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Hebrews 9:13-14
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Unlike all the other offerings, which are performed by the altar of the Temple, the offering of the red heifer is to be done outside the Temple. This alludes to Yeshua who was also 'offered' outside the Temple. In the second half of the first century C.E., the Sadducee leadership executed James the Righteous, the brother of the Master and leader of the Israeli community of believers. This event initiated a severe persecution of the Israeli believers in the Rabbi from Nazareth. As the Master had prophesied, the disciples became outlawed in the Synagogues and in the Temple where they had until then worshipped side by side with other Jews (Luke 21:12; John 16:2). They also faced official excommunication from the rest of the Jewish community. At that time the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews' community in disarray desperately tries to encourage Yeshua's disciples. As they lost their rights to attendance in the Temple below along with representation by its earthly High Priest, the author encourages the Nazarenes to look to the Temple and High Priesthood which are above. He contrasts the offerings below, which serve to purify the flesh for attendance at the earthly Temple, with the offering of Yeshua whose blood could clean their conscience for attendance at the heavenly Temple: the throne of the Almighty, all through representation by a heavenly High Priesthood (Hebrews 9:13-14; 4:16). In this light, their loss seemed like a gain! Today Jewish Messianic believers still face excommunication from Jewish orthodoxy at large. Some very small but very vocal orthodox minority even actively works to deny present-day Jewish believers their emigration rights to the Land or to its social benefits. It is important to mention here that it is from such a circle that Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles came from. Abba does seem to have a sense of humour! In the same manner as the first century believers did, we the Jewish believers of today must also allow our eyes to, for a moment, forego the temporal realities below and embrace the eternal realities above. We must also, as the Master taught us, respond to evil with good (Isaiah 53:7; Romans 12:21). Because we are sure of our rights, commission, and destiny, we know that we can, and should 'stand' firm for who we are, even while turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:39; Ephesians 6:13-14). We absolutely must refuse to ourselves the indulging temptation to answer evil with anger and hatred. Even so, as the red heifer offered outside the Temple, let us go to him (Yeshua) outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured (Hebrews 13:13). As offered first-borns of the congregation of the First-Born (Revelations 7:4; 14:4; Hebrews 12:23), let us follow Him and be offered as He was, excommunicated, outside the temple, and allow the Father to work through us His plan of universal redemption to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles (Romans 1:16).
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Hebrews 9:13-14
For if … the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Messiah, … purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Here is an eschatological piece. Many Endtime enthusiasts speak passionately about the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. There is whole organization called ‘The Temple Mount Institute’ dedicated to its functionality. So far, due to the Golden Dome Mosque, this vision remains an impossible dream. Let’s suppose now that by a ‘supernatural’ political or diplomatic feat, the Temple was rebuilt. Even if that were to happen, due to the lack of a red heifer to purify the priesthood, technically it couldn’t function. But let’s suppose again, that along with our ‘supernatural’ political or diplomatic feat a suitable red heifer was produced? The problem would remain that only a person already purified by the ashes of a red heifer can administer the purification ritual on another person or even prepare the solution. In a way, due to the inexistence of previous ashes as well as of a priest already purified, like a Mobius strip, the purification requirements in this day have stalemated each other (Numbers 19). Was God oblivious to this possibility when He allowed Israel to go in exile? The texts certainly speak of a functional third Temple (Ezekiel 40). How can that be then? To find the answer to that question all we need to do is find a precedent, and we have one. The situation was similar when in the wilderness after the first generation from the Exodus had died off Eleazar was to prepare the first red heifer solution. There was not a single person in the whole camp including Eleazar, who could meet the purity requirements. Eleazar therefore performed the ritual under the authority of Moses. Moses had a very special relationship with God. Unlike other prophets who received dreams and visions, Moses communicated with the Almighty face to face. The sages conclude that it was the reason why Moses kept in a state of constant ritual purity, refusing to even have sexual relationship with his wife, which caused him criticism by his sister Miriam (Numbers 12:1). It is important here to notice that the establishment of the red heifer ritual only happened following the death of the first generation. Ritual purification concerns itself solely with corpse