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Romans 11:12, 18
Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!? Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. “You find that as long as Sarah lived, a cloud hung over her tent … her doors were wide open … there was a blessing on her dough, and the lamp used to burn from the evening of the Sabbath until the evening of the following Sabbath …" In this scrap of tradition, Sarah’s tent is homiletically compared to Jerusalem typified by the Temple. The cloud is symbolic of the Shekinah of God’s presence, the doors of the temple being wide opened is an invitation to the world to the house of prayer (as Yeshua called it); the blessed dough is the showbread which miraculously never spoiled, and the lamp is the seven-branches candelabrum which burned continuously in the Holy Place. In the Book of Galatians Paul builds on this illustration. Using the concept that Judaism views Sarah as the great matriarch he says, But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Then, using Isaiah’s allegory and adding the fact that that Sarah was barren (not Hagar) He quotes, "Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! Though Paul doesn’t quote it, the rest of the oracle says, Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes (Isaiah 54:1-2; Galatians 4:26).This is an illustration that Jerusalem, (the center of Jewish religion) is one day to open its doors to all nations. The next chapter of Isaiah goes on to call all nations to drink and be fed from the fountain of Jerusalem (Isaiah 55; Zechariah 14:16). Referring to modern history, I now will build on this concept. In their impatience while waiting on God to fulfill the messianic promise of the birth of Isaac, Abraham and Sarah brought Hagar into the picture. As Hagar bore fruit she despised and boasted against Sarah who was still barren and dry. In His own time, Hashem miraculously caused Sarah to bear the fruit of the messianic promise. In the end, though blessed by God because of beloved Abraham, Hagar paid for her attitude having to leave Sarah’s presence. For 2,000 years while waiting for the 19th century when Jerusalem would miraculously birth the present-day world-wide Messianic movement, the nations of the world, who did bear fruit unto Yeshua have done so while ‘boasting’ against the ‘natural branches’ in a doctrine called ‘Replacement Theology’, and even subjecting these ‘natural branches’ to horrible persecutions (or were silent in the face of it). Will the nations suffer the same fate as Hagar? The Text tells us that not, but that in the end Jerusalem will return to its rightful original owners, and that the nations will come and serve and worship God in Jerusalem, bringing in their glory (Isaiah 66; Haggai 2:7). For what it’s worth, there is an ancient Jewish teaching which suggests that Keturah, Abraham’s second wife after Sarah died, is actually Hagar returned (Genesis 25:1-6).
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John 14:9
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” The dear sages who compared Jerusalem to Sarah our matriarch could not have foreseen the extent of their analogy. In the midrash of the barren woman, Hashem reveals the messianic future of His dear city to the prophet Isaiah. Since its sacking by the Romans in the first century C.E., many have looked at Jerusalem just as Isaiah saw her: a barren woman sitting on a heap of ashes, ostracized and rejected by her husband because of her many infidelities (Isaiah 54; Jeremiah 26:6). One of the legends I like the most is the one about the weaning of Isaac. It is said that Abraham called in a great feast (Genesis 21:8). The rumor had gone around that Isaac was actually Pharaoh Abimelek’s child (Genesis 20:2). Not only people couldn't believe that old Abraham sired a boy, but they also could not conceive Sarah lactating at ninety years old. The point of the feast was to vindicate the miracle God had performed and put the rumors to rest. Great Sheiks came from all around in great caravans and pomp to attend Abraham’s feast. To prove herself, not only did Sarah nursed her son, but she offered to nurse every baby in the camp. She did, and the story goes on to say that every child Sarah nursed eventually became a king or a person of great influence and integrity. Also, in order to erase any doubt that the child was truly Abraham’s, God had made the face of Isaac similar to that of his father, so that it was said that he who saw the son saw the father. Sounds familiar doesn’t it (John 14:9)? Look now why our ages compared Sarah to Jerusalem. Just like Sarah was, twice Jerusalem was conquered and taken captive by foreigners, first by the Babylonians, and the second by the Romans. With the re-establishment of the State of Israel, the Roman captivity shows signs of coming to its end. Having the past of Jerusalem in Sarah's life, let us now see now its future. After the return from her second captivity, Isaac, the promised child, the fore-shadow of Messiah was born. Sarah who barren and past the age, finally bore fruit. In the same manner today, Jerusalem, one of the oldest city in the world, a city that has been used, abused, rejected, redeemed, to be rejected again and re-redeemed, prides itself of a new vibrant Messianic community rising all over in Israel: the ‘remnant of the seed of the woman’ (Revelation 12:17) preparing the way for the soon return of the King (Revelations 19). The same miracle that rejuvenated Sarah to conceive Isaac and lactate happens in our day through Jerusalem. Think of it: a whole country was re-born in a day with a new generation of messianic believers preparing the way for the soon-coming of the King who will rule the earth in the justice and righteousness of the Father. Will they become the kings of integrity ‘nursed’ to rule in the Jerusalem of the World to Come? May it be soon Abba, even in our days! Those who would try to interfere with the miraculous plan of God are playing with the unstoppable spiritual and natural forces that created the heavens and the earth. May they beware! Luke 14:23
