Zion's Voice

Haftarah Reflections   2

Torah portion            Genesis 6 : 9  – 11 : 32 

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 54 : 1 – 56 : 5

Listen to the Prophets

We learned last week that the book of Isaiah is something of a miniature version of the whole Scriptures. The last 27 chapters of which (comparable to the Apostolic Scriptures, which is frequently referred to as the “New Testament”) contain the encouraging message of salvation.

The Haftarah relationship to the weekly Torah parashah is found in Isaiah 54: 6 – 10. A direct reference to the time when God flooded the earth. BUT, our Haftarah portion goes way beyond that to express the time, both present and future, when God remembers, with love and great mercy, those He called His “special treasure”. See verse 7. “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you.”

If we needed any reminder, here again, God emphasises His great love for Israel. Yes, He has moments and times of great frustration with these ‘stiff-necked’ people. Yes, they try God’s patience to the very limit. Yes, they are described in other places in Scripture as an “unfaithful wife”. BUT God is God. He has made an everlasting covenant of love with Israel, and we may be absolutely sure that God will NEVER break that covenant.

If you want to know the exact time when Israel will “no longer be a Nation before the Lord”, read Jeremiah 31: 35, 36, It is spelled out precisely there.

 Our parashah this week opens with an encouraging monologue from the Lord, “Sing O barren … enlarge the place of your tent … lengthen your chords … for you shall expand to the right and to the left …”    I am going to honour My covenant with Abraham.  I am going to make it happen. “For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of Hosts is His Name: And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel”

The Lord our God had been here before. He saw the abject wickedness of the people of His creation in the days of Noah. He decided to start again, so to speak, and chose the faithful Noah as His starting point. Even then, after some hundreds of years, it was not until “our father Abram” lived on this earth, that God was able to trust a man in whom He could have confidence to live righteously before Him and produce a family that God could use to be a light to the Nations. BUT, in Isaiah’s generation of Israelites, the Lord could see that they again needed a chastisement in order to bring about correction. Starting from scratch, as in the days of Noah was not an option. God had made an everlasting covenant to not go down that path. Isaiah’s task was to speak warning and to sound an alarm. At the same time to try to encourage the people with the promises of God regarding His great love for them.

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement You (the LORD) shall condemn.”  

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat” 

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near”  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord”

Don’t we just love these beautiful promises of God. He is talking to a people who are neglecting to live according to His commands. He is reaching out in love, and hope, that they will turn around and follow His ways.

Dear friends, what a challenge these Scriptures provide. We ALL want the blessing of God on our lives, do we not? We all bask in the joy of His great promises to us who believe. But is it good enough to “just believe”? The whole of Isaiah is a lesson for every age of believers. We have the advantage of knowing the end of the story. They did not heed the warnings of Isaiah and ended up in Babylon, in captivity. The Apostle James tells us that “faith without works is dead”. It is NOT about earning salvation. It is about keeping covenant with God as believers. Living as He has commanded, not carrying on as though we never met Yeshua.

A few verses from the end of our parashah we read “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all Nations” A verse of Scripture quoted by most without any knowledge that it is a ‘conditional’ promise. The condition is actually contained in conclusion of our parashah this week.

The promise is to those who “keep from defiling My Sabbaths” It may come as a shock to some, but what God wanted from those Israelites in Isaiah’s day, He also wants from us today.          

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Haftarah Reflections   1 

Torah portion            Genesis 1 : 1  – 6 : 8 

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 42 : 5 – 43 : 10

Listen to the Prophets

“Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it”

So begins our Haftarah parashah today. The beginning of a new reading cycle. What a stirring message God entrusted to the faithful Isaiah. (It has been noted that Isaiah has 66 chapters, and our Bible has 66 Books. The Hebrew Scriptures contain 39 Books, and the first 39 chapters of Isaiah contain warnings and pleading for the Israelites of the Kingdom of Judea to return to the path God had set before them. The Apostolic Scriptures contain 27 Books, and the last 27 chapters of Isaiah’ prophecy provide words of encouragement and comfort, the salvation message. So Isaiah’s prophecy is seen as a representation of both the Hebrew and the Apostolic Scriptures).

