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.2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Reading much differently from its English processed translations, the original Hebrew text of the second verse of the first chapter of the Book of Leviticus presents interesting messianic insights. I do not believe that the English misreading is due to any conspiratory voluntary malefic action, but rather to a reading with an already established theology. We must also realize that a translation always carries the bias of the translator; it is merely a commentary in another language. I heard it said one time that reading the Bible through a translation is like kissing a bride through a veil! The usual translations of the verse read something to the effect of: “When any one of you brings an offering to ADONAI … (Lev. 1:2), but a more literal translation of the text would read, (my translation) “When a man from among you (you: 2nd person plural) desires to come near Me with n offering …” The word for ‘man’ is adam אדם, the same as the name of the first man Adam. This did not pass the attention of Chassidic teacher Rabbi Schneur Zalman. In 1812 The Rabbi suggested a deeper meaning in the verse; he came to the messianic conclusion of the existence of a supernatural/spiritual Adam who approaches Hashem on the behalf of Israel. Based on the vision of Ezekiel in which he saw ‘a figure with the appearance of an Adam, Jewish teachings sometime offer the idea of a heavenly Adam; it is to this spiritual Adam the Rabbi refers to. This may sound far-fetched, but only until we read Paul teaching along the same lines in. The Apostle says, "The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven" (1 Cor. 15:47). Understanding that everything on earth was created after an heavenly pattern, we understand that Paul’s accounting of first and second does not refer to importance, but only to the chronology of this Adam’s earthly manifestations. The Rabbi was right. Israel does have an Adam, who approaches Hashem on our behalf, and who "lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25 referring to Isaiah 53:12). He is our burnt offering in Hebrew called olah עולה or ‘he that ascends’, an image of a total submission and consumption in God and ascending to him (Lev. 1:3; Matt. 26:39; John 3:13-15). He is our grain offering (Lev. 2:2; Matt. 26:26); our peace offering which is an image of communion and fellowship with Hashem through a meal (Lev. 3:1; John 14:27; Rev. 19:9). He also is our sin offering for involuntary sins (Lev. 4:2; 2 Cor. 5:21 (the word for sin in Hebrew or Greek also means: sin offering); Heb. 9:28); and our guilt offering ((Lev. 5:19; Isa. 53: 10-11). In studying the eternal offering ordinances in the Book of Leviticus, we learn about Yeshua’s eternal intercessory role in our lives. It is one and the same thing, and since He completes them (Matthew 5:17), if the offerings become obsolete as some teach, Yeshua also becomes obsolete, God forbid! May we always be granted to confidently approach Hashem through him who is our eternal intercessory offering, in a spirit of submission and humility, in full knowledge of our sin, and personal unworthiness.
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Matthew 4:4
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’. The fourth book of the Pentateuch is called in English ‘Numbers’. In Hebrew the title of the book is the first noun of the text which is ‘Ba’midbar’, meaning: ‘In the Wilderness’. In today’s Hebrew, the word ‘midbar’ means ‘desert’. The Book of ‘Ba’midbar’ tells us of the thirty-eight years spent by the Children of Israel in the desert. The Hebrew for the word ‘midbar’ reveals a very interesting truth. Most Hebrew words are based on a three letter verbal root, sometimes two. This verbal root is vital to us because no matter what the variation in the spelling of the word, the verbal root reveals its etymological meaning, which is important to us in order to understand what the Father is trying to convey to us through His ‘Word’. The verbal root of the word ‘midbar/wilderness’ is composed of the three Hebrew letters, ‘daleth/beth/resh’. Strangely enough, these letters are also the verbal root for the word ‘lehdaber: to speak’, verb from which is derived the word ‘davar’. Today ‘davar’ means, ‘word’ or ‘thing’, but it is also the ancient Aramaic word used in the Targum (Aramaic layman’s version of the Hebrew Scriptures) to refer to Messiah. ‘Davar’ is the word John used when he said, ‘In the beginning was the ‘Word’ (John 1:1). Where does all this take us? These interesting facts concerning the word ‘midbar’ have certainly not escaped the attention of Jewish sages and we find illumination in some of their commentaries. Looking at the relationship between the Hebrew words for ‘wilderness’ and the idea of the ‘spoken word’, the sages have concluded that the wilderness is the place where God speaks. God may speak in many places, but the wilderness is usually the place where we are the most dependant on Him and where we can give Him our full attention. Sometimes this ‘wilderness’ can also be the spiritual or emotional wilderness of difficult and trying times in our lives. The idea is certainly carried in the Scriptures. John the Immerser defined himself using the prophet Isaiah’s words as, ‘the Voice crying in the wilderness’ (Matthew 3:3). The Master Himself when fasting (food and water) for forty days in the wilderness (such a fast should kill a person) said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)”. The ‘wilderness’ is certainly the place where we hear God most clearly: the place of total undistracted dependency. May we learn to benefit from our wilderness times, hearing His Voice telling us ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 3:2). May we not murmur at the ‘manna’ nor at the water shortage. May we learn to use those times for growth, maturation, and consecration as the Children of Israel did. 2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. While reading much differently from its English processed translations, the Hebrew text of the second verse of the first chapter of the Book of Leviticus presents interesting messianic insights. I do not believe that this is due to some voluntary malefic action, but rather to a reading of the Hebrew with an already established theology. Our usual translations of the verse read something to the effect of: “When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD … (Leviticus 1:2), but a more literal translation of the text would read, (my translation) “When a man from among you (you: 2nd person plural) desires to come near Me with an offering …” The word for ‘man’ is ‘adam’, the same as the name of the first man ‘Adam’. This did not pass the attention of Chassidic teacher Rabbi Schneur Zalman who in 1812 suggested a deeper meaning in the verse coming to the messianic conclusion of the existence of a ‘supernatural/spiritual’ ‘Adam’ who approaches God on the behalf of Israel. Based on the vision of Ezekiel in which he saw ‘a figure with the appearance of a ‘man’ or ‘Adam’ Jewish teachings sometime offer the idea of a heavenly Adam;. It is to this spiritual ‘Adam’ the Rabbi refers to. This may sound far-fetched, but only until we read Paul teaching along the same lines in, The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47). Understanding that everything on earth was created after an heavenly pattern, we understand that Paul’s accounting of first and second refers only to the chronology of this ‘Adam’s’ earthly manifestations. The Rabbi was right. Israel does have an ‘Adam’, who approaches God on our behalf, and who lives to make intercession for them (Hebrews 7:25 referring to Isaiah 53:12). He is our Burnt Offering in Hebrew called ‘olah’ or ‘ascension’, an image of a total submission and consumption in God and ascending to Him (Leviticus 1:3; Matthew 26:39; John 3:13-15). He is our Grain Offering (Leviticus 2:2; Matthew 26:26), our Peace Offering which is an image of communion and fellowship with God (Leviticus 3:1; John 14:27; Revelations 19:9). He also is our Sin Offering for involuntary sins (Leviticus 4:2; 2 Corinthians 5:21 (the word for sin in Hebrew or Greek also means: sin offering); Hebrews 9:28); and our Guilt Offering ((Leviticus 5:19; Isaiah 53: 10-11). In studying the eternal offering ordinances in the Book of Leviticus, we learn about Yeshua’s eternal intercessory role in our lives. It is one and the same thing, and since He completes them (Matthew 5:17), if the offerings become obsolete as some teach, Yeshua also becomes obsolete, God forbid! May we always be granted to confidently approach God through Him who is our Eternal Intercessory Offering in a spirit of submission and humility, in full knowledge of our sin and personal unworthiness. |
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