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Matthew 15:4
For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' The Sacred Texts tell us that after the Great Flood, Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned backward, and they did not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers (Genesis 9:21-25). What Ham did was very serious. Many have speculated as to the actions that caused Noah to curse his grand-son for the sake of his son’s actions, but the Text tells us exactly what happened and if it does, why speculate? What the Text tells us about Ham is that he saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. When Ham saw his father in a vulnerable disgraceful position, he went and publicized it. His brothers to the contrary, going in and out of the tent respectfully, covered the shame of their father with a blanket of discretion. Today’s lack of high reverence and respect towards parents and elders is not seen as a very serious sin. That’s why we feel the need to find something else that is not in the Text to justify Noah’s judgment of Ham. But according to Biblical standards, honoring parents is what caused longevity and prosperity in the Land. The idea was to also care for them in their old age as they cared for us in our young age. That meant that they needed to live close to each other, not miles apart. As young children we adore our parents like gods, but as we grow older, we become critical of them and see their faults. Should we then go and gossip about them to others publicizing their faults? Or should we respect them by doing what love does, which is to cover a multitude of sin (Proverbs 10:12)? We may today wonder at our kids attitudes towards us, but are they emulating our very own attitudes towards our parents? How do we talk about or treat their grand-parents in front of them? This is a commandment without when, if, and buts; ‘only if my parents are respectable and honorable’. We are not asked to obey them, only to respect and honor them, as well as care for them in their old age. A very important blessing that influenced all of history until today ensued from Shem and Japheth’s discreet and respectful actions action. God said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant. May God enlarge Japheth, and let him dwell in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant (Genesis 9:26-27)." Indeed, the way we treat and honor our earthly parents is a hint about our relationship with our heavenly Father.
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John 1:18
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. We all want peace in the world. The Torah tells us that peace comes from studying the Sacred Text. Speaking of studying the Torah in the World to Come, Isaiah prophecies and says, All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children (Isaiah 54:13) (The Hebrew text uses the tetragrammaton for the word ‘Lord’ in this verse; it therefore refers to seeing God). John says that in this present time, ‘No one has ever seen God’; In fact seeing God leads to death. But Isaiah prophecies that in the established Messianic Age … your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. In another place the prophet adds, And the glory of the LORD (tetragrammaton) shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together … (John 1:18; Isaiah 30:20; Isaiah 40:5).’ When speaking of the dynamics of His relationship with the One whom He called The Father, Yeshua compared Himself to Manna coming from Heaven. In the Talmud, bread and rain from Heaven are parabolic of Torah: the Word of God’s teaching coming to God’s people. Yeshua compared His teaching of God (whom He had seen (John 1:18)) to the manna that came down from heaven to feed the people in the desert. When people who had known Yeshua from a young age challenged His claim of coming from heaven, Yeshua, who is at the Father's side, (John 1:18), answered and said, It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me--not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. … (John 6:45-51)." In essence, Yeshua, said, ’In Me is fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy. Since no-one can see the Father and live, if all God’s children are to be taught of the Father, it needs to be done by proxy. I am the ‘proxy’. This resonates of the words the children of Israel 'Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.' About which Hashem said, 'They are right in what they have spoken’. So He then added: ‘I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him’ (Deuteronomy 18:16-18). May we all be taught the words of the Father through His Messiah. Then will we have peace in our hearts, … and in the world! Matthew 24:37
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. The Master compared the coming apocalyptic events surrounding His return to the times of Noah (Matthew 24:37). Much teaching has been drawn from the comparison, but one in particular may need to be reviewed, the one surrounding the idea of, ‘left behind’. Here is our Master’s saying, Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left (Matthew 24:41-41). This passage is usually viewed as the people ‘taken’ being those going to be with the Master (1 Thessalonians 4:17), while the ones remaining on earth endure the final wrath of God. The disciples felt that Yeshua’s statement was important so they asked for clarification. They said to him, "Where, Lord?" To which Yeshua answered, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather (Luke 17:37)." (The Hebrew word used in the text is ‘nesher’, which is either ‘eagle’ or ‘vulture’). The ‘vultures’ referred