The weekly Haftarah portion always bears some relationship to the corresponding Torah portion, which this week is the creation story. When God created “man”, His purpose was to have loving fellowship with, and worshipful praise from, His created beings. He declared that what He had created was “very good”’. The comparisons we see between the creation story, and our Isaiah passage, indicate that what turned out to be a failure on the part of ‘man’, recorded in Genesis, will eventually be restored and put right as outlined in our prophetic passage from Isaiah today.

So this Haftarah message gets right down to business. Speaking to and of Israel, Isaiah declares:-

“I the LORD have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles ..”

There is so much to ‘reflect upon’. PLEASE read this passage for yourself. You WILL be blessed, and if you are anything like me, you will be challenged too.

“Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth”   … says verse 10 

How about this as a suggestion for a new song!!        

Isaiah 25:1  “ O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.” 

Most of us are not very good at singing ‘new’ songs to the LORD are we? And yet that seems to be the very sound that God loves to hear from those who are His. Next time you meet with the Lord in prayer, surprise Him ! sing Him this new song.

Our parashah looks forward to the time when Israel is restored to sweet fellowship with the LORD. It is very much a love letter from God to the people whom Isaiah has been warning because of their neglect of Torah. They had been living without proper acknowledgement of the covenant which was made by and with their forefathers in Moses time.

Further comment from me seems superfluous. Just ponder some of the awesome things God revealed to Isaiah, for those ancient people, and marvel at the relevance of those words to us today.

42:16  “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them. And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”

42:20 “Seeing many things, but you do not observe: opening the ears, but he does not listen.”

43:1-3 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name, you are Mine. When you walk through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you, when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.”

We know that in the end, Isaiah’s words were not heeded. So the Lord allowed them to go into Babylonian captivity for seventy years. Some, never to return.

How relevant are the words of Isaiah to us today? We have a choice to make.          

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    53    

Torah Portion                   Deuteronomy  33 : 1 – 34 : 12

Haftarah Portion           Joshua   1 : 1 – 18

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

We have reached the end of the Torah reading cycle for the year. It is appropriate that it ends with Moses declaring a series of blessings on ELEVEN of the tribes which are about to go in to possess the Land. Moses did not mention the tribe of SIMEON in his blessings, and we are left to our own searches to find out why. It appears significant, but it may NOT be.

(Jacob enjoined Simeon and Levi together in his blessing to the boys in Genesis 49. They were sons of Leah, and acted together with great treachery towards the Shechemites in taking revenge on account of their sister Dinah. Jacob proclaimed that they would be divided and scattered in Israel. The Levites, of course, had no Land possession, and the  Simeonites, being the smallest and weakest of the tribes, was apportioned land, near Beersheva, within the boundaries of the larger territory allotted to Judah. There is also evidence (2 Chronicles 15:9) that they wandered about, as Jacob had prophesied, and at least some of them moved up to the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Asa and Josiah).

This week I spent a long time looking at the blessings of both Jacob (to his sons) in Genesis 49 and Moses (to the families of those sons) in our parashah this week.  Interesting as that all was to me, I found myself captivated by the lesson for us today which can be drawn from the verses which conclude the reading portion, chapter 34:10-12.

“But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel”.

God had entrusted Moses with the task of documenting and teaching Torah. Torah is “the teaching, the instruction” as to how to live in harmony with each other and with a Holy God. How did Moses know that “teaching”?     God told him, and that “face to face”. In all the Hebrew Scriptures, we do not find another writing prophet like Moses. Without exception, they were all tasked with the job of drawing the attention of the people to “the Torah of Moses”. Warning the people of the error of being forgetful or downright disobedient. They were messengers of admonition and encouragement. They were ‘watchmen’. None of them witnessed the promised “prophet like Moses”. It is universally accepted that Yeshua was the One who fulfilled the promise of God made in Deuteronomy 18.

