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1 Corinthians 10:2 All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. The Children of Israel could have left Egypt, traveled directly northeastward and be in Canaan in less than a few weeks. Instead, Hashem had them make a small detour crossing the Red Sea by the Gulf of Aqaba. Were the reasons given for this detour (Exodus 13:17-18) the only real purposes? The Israelites had just spent several generations in Egypt. They needed to be cleansed from idolatry and Egyptian culture. They needed to be reborn into Hashem’s people, and into the culture of the Kingdom of Hashem. This is where the idea of ‘born-again’ came from: from two tractates written by Jewish sages that say that total immersion into water (baptism) is like being born again. We go into a water and stop breathing which is like being in a grave where we do not have breath anymore, and we come out resurrected a new person. The sages mention the ‘born-again’ idea mostly in regards to converts to Judaism (Yevamot 47b and 48b). They immerse in order to emerge a born-again new creature in God. This is what God had in mind in this nation-wide immersion through the Red-Sea (1 Corinthians 10:2). When Yeshua told Nicodemus that he needed to be reborn, the modern-day ‘born-again’ Christian movement did not exist, so Yeshua was using the term according to its Talmudic value, and this is why Nicodemus answered the Master accordingly. What Nicodemus said in essence was “Why do I need to convert when I am already Jewish?” To which Yeshua basically answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6). In other words, the Master reiterated John the Immerser’s message that biological descent into God’s family was not enough, but repentance into a new creature for Hashem was also needed (Matthew 3:9). The Israelites crossing the Red Sea were already Israelites, but they needed to also be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1 Corinthians 10:2). Yeshua continued answering Nicodemus with, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8). Just like the wind cannot be seen and is only perceived though its effects, so we are. The virtues of the new life that we now live, its positive influences on others, and its reflection of Hashem, are the only testimony given to others of our rebirth. As we claim to have been reborn, as we claim to have been immersed unto Yeshua, let the effects of our rebirth be felt by others. May we live and walk in the newness of life that He has given us to be God’s children, and as the healing reflection of His spirit on our poor world.
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Revelations 7:4
And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 14:1, 4: Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb. After the Ba'al Pe'or incident, five sisters come to Moses with an inheritance question Numbers 25-27). These events required the presence of hands-on leadership, so when God informs Moses that he will soon be gathered with his people, he anticipates the need for a new leader over Israel (Numbers 27:16-17). God's people are often compared to sheep or children. Sheep do not survive very well without the help of a shepherd. They do not know where the green pastures and the still waters are (Psalms 23). Also, not being equipped with a defense system, they need protection from predators. Children also are vulnerable and easily led astray, sometimes by others, but most often by their own inclinations. Time and again Moses saw that just having the commandments was not enough. A strong and faithful leader was always needed to embody these commandments and lead the people to them, without it, they are scattered each one towards their own ways (Judges 17:6). Our present leader-less day marked with divided theologies and many raising themselves as a self-appointed prophets or leaders, very much proves the point. From the times the original disciples of the Master died, the Congregation of Messiah has been plagued with teachers of all kinds teaching all sorts of things mostly through ignorance, but also through anti-Semitic rejection of the original teachings of the sages of classic Judaism, which following the sample of the Master, the disciples often referred to. We today are also in dire need of the 'appointed' leader over God's people. As we pray with Moses for the appointed leader over the congregation (Numbers 27:16-17), we pray for the return of Messiah. It is interesting that Joshua and Yeshua are the same name, the Master's name simply being a shorter Aramaic version. With the appointment of Joshua a military census was taken, and the children of Israel were reminded of their responsibilities towards the appointed festivals (Numbers 28-29). This census counts the fighting force of the congregation of Joshua. In the same manner, we see today a worldwide phenomenon of the followers of Yeshua being reminded of their responsibilities towards the Biblical festivals, and as the Master returns, a census of the tribes is also taken (Revelations 7:4-8). This census is of the Israelites believers who, as the ancient tribes followed Joshua over the Jordan on to the Promised Land, will follow Yeshua into the World to Come of the Kingdom of God on earth. These are the firstfruit, the 'omer' dedicated to God and representing the rest of the harvest of the world (Leviticus 23:10; Revelations 14:4). It is redemption by representation. It is no wonder that throughout generations the devil has tried to get rid of the Israelites: believers from the tribes are the 'omer' representation to be brought before Yeshua the High-Priest to represent the harvest of the world! 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! Mark 3:4
"Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" The Sabbath is the most repeated ordinance in the Scriptures. Like the wearing a wedding ring informs people that we belong to someone, the Sabbath informs our entourage that we belong to El-Shaddai. People have a wide array of ideas on how the Sabbath should be observed. From a simple mental cognition to a strict and severe application, all aspects of the spectrum of Sabbath application are covered sometimes even at the cost of division between family and friends, but how did Yeshua observe the Sabbath? We are told that the evening the Master’s death was a Sabbath so his disciples went to rest according to the commandments (Luke 23:56). What Yeshua taught his disciples was a healthy respect of the Sabbath and there is nothing in the Scriptures to tell us that He broke it. Remember, Yeshua was without sin and the sin is the breaking of the Torah (Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:4). What Yeshua did was argue with was a harsh and burdensome application of not only the Sabbath but of the whole Torah, He Himself said ‘ My yoke is easy’ (Matthew 11:30). In Torah talk, the yoke is the yoke of Torah application in our lives. What Yeshua was in fact saying is that His type of Torah application was easy and light not hard and oppressive, which included His application of the Sabbath. For example: for farmers, a donkey was a precious commodity in Israel so it was agreed by the religious leaders of the day that if on the Sabbath a donkey fell in a well, its masters could rescue it even though it broke the Sabbath prohibition about work. Yeshua then went on to argue that the life of a man was much more precious than that of a donkey and so that if we can rescue a donkey on the Sabbath, it should certainly be permissible to heal a whole man on the Sabbath day. Yeshua was not creating a new law and application but He was arguing from within the contents of the Jewish law of His day. Yeshua tried in fact to teach us that not only the saving of a life was acceptable on the Sabbath, but also the alleviating of human suffering, which is what became a doctrinal point of disagreement. The examples of Yeshua’s handling of the Sabbath should give us a good idea of what is biblically permissible on the Sabbath. Yeshua in fact reminded His audience that by their own teachings it was alright to do good on the Sabbath when He asked them this rhetorical question, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? (Mark 3:4)" May we remember this principle and learn to make our Sabbath observances a blessing to us, and to those around us. |
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