, be exalted in triumph, increase, eminent place". As we can see, the identity of those who were added to God's inheritance came to Him through the triumph of Jesus Christ. This reading takes place on the sabbath that follows the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, and Moses was showing us in his song another fulfillment of Christ's atonement, which brings repentance, forgiveness and cleansing of sins, and reconciliation with God that will restore His people in the latter days. If you would like to know more about the latter days, and the atonement provision from God, you can pray with me: "Dear Father, You have prepared Your people, Your inheritance, for the latter days through the words of Your prophets. You have provided Your eternal atonement to Your people through the blood of Your Son, Jesus. to keep and save me, even in perilous times. Forgive me, LORD, for my sins, especially when I have grown fat on Your blessings, but have forgotten You. Reconcile me back to You, my only Rock of salvation. Fill me with Your Spirit who teaches me to walk in Your wisdom and counsel. I am thankful for Your Word, and the warnings and teachings of Your prophets. I ask these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."