In my ‘reflection’ on parashah Shofitim some weeks ago I invited you to conduct for yourselves the exercise of comparing the attributes common to both Moses and Yeshua. I also suggested a less obvious comparison for your consideration.

Yeshua proclaimed a prophetic ministry during His sojourn on this earth. Clearly, from His discourse in both Matthew 10 and Matthew 15 we see that His mission was to the ‘lost sheep of the House of Israel’. Just like all the other writing prophets before Him. His burden was to draw the people back to observance of the “Torah of Moses” instead of the “traditions of men” (legalistic Pharasaic Judaism).

It is a strange, sad, fact, that today in our churches we seem to interpret Yeshua’s mission, and we teach, that Yeshua came to supersede the Torah of Moses. (and that in spite of His forthright declaration in Matthew 5:19 to the contrary). Our excuse for so doing is found in the translation of the Greek word “pleroo” (as ‘fulfil’) at the very end of that verse. That same Greek word “pleroo” is found in Philippians 2:2, Colossians 1:15, Colossians 4:17 and 1 Thessalonians 1:11. I invite you to look at the context of these texts and see how translating “pleroo” as ‘bring to a close’ or ‘ending’ is completely to misunderstand the word.

IF Yeshua is truly ‘the prophet like Moses’, as I believe He is, then the overwhelming sadness of this mistaken interpretation is that we have dressed up Messiah Yeshua in such a way as to make Him completely unrecognizable to Jews. How can they possibly worship ‘this prophet like Moses’, whose sole task, we tell them, is to take them away from “the Torah of Moses”?

The Apostle Paul expected that Gentile believers would “provoke (the Jews) to jealousy” (Romans 11:11). I respectfully suggest that in order to do that, Gentile believers would need to embrace the Torah of Moses, not teach against it.  That is how I believe we could truly ‘provoke them to jealousy’ and share the blessing which we have received by faith.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

“Feast of Booths”

Torah portions            Leviticus 22:26 to 23:44  and Numbers 29 :12 - 16

Haftarah portion      Zechariah 14 : 1-21

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 have the commandments about annual observances of the “mo’edim”. (The Hebrew word for “appointed times”, which in turn is usually translated into English as “feasts”). These are times when God specified He would meet with His chosen ones.

Today, they are most often referred to as “Jewish Feasts”. That correctly describes the fact that they are observances remembered by Jews. But it is an incorrect understanding of the Scriptures.

When God gave these instructions to Moses, He carefully worded these ‘appointed times’ (mo’edim) as MY ‘mo’edim’. They may be characterized as times when God says, in effect, “I will be there to meet with you on these specific occasions”. Those who choose not to attend miss an opportunity of blessing through meeting with Him at His invitation.

This festival is a happy occasion. It lasts for seven days and begins and ends with a Sabbath rest. Following just 4 days after the most solemn remembrance of Yom Kippur it is celebrated in a very special way in Israel particularly.  The festival is actually known by THREE different English names. Tabernacles, Booths and Ingathering. In Hebrew "Sukkot”.

Each family builds a kind of makeshift shelter, which they call “booths”, outside their home. It is deliberately constructed so that the roof is lightly covered with palm fronds which easily allows those inside the shelter to see the sky above. Observant Jewish families then carry on all normal family activities in and around this shelter. That includes having meals and sleeping.  The purpose of these constructions is to cause the family to remember the time when their ancestors lived in this manner in their wilderness journeying’s from Egypt to the Promised Land. Naturally, there is also much storytelling and appropriate scripture reading to encourage and enlighten the experience for the children of the family.

As mentioned above, it is an especially joyful festival.

In terms of our understanding of the prophetic significance of this festival, we need to recall the teaching which accompanied the first two festivals of this season. TRUMPETS heralds the return to this Earth of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach in power and great glory. Then follow 10 days of putting things right, before we remember the very solemn festival of YOM KIPPUR which is prophetic of the Great White Throne Judgement.