to by the Master give us an invaluable clue as to the meaning of the verse. The ‘Days of Noah’ represent a microcosm foreshadowing future events. As flood waters rose on the earth many corpses floated to the surface becoming food for scavenger birds such as vultures. Both Ezekiel and John had visions of endtime events where scavengers came to ‘clean up’ the mess left by an apocalyptic war. Here is Ezekiel’s, "As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every sort and to all beasts of the field, 'Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood (Ezekiel 39:17), and now John’s, Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, "Come, gather for the great supper of God (Revelations 19:17). Fitting Yeshua’s statement with His explanation, we can easily conclude that the ones remaining are the ones who will enjoy the Yeshua’s Kingdom on earth, while the others will be ‘taken’ to a less pleasant future by the birds of prey. The Kingdom of God is not somewhere in space. It is on the earth. We may only have a little bit of it right now, like a ‘guaranty’ (Ephesians 1:14) that we find in obeying His commandments, but one day it will cover the earth as waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9). On that day, do you really want to be ‘left behind?’ John 7:37
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”. This World can be compared to a giant outdoors market place not unlike those you can see in Europe. The merchants are all shouting to advertize their wares and their foods. Water-bearers also invite people to quench their thirst. The prophet Isaiah walks around the market-place and observes people buying items priced above their cost, food that does not satisfy, and water that does not quench. Frustrated he cries, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food (Isaiah 55:1-2). Such is the world today. Everyone competes in the market of ideas, philosophies and religions. As a humble merchant among them the Spirit of God of Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge (Proverbs 1:20-22)? How pathetic that Hashem, that He who owns the only food that satisfies and the only water that quenches, has to humble Himself to beg and shout for our attention amidst a market of lies and falsehoods. Yet He does. He does in Mashiach who made Himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:7 KJV), that He may reach us with what He knows we need even when we seem distracted by the shiny plastic pretend gold of man’s philosophies and religions. When will we let go of the junk jewelry and reach for the real pearl of the Kingdom of God, even at the cost of everything else (Matthew 13:35-36)? Hear His Voice now. As Abraham who was known to send Eliezer his servant (Eliezer means: God is my help) in the highways and the byways to invite perfect strangers into his master’s tent so he could host them and tell them about the Magnificent Host whose world we enjoy, Messiah daily sends the Spirit of God to shout in our ears, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-114)." And again, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast (Matthew 22:4).’ Will it be also said of us, But they paid no attention (Matthew 22:5)? 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Whereas evolution wants to tell us that life started sporadically anywhere and at anytime, God tells us that He is the author of life. He also tells us that He is the One who started life in one place, at one time, and that the earth populated from the one man: Adam (Genesis 1). In fact, we are all related to Adam through either sons of Noah; through Japhet who fathered the Caucasian race; Ham from whom came the black race, or from Shem from whom come all the Asian races including our father Abraham (Genesis 10). As it is in physical, so it is in the spiritual. Whereas New Age teachings try to teach us that all the gods worshipped on earth are local and cultural representations of the God above and should be respected as such, God teaches us that faith solely comes from the God of Israel, and that all the others are idols designed to snare the heart of man away from the true God who created the heavens and the earth. In fact, according to the text, the goal is that, as the tribe of Levi was established as the priesthood for Israel, Israel is eventually to be established as the priesthood for the whole world. God has even divided the world according to the numbers of the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:8). Jewish sages claim that number to be seventy, why? When the children of Israel entered Egypt, they were seventy Genesis (46:27). Also in Genesis 10, we read the list of the seventy sons (and grandsons) of Noah. This may be arguable, but the facts remain that as creation comes from one man, and faith also comes from one man: Abraham, and though him alone all the families of the earth are blessed (Genesis 12:3). This gives a whole new theme to the idea of being in Messiah. In the days of Yeshua there were only two types of people on earth: those who knew the God heaven and those who didn’t. The Children of Israel already knew God; they had been introduced to Him at Mt Horeb long before Yeshua’s manifestation on earth, while the rest of the world remained in the darkness of ignorance and idolatry. As Moses received the mission to Israel, Yeshua initiated the mission to the gentiles, which Paul successfully conducted. This all should give a new sense of mission to the idea of being grafted into the olive tree of Israel as Paul puts it (Romans 11). Before Yeshua, only people from Israel who knew God could exercise spiritual leadership within the congregation, but when one is grafted into Israel through Messiah he, along with Israel, becomes a recipient of the promise made to Moses to be part of a nation of priests (Exodus 19:6). In fact, anyone who through Messiah becomes grafted into Israel also becomes a part of God’s peculiar nation, what He called: His portion (Deuteronomy 9-10). May we be found worthy of the great calling whereas he has called us! Luke 1:17