contamination, so it is almost like, before entering the Promised Land the new generation was being purified from the ‘death’ that plagued it for nearly forty years. Unless Moses, the prophet who in the case of Aaron’s rod budding showed victory over death had kept that dedication to purity, he would not have been allegeable to authorize Eleazar to prepare the solution (Numbers 17:8). In the same manner, when Yeshua, the ‘prophet like unto Moses’, He who has conquered death will come from the presence of His Father (2 Timothy 1:10), He will also have the authority to authorize the High-Priest of the new temple to prepare the red heifer solution for the people. May it be soon Abba, even in our days! 1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Adon Yeshua HaMashiach who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Whereas He is the God of all compassions, Hashem set standards for us, the violating of which incurs temporary punishment. As drastic as they may seem, these punishment do not imply irreversible condemnation. One of the most drastic conflict resolution precedent in the Hebrew Scriptures is that of the rebellion of the Levites through the leadership of Dathan and Abiram (Numbers 16). The text tells us that they went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly (Numbers 16:33). Where did they really go? What is that 'sheol'? To ask the question is in itself strange because the Hebrew word 'She'ol' comes from the root verb 'sha'al' meaning 'to question'. In essence 'she'ol' invokes the idea of the great unknown. What is more scary than the idea of going to the great 'unknown'. There iare things we know about that she'ol. It has to do with the inside of the earth, therefore it carries a connection with being in the earth as happens when we die. She'ol therefore invokes death. Isaiah speaks of She'ol as having 'gates', which the Master says will not overpower us (Isaiah 38:10; Matthew 16:18). King David foresees the death and resurrection of the Messiah and says, you will not abandon my soul to Sheol (Psalms 16:10). We must be careful here, she'ol is not what is communly called 'hell', but as is told us in the Book of Enoch referred to in the Apostolic Scriptures (Jude 1:14), is an interim place waiting for the resurrection (Enoch 22:1-14). It has at least two divisions, one for those who lived righteously on earth and one for those who lived wickedly. It is like waiting for the resurrection in either a five star hotel or in a developing country jail cell. Enoch's description fits the Master's parable of Lazarus and the rich man both waiting for the resurrection, one in the 'bosom of Abraham' (a Talmudic expression for paradise), and the other in the torments of gehenna (Luke 16:19-31). Thus we can conclude that the 'she'ol' is not the final destination of the soul. Dathan, Abiram and all their followers were not lost forever but are waiting for the resurrection just like you and I will after it is declared that our pilgrimage on this earth is over. If you think that their rebellion was so bad as to deserve everlasting condemnation, what will happen to you about your rebellions? You may not know about them, but other people might, and God certainly does. Remember the Words of the Master which He narrated from the Talmud, For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:2; Babylonian Talmud: Sanhedrin 100). Romans 11:28-31
… But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable … just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. How wonderful that in spite of sin, disobedience, and rebellion, the Almighty Father of all compassions never leaves us without comfort and hope for renewal. The refusal to enter the Land and the Korah rebellion brought the Exodus generation to a physical and spiritual end. Would the future generations miss on the promises made to Abraham because of a few jealous and disgruntled Levite priests? Let us remember that the promises of God are irrevocable. The last words of the narrative concerning the Exodus generation are …..These may have been the narrative's last words, but not the last Words of He who actually has the proverbial 'last word'. When Moses' divinely appointed leadership was challenged, the humble prophet went along with it and told everyone, "let's ask God what He thinks" He then proceeded to collect the leadership staff of each tribe to place them in the Tabernacle. "The tribe whose staff buds overnight will be our leader," he said. Everyone agreed. The next day, the sight of dead wood resurrected to life confirmed the choice of the house of Levy with Aaron as the High-Priest. May we take the time to look at this miracle in a Messianic light? A generation questioned God's leadership and refused to follow the divine command to conquer the land. The Exodus generation Israelites was annihilated but not without the hope of inheriting through their children. Three days after a few disgruntled priests got together to challenge Moses, God confirmed His choice of leadership by resurrecting the stuff of the staff of Aaron to continue leading the Children of Israel to the eventual conquest of the Promised Land. In the same manner, 1,400 years later, another few disgruntled priests convened to challenge the leadership of the 'prophet like Moses'. Three days after His execution, life came back to His dead body to lead the fires of a new generation of Jewish Messianic believers, inheriting the promises leaving behind the corpses of the old generation forty years later! From the beginning of its turbulent history, Messianic Judaism has suffered near annihilation. After the model of Yeshua, it is now resurrecting in a worldwide fire spreading form country to country, even in Israel. May we never lose hope! God's Word is eternal and doesn't change. The Promises that escape us, our children will inherit! John 17:11