As the old hymn puts it “When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there”. Well this festival is effectively the time for ‘roll calling’. Those who have been judged worthy at the Great White Throne Judgement are invited to attend the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. That is consistent with the joyfulness of the occasion isn’t it?  In fact, “the Bride” of the Lamb is the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21 : 9 – 27) and there is no place for impurity within its walls. Only those cleansed by the blood of the Lamb participate in the Marriage Supper.

There is ONE more activity associated with this festival in Judaism. On the last day of the celebration is the most joyous parading of the Torah Scrolls through the Streets in Jerusalem, and I suspect, but have not personally witnessed, in other Jewish communities. This is called “Simchat Torah” (Rejoicing in the Torah). It marks the fact that the whole cycle of reading the Torah starts again for another year.

Take time to study and learn the significance of all the “mo’edim” of the Lord. They are full of rich meaning and this festival has been singled out for special mention in the millennial Kingdom. Read it for yourself in Zechariah 14 : 16 -19. It forms part of the Haftarah portion for this week.

Why is this ‘mo’ed’ singled out?  For your thoughtful consideration, the first clue comes in Jeremiah 16:14,15. Probably the most memorable day in the Hebrew calendar superseded by a bigger event! Jews restored to the Land in preparation for the return of Messiah. Pesach (which includes Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits) no longer celebrated. Shavuot, traditionally the time of giving of Torah superseded by a New Covenant. Yom Teruah completed by the appearance of Yeshua as King of kings.(No third appearance expected)  Yom Kippur, already completed at the White Throne Judgement. And what remains is the joyful time when Yeshua Tabernacles with us for the rest of time. It is the ONLY festival which remains when Yeshua returns to reign.  Hallelujah, what a Saviour. Be part of “The great ingathering”.

Blessings

RS

Torah Reflections    52      

Torah Portion                   Deuteronomy  32 : 1 - 52

Haftarah Portion           2 Samuel   22 : 1 – 51

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

This is an unusual one chapter Torah portion. It does not contain any instructions for the people, as most of Deuteronomy does. It does not contain any legal stuff, it does not contain any historical information, it does not deal with their journeys. So what is it?

Moses is aware that his time with these people is now very short. He has been told by the Lord that the people will ‘wander’ away from their covenant promises. In my imagination, I could see Moses pleading with the Lord … “What more can I do?”

In His infinite mercy, love and grace, towards these Israelites, the Lord says “Teach them this song”.

If you are like me, you know how much easier it is to remember the words of a song than it is to remember a speech. Right? So Moses embarked on writing down the song. It is forever known as “The Song of Moses”.

For me the most memorable phrase comes early in the song, perhaps because like many of you, I learned to sing it when “Scripture in Song” was fashionable in our churches.

“For I proclaim the name of the LORD: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.”

However there is much more to this song than is immediately obvious. It is a song of remembrances and a song of warnings. It is a song that was to be taught to children and children’s children. It is a song of the past, and it is a song of the future. It caused them to remember another song that was sung by the people when they had left Egypt and  escaped the bondage of slavery

“Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him. Exodus 15:1,2

It evokes expectation of a future day of triumph, when the hosts of heaven sing to the Lord this “Song of Moses” to the Lord

“And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God.

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: "Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgements have been manifested."    Revelation 15 : 2-4

I come from a heritage where singing is ‘in the blood’ so to speak. Almost finding any excuse to sing. Where singing can bring tears to the eyes! Where singing can evoke sadness, gladness, any emotion. I deeply regret the time when “Scripture in Song” became outdated and was replaced in our mega churches by what passes for worship today, (extremely loud drums and guitars. I shrink from using the word ‘music’ because music is melodic and sweet) with such an emphasis on I, US, WE and ME in the songs. Look again at the songs which I have highlighted above. Notice how the emphasis is principally and overwhelmingly on the Only One who is worthy of our praise.

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your Name in all the earth”.

The Jews were scattered to the four corners of the earth almost two thousand years ago. Today they are being regathered to their own Land. In all the time they were ‘exiled’, they somehow, almost miraculously retained their identity. I believe that a major reason for this retention of identity is because they learned the “Song of Moses”. In their faithful observance of the “mo’edim’ they have faithfully taught their children ‘the Song of Moses’. And they will faithfully continue to remember the ‘Song of Moses’ until the Lord returns to this Earth and reveals Himself to them as a Nation  … and then they will Sing to the Lord a new song. Hallelujah.