And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." As Moses foresees the rebellious future of the nation he helped birth, he speaks to the generation that will see the most tragic punishment and the longest exile: the generation that hosted the Word made flesh, the generation of the Master (Deuteronomy 32:5; Matthew 16:4). He tells them, Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you (Deuteronomy 32:7). The Scriptures devote whole chapters to genealogies. People used to memorize them. It was their main education, their link with the past. As these texts unfold, they teach us lessons. They help us peer into the past and discover our personal fiber so to speak. It tells us who we are and where we’re from, which in turn helps us know where we are going and how to get there. Very important lessons are imbedded in the genealogies. Today many people have an ‘identity crisis’. This is the epitome of silliness, but even more,: of rebelliousness. We live in a generation that desperately tries to disconnects itself from its past. Since the 60’s it seems, every generation defines itself as an antithesis to the one that birthed it. This creates a very unhealthy and unstable cultural environment. Every generation stands on the shoulders of the former ones. Cars would never have ran, appliances never found our homes, and computers never been on our desks if it were not for the ancients who gave us the wheel, mathematics, and taught us how to harness electricity. Come to think of it, this rebelliousness goes back much farther, especially when it comes to our faith. Already in the second century C.E. the messianic movement among the gentiles defined itself against the Jewish matrix that birthed it, which eventually created a religion with no legs and feet: a house with no foundation (Luke 6:47-49). As always though, as depressing as looking into the past can be, the Scriptures offer us the hope of a more connected future when in the messianic age generations will be reconnected (Malachi 4:6; Luke 1:17). May we hear today Moses’ cry, Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you (Deuteronomy 32:7), and learn! 1 Corinthians 10:4
… the Rock was Messiah. All throughout the Sacred Scriptures, prophets and kings call Hashem their ‘Rock’. While that in itself represents a beautiful image, the most awesome theme flowing from the expression is the undercurrent of justice when Gods disciplines us because of our sins, or even when He trains us through seemingly very unfair situations. Moses initiated the idea in, "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice (Deuteronomy 32:4).” The weary and wise prophet knows that the generation he led to the Promise Land will corrupt themselves with sin and idolatry. He has seen the future exiles and persecutions, the bloody and sad history of Israel, so right away he establishes the idea that no matter what has and will happen, God is a ‘rock’, a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright … ((Deuteronomy 32:4. King David understood that. He complains to the ‘Rock’, I say to God, my rock: "Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy (Psalms 42:9)?", but later he also says, The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold(Psalms 18:2). In these words we can a David desperate in the in the caves of Eingedi (1 Samuel 24:2). Centuries later, through Isaiah God encourages an Israel whom he thoroughly rebuked with words about His unfailing compassion and eternal mercies, Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any (Isaiah 44:8).”, and Habakkuk struggles to see God’s justice in the Babylonian invasion, Are you not from everlasting, O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O LORD, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he (Habakkuk 1:12-14)? During the days preceding Yom Kippur we usually check our hearts for bitterness against others, but do we also check our hearts for bitterness against God and his ways in our lives? A lifelong affliction, bankruptcy, and trouble with our teenagers can cause us to wonder if God is really in control or is He just letting things just go awry in our lives without rhyme or reason. When will we understand that these things are the chisel strokes to make us into the image of Messiah, the wind that drives the reed closer to the protection of the great and mighty oak? “What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if the thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near? What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise (Laura Story: songwriter). May we always remember that whatever happens, God is our Rock, that his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. Mark 13:27