"… So that they may be one, just as we are." The Torah leaves with much to discuss. It may be that the Father in His great wisdom designed It that way that we may spend our time in studying it. We may feel like we forever learn without coming to the complete understanding but we are not talking a mathematical formula here, we are talking about the elements through which the worlds were created by the hand of the Almighty. As my wife recently told her ninety-nine year-old aunt who is just now (as she is facing imminent death) yielding to the idea that after all, there is a God, "Show me a man who can understand God, and I'll show you a worm who can understand man!" The claim of understanding the Word to the point of formalizing doctrine in established statements implies that one completely understands the fullness of the Torah, but can the Word of God fit in the human brain? What arrogance people have! This is why the Talmud which is the Jewish commentary to the Scriptures is a discussion, not a document establishing doctrine. The Torah teaches us that there is one commandment for the Israelite-born, and for the 'ger', the stranger in the Land (Numbers 15:14-15). In this manner God established how He wants to be acknowledged and worshipped by all the people in the world; it is not up to us to decide how to honor Him. In this day and age people go away from worshipping in the spirit and truth of Torah, and establish their own righteousness; but spirituality outside of the parameters of Torah leads to heresy and idolatry. The Torah teaches distinction between person and person even within the Israelite nation, so while provoking homoethnicity, the fact that the same rituals are to be observed by both Israelites and non-Israelites doesn't erase distinctions. What Paul coined as the 'one new man' is as 'one' as a man and a woman are one flesh (Genesis 2:24) while remaining two distinct genders and personalities (Ephesians 2:15). The same principle applies to Yeshua and the Father who while united, remain two distinct personality even in power and knowledge (John 14:28; Mark 13:32). Come to think of it, while being under the Torah may provoke ethnic coalescence, the beauty of it remains in the fact that we are all unique individuals. Unity is not the absence of diversity, but the working together in spite of, and within our diversity. Paul explained this principle of Israelite/gentile unity in diversity, but still called it a 'mystery', so maybe we should also just leave the issue rest there and be happy with a 'mystery' (Ephesians 3:1-7). Yeshua coined it very well though; peering into the future of the international ministry of the disciples He said, The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one. I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me (John 17:22-23). Matthew 26:27-28
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Reflecting upon his work and trying to foster unity in the midst of the Philippians' congregations Paul states, Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Messiah I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all (Philippians 2:14-17). In this statement Paul exhorts the people towards unity, but anticipating the possibility that his exhortation may fall on deaf ears, as they often do, he compares his efforts to the wine libation poured upon God's altar (Numbers 15:7). R. Kipling said in his famous poem, 'If', 'If you can meet success and failure and treat these two importers the same way … you'll be a man, my son'. It is in that same spirit that Paul toiled teaching Torah to the nations thus fulfilling the promises found in the prophecy of Amos (Acts 15:15-18 quoting Amos 9: 11-12). He worked tirelessly without any assurance of success. His only joy and reward was the knowledge of answering Abba's call. We must learn to emulate that attitude. 'I serve and audience of one' should be the all-encompassing theme behind all we do. Our sole and only pleasure should be our Father's satisfied look of pleasure and approbation at our feeble attempts to serve Him. While waiting for Nero to utter his death sentence, for Paul the 'wine libation' reflected an even deeper imagery. He writes to Timothy, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8). In all these things the faithful apostle emulated his beloved Master Yeshua. May we also in this life and within the framework of our divinely appointed responsibilities learn to emulate our Master whose blood was poured as a wine libation on the altar of the Father's will and work of universal redemption. 