Shabbat Shalom 

RS 

“Day of Atonement”

Torah portions          Leviticus 16 : 1- 34   and Numbers 29 : 7 - 11

Haftarah portion     Isaiah 57 : 14  to 58 : 14

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 have the commandments about annual observances of the “mo’edim”. (The Hebrew word for “appointed times”, which in turn is usually translated into English as “feasts”). These are times when God specified He would meet with His chosen ones.

Today, they are most often referred to as “Jewish Feasts”. That correctly describes the fact that they are observances remembered by Jews. But it is an incorrect understanding of the Scriptures.

When God gave these instructions to Moses, He carefully worded these ‘appointed times’ (mo’edim) as MY ‘mo’edim’. They may be characterized as times when God says, in effect, “I will be there to meet with you on these specific occasions”. Those who choose not to attend miss an opportunity of blessing through meeting with Him at His invitation.

The 10 days between the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur are referred to as “the days of awe”. In Judaism, they are days of intraflection and reconciliation … putting things right.. putting things right with God and putting things right with those we live with and associate with on a daily basis. In fact the Scriptures clearly tell us that we cannot be right with God, and be at odds with each other (Matthew 5 : 24).

Those who have visited Israel at this time of year will know that everything stops on Yom Kippur. It is a day of fasting and reflection.( It is the reason why, in 1973, the Arab nations around Israel attacked them on that specific day. There is No Radio, No Television, No answering phones.. NOTHING goes on). The Scriptures declared that all the people have a day of solemn rest and strict Sabbath keeping. A day to “afflict your souls”.

It was the one day in every year, appointed by God, for the Chief Priest to enter the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and the Temple when they were functioning. The whole purpose of that visit by the Chief Priest was to ensure that he himself, and the Nation of people he represented, were made right with God in preparation for the year that lay ahead.

The awesome significance of this very special day is, regrettably, totally lost to the church. In addition to its special anointing by God, being set apart from all other days as it is, there is a unique event recorded in Revelation which we should all be acutely aware of. It is the day of the WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT. It is represented for us today by the day of Atonement. It is a special day ‘to put things right’.

Revelation 20 : 11 – 15 describes that day of Judgment. It needs no comment from me. The judgement is to determine who is right with God, and who is not. It is there for everyone to read, but before you read it I caution you to read Revelation 22 : 18,19 first. Many ‘Christians’ today have never taken time to even read Revelation, let alone try to understand its message. It is a letter written by Yeshua Himself, or at least dictated by Him to John.

The climax of the whole letter, in fact the climax of the whole message of the Scriptures comes in the next festival of the Lord, the Feast of Tabernacles, which is why these “mo’edim” of the Lord are so important to celebrate, be part of, and to remember.

I am saddened that the modern Christian church, which is largely ignorant of the “mo’edim” of the Lord, has missed a blessing which God intended us to enjoy.

Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    51

Torah Portion                Deuteronomy  31 : 1 - 30

Haftarah Portion         Hosea   14 : 1 – 9

                                               Micah   7 : 18-20

                                               Joel       2 : 15 - 27

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

This is probably one of the saddest chapters of Deuteronomy. Moses is 120 years old, and he declares “I can no longer go out and come in”. It is not a description about his capability which is why it is not easy to understand, because we know from Deuteronomy 34, at the time of his death, that “his eye was not dim nor his natural vigour diminished”.

The conclusion must be that God had told him that his tenure was at an end. It was time to hand over the reins of responsibility. To his eternal credit, Moses accepted the decision that God had conveyed to him, and he wholeheartedly encouraged Joshua and the people to press on with his “Be strong and of good courage” speech to them in verses 6 to 8.

What human disasters might be avoided today if those in ‘temporary’ leadership positions, filled with their own importance, were able to accept when the right time to “hand over” had arrived?  Of course it requires a very close relationship with God to discern such matters.