And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Over many centuries now God has punished Israel, banishing it from His Land. The world needs to finally realize that that strip of land by the Mediterranean Sea which was historically called 'Israel' but which the Romans renamed 'Palestina', ultimately belongs to God and that He gives it to whoever He pleases, regardless of world opinion. The fact that God banished His first-born son to exile in the nations of the world never authorized these nations to get onto the act of also 'chastising' Israel. Can you imagine yourself disciplining your son when suddenly the whole neighborhood wants join in on the act? God's discipline is measured; His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Psalms 30:5). All the prophecies of what would happen to Israel if they stubbornly disobeyed have been fulfilled under the Roman invasion, occupation, sacking and destruction of Israel and exiling its people (Deuteronomy 28; Matthew 24). As the Assyrians and the Babylonians were moved by God to punish Israel so were the Romans, but whereas these powers had sort of a divine mandate (which they abused) to punish Israel, neither the Catholic, Protestant Churches, nor Germany received such a mandate, even less today’s radical Islam. Ancient history teaches us that every world power who persecuted God's people lost their right to domination, even if they were doing it by divine mandate. Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece and Rome all saw their downfall as a punishment for their oppression of God's people. The prophecies of Scriptures teach us that a day comes when God reinstates His people in the land He promised to give them through Abraham (Deuteronomy 30:1-7). The Scriptures also tell us that many nations will rise against re-instated Israel (Ezekiel 38-39), and that these nations will pay a devastating price for it (Deuteronomy 32:40-42; Ezekiel 39:4; Matthew 24:28; Revelations 19:17-18). Countries today are faced with very important decisions. A simple study of Scripture would should the world that God has turned His favor again on His people of old, on His first-born son, and that whereas the world is already indebted to God for the persecution of His exiled people, those who stand in the way of His present will will most certainly be the recipient of His great wrath. Whatever anyone does, God's will will be done! Luke 24:31-33
And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. … "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" … that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. On the third day after the crucifixion, on the first day of the week, women came to Yeshua’s tomb with spices they had prepared to embalm the body. To their great surprise the Master’s body had ‘disappeared’. Though incredulous, upon hearing the women’s accounts Peter and John ran to the tomb only to be faced with the same conclusions. Yeshua soon comforted the disciple’s worries appearing to them on several occasions. . While all this transpired in Jerusalem, two disciples who had come to Judea for the pilgrimage festival of Passover started on their way back to Galilee, deciding to make a stopover at the village of Emmaus (Luke 24). As Cleopas and his travelling companion still grieved at the execution of their Master, a ‘stranger’ joined them on their journey. As their new co-journeyer wondered at the disciples’ conversation, they asked, ‘Don’t you know what happened three days ago in Jerusalem? We thought that the famous Galilean prophet, Yeshua of Nazareth, was the Messiah. We thought He would be the one gathering back the Children of Israel from the four corners of the earth and re-establish us as a sovereign country but alas, the religious authorities did not approve of Him; they turned Him in to the Romans to be crucified as traitor and a criminal. To top it all, some our friends went to the tomb this morning and found it empty. We are still shocked at the whole thing, and also confused.” Upon hearing this account, starting with Moses and the prophets, the ‘stranger’ demonstrated to the disciples that all had happened according to Scripture and that they should not worry. Hearing the Scriptures in their Messianic perspective filled the discouraged disciples with hope again. As they arrived in Emmaus, they invited the ‘stranger to dine with them. As they sat at the table, the ‘stranger’ opened the meal with a blessing and it is at that time that He opened their eyes. They then realized that their travelling companion was the resurrected Master. Right away they decided to return to Jerusalem. This story is everyone’s story. In confusion and discouragement, we often leave ‘Jerusalem’ to return to the same old ways. As with the other disciples, no empty tomb or amount of convincing preaching could have changed these Jewish disciples mind. They needed to see the resurrected Master and He needed to open their eyes. It will be the way that Israel as a nation will eventually see and recognize it’s Messiah: when He comes in the cloud in the end of time (Zechariah12:10; Acts 1:11). When they recognized their beloved Master, they repented and returned to Jerusalem. That’s what meeting the Master should create in us, a spirit of repentance that brings us back to the origins of our faith, to the place where we belong, to Jerusalem. After three days of being absent, the disciples were already straying from the faith, but Yeshua made sure to run after them; He met them at the tomb, in their house where He spoke with Thomas (John 20:27), even all the way on the road to Emmaus, just in order to bring them back to ‘Jerusalem’ where they were to remain until the next pilgrimage festival: Shavuot/Pentecost (Acts 1:4). They would have surely missed something being in the wrong place at the wrong time (Acts 2)! In these days of preparation for the awesome day of Yom Kippur, may our meditations grant us the presence of the Master in a way that causes us to repent and return, repent from our straying and back to the ‘Jerusalem’ where we belong. May we be found doing His will on the Day of His coming. |
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