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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 wonder today 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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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. Luke 21:19
By your endurance you will gain your lives. The episode of the golden calf finds a parallel in the days of the Kings of Israel. In the ninth century B.C.E. Ahab marries the Tyrian princess Jezebel who reintroduces devotion to Baal worship. Before long Israel is deep in apostasy and God sends Elijah the prophet to minister to the wayward Northern Kingdom. Elijah’s efforts culminate to the test on Mt Carmel where again we have as in the golden calf incident, Israel worshipping a false god in a wild dancing party (Exodus 32; 1 Kings 18). The events on Mt. Carmel ended a three year drought. Rabbinic historians say that the drought only lasted fourteen months; why then did both Yeshua and James mention that it lasted three and half year (Luke 4:25; James 5:17)? Joseph Fitzmyer explains that the drought lasted fourteen months straddling over a three and half years period, and that this duration of the drought paralleled the length of the period of distress in apocalyptic literature (Daniel 7:25; Revelations 12:6). In both the golden calf and the Mt Carmel episode we have an impatient people turning to a wild idolatrous party. In the one they wait for Moses to return with the Torah, in the other they wait for the rain (the Hebrew words for ‘rain’ and ‘Torah’ are of the same etymological family). Will it be the same at the end of time? Hear these Words of warning from the Master, For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:37-39). Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:46-51). These last 2,000 years of waiting for the return of the Master may seem long, but not as long as to those from whom the Gospel has been withheld. We have the assurance that, After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him (Hosea 6:2) (a day is as thousand years to the Lord (Psalms 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8)). May we patiently wait for Him, each day doing our best to follow in His footsteps and shining the light of His Torah to all around us. May he find us and ours doing so at his return. May it be soon, even in our days! |
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