In verse 10 we have the commandment of God that the whole book, yes, all of it, is to be publically read every seven years. A timely reminder. It is especially significant because this is the time of the year, when the final three “mo’edim” of the Lord occur. Sukkot is the very time that God’s “instructions for righteous living” were to be read to the whole congregation of the people. The “mo’ed” of Sukkot (Booths) begins on Nissan 14 in the Hebrew calendar, and lasts for 8 days.

Every seven years there would be a new group of children introduced for the very first time to the public declaration of God’s instructions, then every seven years after that. Try to imagine the effect of living in a society where God’s word was publicly honoured and proclaimed formally and with authority every seven years … and taught in every home every Shabbat in between.  WOW !!!!  A regular and timely reminder.

What if the church today, your church, were alert to this commandment and put it into practice? Just read verses 12 and 13 again and ponder the implications of this. “carefully observe all the words of this ‘torah’.”

It is difficult to imagine the anticipation which both Moses and Joshua experienced when they were both summoned into the presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle (v 14). Then the disappointment which followed when the Lord told them how badly the people would behave when they entered the Land of Promise (v 16). But in His amazing love, mercy, and grace towards these people, (His special treasure), the Lord then gave Moses a song to teach the people, which He said would become a timely reminder to them of the covenant which He had entered into with them. In incredible prophetic foresight (v 21) the Lord declares His knowledge of the waywardness of this people even until today.

The words of this song will be the subject of our ‘reflection’ in the next parashah.

Daniel Lancaster of FFOZ, in his excellent study on this week’s parashah draws comparisons between Moses and Yeshua (First Fruits of Zion Torah Club Volume Two)

He compares this parashah with the Matthew 24 and 25 discourse wherein Yeshua warns the people of the ‘trouble’ ahead. I commend this as additional reading for those who have an interest in the prophetic future.

We are now in the season of the final THREE festivals (mo’edim) of the Lord, which are outlined in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16. Yom Teruah , Yom Kippur  and Tabernacles  are prophetic, in turn, of the return of Messiah Yeshua, the Great White Throne Judgement, and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which heralds the establishment of the Millenial Reign of the King of kings. (There is a specific ‘reflection’ on each of these “mo’edim” at the end of the weekly ‘reflections’).

In all the Scriptures we learn that the Lord is intent on making His people ready. Ready to obediently worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. I can see this week’s parashah as another timely reminder of what the Lord expects of His chosen ones.

Be encouraged as you read it for yourself.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections         Rosh Hashanah

Torah portions           Genesis 21:1-34      Numbers 29:1-6

Haftarah portion      1 Samuel 1:1 to 2:10

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 have the commandments about annual observances of the “mo’edim”. (The Hebrew word for “appointed times”, which in turn is usually translated into English as “feasts”). These are times when God specified He would meet with His chosen ones.

Today, they are most often referred to as “Jewish Feasts”. That correctly describes the fact that they are observances remembered by Jews. But it is an incorrect understanding of the Scriptures.

When God gave these instructions to Moses, He carefully worded these ‘appointed times’ (mo’edim) as MY ‘mo’edim’. They may be characterized as times when God says, in effect, “I will be there to meet with you on these specific occasions”. Those who choose not to attend miss an opportunity of blessing through meeting with Him at His invitation.

This festival is known as “The Feast of Trumpets”, because God ordained that it was to be heralded by the blowing of trumpets, it is known as “Rosh Hashanah” because it brings in the civic New Year in the Hebrew calendar. It is a Sabbath, a Holy convocation, a day of rest. It is the first of a series of THREE festivals which closely follow each other at this season of the year.

Many, like me, believe that it is prophetic of the time of the Lord’s return, and there are good Biblical reasons for this. Others will say ‘no man knows the day nor the hour”, but an elementary knowledge of Judaic biblical history easily explains this. In Israel, even today, the beginning and end of festivals (Numbers 10:10) relies on the observance of TWO stars in the sky by TWO witnesses (and that is normally announced by the blowing of shofars).  The appearance of the New Moon heralds the beginning of a new month, again reliant on TWO witnesses. There are a number of good reasons why these observances could be one day or the next. “No man knows the day”. The presence of cloud will affect the precise timing of the first appearance of stars, “no man knows the hour”.