3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. To refuse entering the Land seems to have been an unpardonable sin. Right there and then the Father condemned the Children of Israel to forty years of wondering in the desert. This meant that though they will not inherit the promise, their children might. The sage Rashi notices it when he points out that after the sad episode of the spies, the narrative of the Book of Numbers continues with offering instructions saying 'when' and not 'if' they are in the Land. Here we have an example of God taking children to fulfill the promises made to the fathers. The fathers had been negative examples of grumbling and murmuring even to the point of refusing to enter the Land and wanting to elect a new leader, someone who would lead them back to Egypt. This is a very natural reaction and we shouldn't self-righteously blame them. How many of us are guilty of settling in the comfort of familiar roads and surroundings fearing to venture into the new unfamiliar terrain of something God may have us to do? These were parents who also feared for their children (Numbers 14:31). I say we shouldn't blame them because if we honestly look at the components of our lives, if we honestly look at ourselves the way God looks at us, we are probably doing the same. Very few of us have the courage required to go face the 'giants' of the 'Promised Land' of God's will for our lives. When we don't though, our lives may god haywire, and the things we fear would happen to us would we follow God happen to us anyways. What we fear the most in life is the one thing none of us has control over: death, and death happens anyways. Look here at the mercies of the Almighty God of all compassions. After He finished telling the Children of Israel that their carcasses will rot in the desert (Numbers 14: 28-35), He continues the narration in the second person plural referring to them, not in the third person plural referring to their children who will undergo forty years of obedience training. He says 'When you have come into the Land you are going to live' (Numbers 15:2). I thank and honor Abba for His everlasting providence that whereas children receive the promises made even to the disobedient fathers, fathers seem to also inherit from the virtues of the retrained children. In this way, the Children of disobedient Israel who received the promised Messiah are portent to the salvation of their parents. May we all forward that in the 'World to Come', even in the distant future, God has provided us with childrien who by His Words, will fulfill the promises that we have failed in. Maybe this is what all these promises refer to made to Eve about her 'seed' (Genesis 3:15). The Hebrew Scriptures also have many reference to spiritual inheritance in one's 'seed' (Genesis 4:25; 9:9; 1 Timothy 2:15). Hebrews 3:14-15
For we have come to share in Messiah, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." Many look at the day of their salvation, the day they recognize Messiah as their Redeemer, as an end in itself. They do not recognize that it is actually a means to an end, the beginning of a process to be completed. The program of full redemption is very well illustrated for us in the story of the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land. This is where we find what I will coin as the ‘Four Steps of Full Redemption’. First we are rescued, or saved from the angel of death coming upon the land. This salvation is purely by God’s choosing. Jew or Gentile who obeys the instruction concerning the lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their houses will be ‘saved’ and eligible to leave Egypt that very night. There is no ‘Torah’ yet. Only one thing is required regardless of who we are or of our past: the blood of the lamb. That’s the first step. Second, we must cross the Red Sea. This step takes us out of Egypt. With the help of mighty miracles from God, we have left our old life and culture behind. Paul referred to the crossing of the Red Sea to a national immersion, or baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). That’s the second step. Third, we go to Mt Horeb to receive the Torah. We have left our old life, culture, and country behind. We need a new life, a new identity in a new country, a new culture, under a new king, with a new set of rules. Going to Mt Horeb provides us with the Instructions for our new life in our new kingdom. That’s the third step. Finally, after experimenting and learning to live under this new set of rules, we enter the Promised Land, receiving full citizenship of the Kingdom. This is the fourth and final step. In Hebrews, the writer warns us about not making the same mistake the first generation did in the desert fearing to accomplish the last and final step of entering the land because of unbelief. I do not know what this exactly means but the warning remains. They were like the bride who got ‘cold feet’. She went through the whole ordeal and great expense of getting married, but in the end feared to move in with the groom. The writer of Hebrews speaks of entering the Promised Land as the Shabbat. We have to make a conscious effort to enter the Shabbat. We have to agree to stop our personal activities; we have to trust that God will supply if we stop working; to enter the Shabbat we have to literally surrender ourselves to God. Is this what the Children of Israel feared? Without surrender there is no peace, and no Shabbat. May we learn to surrender to Him every Shabbat so that we do not harden our hearts at His Voice when He calls in to enter that final step of entering the Promised Land of His Kingdom when it is established on earth as it is in Heaven. Hebrews 11:13-16