And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. Abraham was known for his hospitality. He used to send his servant Eliezer search the wilderness for guests to bring to his table. Once there, Abraham served them a table that made them praise the God Creator of all things. This was his way to introduce people to God. If Eliezer came back empty handed, Abraham himself took off by the highways and byways compelling them to come in. When Moses watched over Jethro's flocks, one of his Father-in-law's sheep went missing. Moses immediately left the flock and did not return till he that lost sheep (however rebellious it as) and secured it back in the flock of his father-in-law. From His throne up above God saw the whole thing and decided that if Moses was so faithful with Jethro's flock, He could be assigned to Israel: His own flock. Weather these two mishnaic legends are true I do not know, but they certainly found their way as parables in the mouth of the Master. The Torah teaches us that we should return lost items (Deuteronomy 22:1-3). On the strength of this command, sages instituted that if you find something, you are to be the guardian over it until you find its owner and are able to restitute it. A story is told of an old Rabbi who found a bag of seed forgotten by a traveler on his property. The Rabbi found it secured it in his barn. After a year, fearing the seed would spoil he sowed the seed then harvested it and stored the proceeds in his barn. When later the rightful owner came to inquire about this lost bag of seed, the old Rabbi returned it with a profit. Even so, through year of bad politics and History, Israel has lost the identity of its Messiah. Christians on the other hand, have lost the Torah. We who have found the 'Seeds' of the Kingdom of true King of Israel and His Torah are responsible to return it to those who lost it. The seeds of Messianic Judaism have been sown into the world and produced a beautiful culture among those who practice it. The Master charged us to also go into all the world and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19). He taught us the virtue of leaving the ninety-nine behind to go rescue the one lost one (Matthew 18:12-14). He also told us to go by the highways and byways to compel them to come in (Matthew 22:9). After all, isn't it what He did? Hasn't he left the realm of glory by the side of the Father in order to walk our dusty roads and find us who were lost and wandering, that He may return us to His father, with a profit? John 1:14
And the Word … dwelt among us What does the Tabernacle teach us? Let me now take you on a journey to the feet of Jewish sages who have pondered the question for hundreds of Years. Many have suggested that as he built the Tabernacle, Bezalel saw it as a microcosm of the creation of the universe. Here is how it works. King David describes the first day of creation when God created the Heavens and the Earth using the following words, stretching out the heavens like a tent (Psalms 104:2). So, we find that a curtain (similar to that of a tent) was stretched out above the Tabernacle. The colors of the material used also correspond to the colors of sky and earth. On the second day of creation, God made the firmament as a separation. Similarly, in the Tabernacle there was a curtain separating one part from another. Just like on the third day of creation God gathered the waters into one area, in the Tabernacle there was also a designated place to gather water in a basin. Corresponding to the luminaries created on the fourth day, we find the menorah with its lights in the Tabernacle. On the fifth day of creation, God created the birds. Similarly, there were birds brought as offerings on the altar of the Tabernacle. And corresponding to the creation of man on the sixth day, the service in the Tabernacle was led by the High Priest. The Torah describes how the work was completed on the seventh day of creation and how that day was blessed and sanctified by God. The idea of the Tabernacle was to make a place for God to live on earth. It represents therefore the restoration of all things to the day when as He was in the Garden of Eden, Adonai would walk the earth alongside with man. Some have also viewed the Tabernacle as a microcosm of the human body with the Ark as the heart of a person, the cherubs spreading their wings over the Ark as the lungs that spread out around the heart. The table with the showbread represented a person's stomach while the menorah and its oil lamps corresponded to a person's mind. The frankincense symbolized the sense of smell and the water basin represented the fluids in the human body. Finally, the curtains symbolized a person's skin and the beams represented the ribs. Jewish sages taught that every person is a microcosm of the entire universe just like the Tabernacle. As farfetched as these musings may seem, we can’t help but realize that our Jewish sages were on the right track in their understanding of the Tabernacle. After all, did not Paul say that to their advantage, the Jewish people had been entrusted the oracles of God (Romans 3:1-2)? As the spirit of God came to fill the earthly Tabernacle, so it filled the earthly ‘tabernacle’ of the human body of the person of Yeshua who is the representation of the Presence of God among us, in God’s created universe. As we study these things, may we look forward to the time when Messiah will once again walk the earth among us. May it be soon Abba, even in our days! |
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