The most compelling reason is however because it is consistent with the evidential significance of the first FOUR ‘mo’edim’. Pesach, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits are perfectly fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. Shavu’ot, the traditional time of the giving of Torah to Moses on the mountain, is also the time of the giving of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem a mere 10 days after the ascension of Yeshua into Glory.

The Scriptures reveal that Yeshua will return with the sound of trumpets. (Matthew 24:30,31  1Corinthians 15:52  1Thessalonians 4:16)

The Feast of Trumpets marks the beginning of a period of 10 days of preparation for the next solemn appointed time, the Day of Atonement. It is enlightening to read Revelation 18, 19 and 20 in conjunction with the reflection on these last three festivals. That passage of Scripture appears to fill in some detail of things to take place upon the return of Yeshua when He comes, not as the Lamb to be slain, but as King of kings and Lord of Lords in order to put into place the millennial Kingdom of God.

In concluding this reflection, please consider this thought. When God instituted the ‘mo’ed’ of the Feast of Trumpets, He could have had in mind not only the annual introduction of a New Year in the Hebrew calendar, but also the New Year which marks the commencement of Yeshua’s everlasting Kingdom.

I am saddened that the modern Christian church, which is largely ignorant of the “mo’edim” of the Lord, has missed a blessing which God intended us to enjoy.

L'shanah tovah

RS

Torah Reflections    50

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  29 : 10  to  30 : 20

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   61 : 10 –  63 : 9

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

 In last week’s portion, we read the promises of God contained in the blessings (for obedience), and curses (for disobedience), relating to the commandments and statutes which had been clearly communicated to the people.

Three times previously (Exodus 19:8, 24:3, and 24:7) the whole assembly of the people had affirmed their willingness to accept the instructions of God, spoken by Moses. The Land of Promise is before them. Entry into the Land is a gift of God, guaranteed by His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Occupation of the Land is conditional. It seems to me that at this point in time Moses is now asking them to affirm yet again that they have understood the Maker’s instructions.

The Apostle Paul, a devout and fervent adherent to Torah lifestyle, understood this well. Read Romans 11 in a quiet moment and see for yourself how well he understood the importance of believers living a life of faith in order to remain attached as partakers of the ‘natural Olive Tree’ which is Israel (God’s special treasure). The analogy is that of entry into the Promised Land (free by covenant) and remaining there (conditional on obedience). The question is worth asking our church communities today … Have you read the Maker’s instructions?.

Deuteronomy 29:29 is one of my favourite scripture verses :-

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Please take time to meditate on this verse. It amazes me that we argue and debate things which He has very clearly written for us in His word. God used Moses to communicate His instructions for righteous living. God does not change. Why is there such difficulty understanding that? Or am I the only one with that difficulty?

I do not wish to be misunderstood. I believe that our salvation is free to all who believe by faith. I also believe that “faith without works is dead”. What I believe about ‘works’ is contained in Matthew 5 : 16,17. And if you think that Yeshua had gentile believers in mind when He spoke those words, read it again.  His audience was 100% ‘lost sheep of the House of Israel’. He was calling them back to a lifestyle of correct Torah observance, which had been distorted by the ‘traditions of men’.

I believe that Yeshua was reminding the people of Scriptures like Deuteronomy 29:29 , encouraging them to “do all the words of this law” as was His own lifestyle and that of His disciples. In effect He was saying to them read the Maker’s instructions again.

In Deuteronomy chapter 30 we have a good indication that Moses knew that these folk were going to have difficulty in keeping their promises of obedience. It is an accurately prophetic chapter with a really happy ending.

