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Revelation 3:12
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. While the children of Judah were exiled in Babylon, they witnessed the capture of their king, the devastation of their beloved Jerusalem, and the destruction of God’s Temple. Ezekiel the prophet was among the captives who, after all hopes were gone for the deported nation, was given the ministry of encouragement. Hashem used Ezekiel to encourage exiled in the Babylonian dispersion by telling them of the wonderful future of a rebuilt Jerusalem hosting a magnificent glorious temple where the Messiah Himself will serve (Ezekiel 40: and forward). Oddly enough, as particular as Hashem can be on these things, the architectural plans and service details of the Messianic era Temple are different than those of the first Temple. When the captives returned and started rebuilding, it would have seemed natural that they would follow the blue print of Ezekiel’s prophetic temple but they did not. The prophets of the day believed that the temple they were to build right after their return from Babylon would not last forever. So whereas they decided to incorporate some of Ezekiel’s plan, they stuck close to the layout of the first temple. They understood that the Temple of Ezekiel’s vision belonged to another time, to the time pertaining Messiah’s actual reign on earth. Since Ezekiel’s Temple prophecies have therefore not been fulfilled, they now serve as an encouragement for us who are still in dispersion, for all believers are strangers and exiles on this earth (Hebrews 11:13) waiting to return to where we belong in the Kingdom of God. So whatever upheaval we see in the Middle-East, we must fix our eyes on these prophecies which tell us of the glorious future of the Messianic age when Messiah Himself who has the true roadmap for peace in the area will reign from His Temple in Jerusalem. The Torah will be the Law of the Land flowing out of Zion to fill the nations of the world who will bring their glory to Jerusalem. It will be a time of great restoration when Messiah Himself will wipe our tears away while bringing true justice to the world. May it come soon Abba, even in our days!
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James 1:22
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. The reading portion assigned for this week starts with the rulings of freeing slaves every seven years (Exodus 21:2). This law of release also applies to fields that are to be let fallow one year out of seven. The purpose of these rulingss is to keep people from oppressing each other, as well as to establish a sense of priority in our hearts. Hashem doesn’t want us to spend our lives aimlessly increasing our wealth at the cost of our relationships and and responsibilities towards human beingsas well as towards our spiritual walk, which also needs attention. When the people of Israel did not obey the law of release, God sent Babylon against them. The seventy years of Babylonian captivity correspond to the seventy jubilees they did not observe (Jeremiah 25:11). The earth is God’s and everything in it. He makes the rules and He gets His due, you can make sure of it. The part that compliments this week’s reading portion is in the Book of Jeremiah. As the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, through the mouth of Jeremiah the Lord convicts the people about not observing the jubilee (Jeremiah 34:8-10). As they obeyed, word reached the Babylonian army that Hophra was coming up out of Egypt with an army to raise the siege. It is not that the Egyptians loved Israel so much, it is just that whoever controls Israel controls the Via Maris, the main trade route between Egypt and Assyria. Here is where the story changes. When Israel sees Egypt coming to its rescue causing the lifting of the Babylonian siege, they renege on their repentance. They bring their slaves back to labor. They maybe thought they played a good one on God, until Jeremiah unveiled God’s retributive plan. You can read it in chapter thirty-four of the Book of Jeremiah. Through Abraham, God made a covenant with mankind which cannot be broken (Genesis 15). But the fact that this covenant cannot be broken does not exclude retributions for us breaking it. Though these retributions may not be fatal, they are nevertheless drastic (Jeremiah 34:13-22). In the same manner, when a person goes under Hashem's redemptive covenant made with the world through Yeshua the Messiah, that person becomes liable to the obligations of its contract. Inclusion under Hashem’s covenant is free, but there are particulars to the terms. As we read Scripture, it is important for us to understand the particulars of our contract. In this day and age of literacy, the only excuses we have for not knowing is distraction, disobedience, or indifference, and all are bad. James admonished the Israeli community of believers in these very pertinent words, Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:21-22). May we also take these words to heart! 