These … having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. … seeking a homeland. … desire a better country ... Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. The generation in the desert refused to enter the Promised Land. The writer of Hebrews compares entrance to the Promised Land to the time of Shabbat Rest of the World to Come, but the generation who lived under the bounty of God's welfare system for some time now it may have felt different about it. They were going to have to fight to inherit the Land, fight and protect their borders. The manna would cease falling, and they would now have to start landscaping, seeding, planting, irrigating, all to sustain themselves. They were also going to have to build houses, establish a government, continue train their army …Doesn't sound like much rest to me. The Rest spoken of in Hebrews is not from activity, but the rest of being home. When you are home you may still have to 'work', but you are home. You have the right to lock your door and enjoy privacy, to eat and live the way you want to. In essence, home is where you have the freedom to serve your God the way He desires it. In that respect we are, as the writer of Hebrews also said, strangers and exiles on the earth (Hebrews 11:13). As the Children of Israel did in the desert, we in this age receive a foretaste of the bounties of the World to Come through the daily provisions He allows us to partake of. We also learn to live by the legislative Constitution of the future Kingdom which is the Torah. The Day comes when we will 'cross the Jordan' into that Promised Land of the Kingdom of God established 'on earth as it is in heaven'. We will then finally be 'home' eating the grapes of our own vine seating under our own fig tree in a place when none shall make us afraid anymore (Micah 4:4). "So, Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness Hebrews 3:7-8 quoting psalms 95: 7-8 which read at the welcoming of the Shabbat). Jewish sages use the word 'Today' to refer to the Shabbat. In a sense the Shabbat is a glimpse of the 'World to Come'. Why one would refuse to enter the Shabbat of the World to Come? At the welcoming of the Shabbat we have to consciously stop our feverish personal activities in order to focus our attention on the awesome moment. We have to change gears; what is not done is not done; game over, it's 'half-time', and some find it difficult. Maybe also like in the case of The Children of Israel there is a sense of loss and fear, the loss of the comfort of the familiar lifestyle mixed with fear and apprehension of entering unto the new. May we learn today to live under the rules and principles of the World to Come so that it will not feel so strange to us when its righteousness covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. May it be soon Abba, even in our days! 1 Corinthians 13:12
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. The sages teach us that when Moses was on the mountain God asked him to make an earthly replica of what he saw (Exodus 25:40). When Moses argued that it was impossible to replicate on earth the greatness of Heaven, God told him about a mirror, a mirror that shows what is, even a large space, but within a small area. As a 'mirror' to what he saw on the mountain, Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle. This mirror returns in the writings of the sages as they explain the difference between Moses' prophetic gift and that of other prophets. Using Ezekiel 43:3, the sages say that any prophet's vision comes through nine mirrors, nine mirrors because according to the Hebrew text, the verse has nine inflections of the verb 'to see' which also include the word 'vision'. Mirrors in those days were made of brass and even when polished the image reflected was not clear as in that of today's mirrors. This very much conveys to us the idea that in this age, prophecy is an unclear business; it is very subjective and should be considered more an 'art' than a perfect 'science'. Clear infallible prophecy requires a supernatural sign (1 Kings 13:3) to obtain credence. People criticize Thomas for 'doubting', but what was at stake was very important and his request only denotes of his seriousness about the matter. Thomas' request for confirmation was not out of line. We should even in our own congregation prove and test those who come to us with 'prophecy'; we are required to do so (1 John 4:1) as well as to examine prophecy (1 Corinthians 14:29). Thomas actually went on to be a very faithful witness who was martyred in India. The name 'Thomas' comes from the word 'The'um' meaning 'twin' which tells us that Thomas probably had a twin. With twins one can be deceived into seeing someone who is not who he claims to be. This should help us understand Thomas' concerns. Paul knew of Ezekiel's 'mirror'; he speaks to us about it. When teaching about the imperfectness of our present gift of prophecy he says, For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away … For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face … (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). In essence, he is telling us that in the World to Come we will perfect our prophetic gift to the level of 'face to face' communication with God, which Moses already had (Numbers 12:8). Paul's statement about prophecy comes to us at the end of a teaching about the imperfectness of present-day spiritual gifting including that of prophecy against the superiority and perfection, the 'better way' he called it, of having love one for another as taught by the Master (I Corinthians 12: 31; 13; Matthew 5:44-48). May we apply this advice to our lives and rather seek the perfectness of being known as the Master's disciples for our love towards one another rather than by our trying to be prophets. |
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