Verse 4 sees the time when, through disobedience, they will be expelled from the land which they had not yet entered. Moses also foresees the time when they will be again restored to the land (an event we see happening today before our eyes as millions of Jews have made Aliyah in the past 60 years). Beyond that even, Moses sees a future time when God will enter into a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. (see “Reflection” of Number 47 “Shoftim”)

Then in verses 14 to 16 of chapter 30, Moses makes a final plea. None of these terrible things need happen to you :-

“But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess”.

For your very life’s sake, when you ‘take a stand for the Lord’ take also time to  “read the Maker’s instructions” .

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, …..”   Deuteronomy 30 : 19,20

Choose life.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Reflections    49  

Torah Portion                  Deuteronomy  26 : 1  to  29 : 9

Haftarah Portion           Isaiah   60 : 1 –  22

The Torah of YHWH given to Moses

“When you come into the Land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it”. Thus opens our parashah this week. The time is now very close. Final instructions were being given, things to remember, and things that must be done. And what is that very first thing? Present the FIRSTFRUITS of the Land to the Lord. And in so doing they were to recite the story of how they were released from slavery in Egypt and brought to this beautiful Land which they themselves had declared to be “flowing with milk and honey”. It was an act of worship. It was something they would DO.

That is an initial lesson for us from this reading. We WORSHIP God by what we DO, not by what we say. We PRAISE God by what we say.

Then the Israelites are given a lesson in tithing. It is quite different to the teaching on ‘tithing’ which most of us receive in our churches today. In our reading it is called a ‘holy tithe’. That is a ‘set apart’ tithe. Being mindful that they were an agricultural community, it is clear that their tithe was of the produce of the Land.  Care for the Levites, who had no Land possession allotted to them. Care for the stranger, the fatherless, the widow. Care for those in real need.  This, my dear friends is the very essence of living righteously before the Lord, and before our fellow citizens. However, there is complementary teaching in Deuteronomy 14 which considers, amongst other things, tithes of money. Read it.

We could well say “This is the day that the Lord has made”, because in it God declared that He would set this people 'high above all nations’. He declared that this people were ‘His special people’. That they would be a ‘holy’ people, in name, in praise and in honour’. Wow!!

What an introduction. But there is more!

In Chapter 27, in addition to the command, yet again, that they must keep all the commandments of God, there is the injunction to set up, in the very centre of the Promised Land, a mound of whitewashed stones, inscribed very plainly, (my Bible says) with the Torah of YHWH. There they were to make sacrifices of burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord.

Let us try to apply that to ourselves today.

For all Gentile believers, departure from Egypt is symbolized in the acceptance and trust, by faith, in the atoning death, burial and resurrection of Yeshua. In type, that means leaving Egypt and entering the Promised Land. So looking at the application of our parashah, we receive some instructions about what to do when we arrive. The commandment about tithing, whilst not specifically taught in detail in the Brit Hadashah, may reasonably be taken as a continuing practice amongst the Israelites down through the ages. For Jews today, it is one of many important “mitzvot’ which they continue in their significant acts of benevolence within their community.

The altar, which God commanded be set up for sacrifice is an interesting one. We know that Yeshua’s atoning death (accompanied by the destruction of the Temple) effectively brought an end to the sacrificial system. And so it did in respect of sin atonement. But, our body is ‘the Temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 6:19), and the Temple is a place of worship as well as sacrifice. And ‘worship’ is what we DO, not what we say.  The Apostle Paul, in Romans 12:1, taught that we should “present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service”. 

Close by that altar of sacrifice, in our text, were the whitewashed stones of remembrance, clearly proclaiming the Torah of YHWH. Like a beacon for all who came close, saying this is what we stand by, this is the sure foundation on which we are established. Unshakeable. Permanent.  Is it taking it too far to suggest that our equivalent today may be judged, not by a mound of whitewashed stones, but by our very conduct. The way we act towards others. The way we live. The way we treat the commands of God. The way we treat His ‘special treasure’.

If there is NOTHING for us to learn here, it is just a history lesson. But we know better than that, because “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly furnished into all good works”. God grant that we all may learn that which He wishes to teach us, just as our parashah was for the benefit of those Israelites long ago.                          

Shabbat Shalom

RS