1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. After God delivered the Children of Israel from Egypt with His Mighty Arm He commanded that any future king of Israel should, not … cause the people to return to Egypt … (Deuteronomy 17:16). Because of this commandment, some in Jewish religious circles conclude that once a Jew returns to Israel, to the Land of his ancestors, it is a sin to leave it again, even temporarily. But was the commandment to be applied solely within a geographical understanding? Eight centuries after the Exodus, the Children of Israel had gone full circle. Subject to a coup within their own royal house they fear the fury of Nebuchadnezzar, so the remnant from the Babylonian deportation decides to seek refuge in Egypt. They seek the advice (or demand the approval) of Jeremiah the prophet who by the Word of Hashem tells them to stay put in Israel. They reject the counsel and go anyways, taking Jeremiah with them as a prisoner (Jeremiah 46). Hashem must have foreseen this event for He warned them of this before they even entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 17:16). It is easy to judge and criticize the Children of Israel for this blatant bout of disobedience. Children are known to love to judge their parents, especially teenagers! Yes; we can look at them and say, “Why? Why didn’t they trust God and obey the commandment, especially when Jeremiah told them? Can’t they remember all the bounty and power God showed them in the past …etc …” Yes it is easy to react that way, but the only way to have mercy and compassion on others is to have a good hard and honest look at ourselves. A rule for Jewish judges was that if a judge could not see within himself the fault of the person he was to judge, he would be self-righteous and therefore not fit to judge that person. Seeing the fault of others in ourselves provides us with the Spirit of the Judge of the earth who took on sin upon Himself so He could judge us righteously (Isaiah 11:1-4). He still asks us, Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye (Matthew 7:3)?. We must remember that, these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come (1 Corinthians 10:11). A good honest look at ourselves easily reveals the spirit of fear and compromise which stifles our effectiveness for Him as well as eats at our trust in obeying His word of personal revelation to us. It is usually at the end of our lives when we realize how we have missed the boat. We see then how we have allowed fear and personal interest to provoke us to compromise and choose a life of seeming safety instead of launching out like Abraham into a bright future that could not be altered no matter what. May we learn from the Children who tried to find safety in returning to their old lives. May we learn that we are safer in a desert surrounded by enemies if God is with us that in that within a shaded walled garden with supplies yet without Hashem. We need this lesson to help us face the days to come. We need to live it today so we can teach it to our children for their days to come … and that of their children’s! James 1:22
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”. The reading portion assigned for this week starts with the rulings of freeing slaves every seven years. This law of release also applied to fields that are to be let fallow one year out of seven. The purpose of these commandments is to keep people from oppressing each other, as well as to establish a sense of priority in God’s people. God doesn’t want us to spend our lives aimlessly increasing our wealth at the cost of human beings and our spiritual walk, which also needs attention. When the people of Israel did not obey the law of release, God sent Babylon against them. The seventy years of Babylonian captivity correspond to the seventy jubilees they did not observe. The earth is God’s and everything in it. He makes the rules and He gets His due, you can make sure of it. The part that compliments this week’s reading portion is in the Book of Jeremiah. As the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, through the mouth of Jeremiah the Lord convicts the people about not observing the jubilee (Jeremiah 34:8-10). As they obeyed, word reached the Babylonian army that Hophra was coming up out of Egypt with an army to raise the siege. It is not that the Egyptians loved Israel so much, it is just that whoever controls Israel controls the Via Maris, the main trade route between Egypt and Assyria. Here is where the story changes. When Israel sees Egypt coming to its rescue causing the lifting of the Babylonian siege, they renege on their repentance. They bring their slaves back to labor. They maybe thought they played a good one on God, until Jeremiah unveiled God’s retributive plan. You can read it in chapter thrity-four of the Book of Jeremiah. Through Abraham, God made a covenant with mankind which cannot be broken (Genesis 15). But the fact that this covenant cannot be broken does not exclude retributions for us breaking it. Though these retributions may not be definitive, they are nevertheless drastic (Jeremiah 34:13-22). When a person goes under the redemptive covenant God made with the world through Yeshua the Messiah, that person becomes liable to the obligations of its contract. Inclusion under God’s covenant is free, but there are particulars to the terms. As we read Scripture, it is important for us to understand the particulars of our contract. In this day and age of literacy, the only excuse we have for not knowing is disobedience or indifference, and both are bad. James admonished the Israeli community of believers in these very pertinent words, Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves (James 1:21-22). May we also take these words to heart! |
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