Under His Wings

 The following passage of Scripture has meant a lot to me recently.  It is the first haftarah portion of the new cycle of this Biblical calendar year.  Isaiah 42:5-43:10.  The portion talks about God's creative and redemtive works and also about His covenant faithfulness toward His people Israel.  It also talks about bringing the nations into that covenant.  It was a wonderful message of hope to the people living in exile over 2,000 years ago and likewise to those of us who are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel today.  For His Name's Sake.

"Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.
"I am the LORD, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
"Behold, the former things have come to pass,
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."
Sing to the LORD a new song,
Sing His praise from the end of the earth!
You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it
You islands, and those who dwell on them.
Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voices,
The settlements where Kedar inhabits
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing aloud,
Let them shout for joy from the tops of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the LORD
And declare His praise in the coastlands.
The LORD will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry
He will prevail against His enemies."I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant.
"I will lay waste the mountains and hills
And wither all their vegetation;
I will make the rivers into coastlands
And dry up the ponds.
"I will lead the blind by a way they do not know,
In paths they do not know I will guide them
I will make darkness into light before them
And rugged places into plains
These are the things I will do,
And I will not leave them undone."
They will be turned back and be utterly put to shame,
Who trust in idols,
Who say to molten images,
"You are our gods."
Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?
You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
The LORD was pleased for His righteousness' sake
To make the Torah great and glorious.
But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, "Give them back!"
Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose Torah they did not obey?
So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he paid no attention.But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
  I have called you by name; you are Mine! 
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
"For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
  "Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
"Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.
"I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
And to the south, 'Do not hold them back '
Bring My sons from afar
And My daughters from the ends of the earth,
Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made."
Israel Is God's Witness
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, "It is true."
"You are My witnesses," declares the LORD,
"And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.

FOR TODAY October 20, 2008...
Outside My Window...Today was a cool, but sunny fall day.  It was beautiful outside.
I am thinking...I am not sure what I am thinking.  I have been feeling attacked today, perhaps it is spiritual warfare from the banquet and from caring for my friend.
I am thankful for...My  like-minded community of friends to share the Biblical holidays with.
From the kitchen...My husband made his special chicken-rice-bean dish for me to take to our festival dinner so I would have something to eat.
I am wearing...a sweatshirt and jeans.
I am creating...knitting a pair of mittens for a friend's daughter for Christmas.  They will be just like Laura Ingalls ' from "Little House on the Prairie"
I am going...Oh, I am just going to rest and take it easy for awhile.  The last few months have been exhausting for me.
I am reading...still reading "Finding God" by Larry Crabb and "The Committed Life" by  Esther Jungreis
I am hearing...the O'Reilly Factor on tv, my son at the other computer and my husband flipping the newspaper in the kitchen.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:Josh is planning to go to his buddy's concert tomorrow night and to play in the pep band on Thursday.  I plan to work at the center again this week.  We had a wonderful banquet last Saturday evening.
Here is picture thought I am sharing..my husband, myself and my son in our sukkah celebrating God dwelling with His people during our Feast of Tabernacles celebration yesterday.  It was a little cooler this year than it has been in years past.

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You can read more of "The Simple Woman Daybook" from others  here.

We recently painted our kitchen which hasn't been painted for several years.  Here are some pictures of the process and the result.

Josh made the Hebrew stencils by hand and then did the stenciling on the soffet for me.

Of course, the Hebrew reads from right to left and the transliteration goes like this, "Shema Israel, Adonai, Eloheynu, Adonai, Echad."

The other wall in the kitchen has the English translation from Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one!"

And one last look at the finished Hebrew lettering:

Fifty days ago, on the Biblical calendar which can be found in Leviticus 23, we celebrated the Exodus from Egypt and our salvation from the slavery of sin. This festival is Passover. Then, in Leviticus 23: 15-22 we read of the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot. This is a harvest festival and two loaves of leavened bread are presented to God. It is also to be a remembrance of our slavery in Egypt before God set us free.

Tradition says that it is on this day that the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai and in Acts 2, Luke tries to show us that the giving of the Spirit on that Shavuot was very similar to the first time God gave the Torah. This time the Torah was written on our hearts. The promised Holy Spirit was given which enables us to live as God commands. We see in the Book of Acts also that the Gentiles would now begin to come into the congregation of the sons of Israel as never before. It is interesting that the Book of Ruth is read on the Feast of Shavuot.

We had a wonderful time with our Bible study on Saturday evening as we celebrated the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah.   I will only take a few moments to share some pictures here and later today I will share some thoughts on the holiday.

This is a picture of the children in our home fellowship group.  They comprise roughly half of our group.  Aren't they a good looking bunch?!

We had some games for the children which included a treasure hunt.  Above you see the "Hebrews" team with the prize.  Unfortunately, they were not the first to find the prize this year.

The "Maccabees" were the first to find the prize!

During the week prior to our party, the children each made their own Hanukkiahs.  After a dinner of potato latkes, cheese, and donut holes the children watched a video of the story of the Maccabees while the adults watched a power point presentation of the history of Alexander the Great and the events surrounding Hanukkah.

Then we all gathered around the table with our Hanukkiahs, read the Scriptures about God bringing us from darkness into Light and lit our candles.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

(My daughter took most of the photos.  I was holding the newest member of our group.  Little Matthew was born 6 weeks ago and is the sixth child born to our Bible study leader and his wife. )

Covenant obligation.  What is it and where does it begin?  These are the things I have been pondering and confused about in the last couple of weeks.  What is our obligation before God?  Most of the world lives like we do not have an obligation to Him, but that He is obligated to us.

In our Western mindset we tend to think in a linear thought.  We want things to be black and white, either this way or that way.   We don't like the tension that is at times inevitable in both Biblical thinking, as well as, in relationships.  For example,  the arguments that have gone on through the ages regarding free will or predestination.  We want it to be one or the other, but Middle eastern thought would accept a kind of tension.  Remember the movie, "Fiddler on the Roof" where Tevye says, "On the other hand".  One can look at both sides of the situation equally.

Growing up in Evangelicalism I was taught that we are saved and then we make Jesus our Lord.  The model that I always pictured was the Israelites coming out of Egypt......a linear progression.  God saved them from slavery, then He "baptized" them in the Red Sea, then He made a covenant with them at Sinai.  While this is a model of what happens to us spiritually, it is not quite as linear as this in reality.  When God does a work in us it is relational and not necessarily a nice and tidy, step by step account.  We can't necessarily say that He will do this first and next He will do this, etc.  But,  we can say that He saves His own and brings them into covenant with Himself.

So I guess those who are saved are obligated to God since we are in covenant with Him.  But, what are our obligations?  What is the covenant?  Each covenant has to have at least three things: 1) the parties 2) the stipulations 3) the promises.  The covenant we, as Gentiles, are a part of would be the New Covenant which can be found in Jeremiah 31:31-33 "Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

Who are the parties to this covenant?  God and His people which are here stated as Israel and Judah (and in the same passage, all of Israel) In the gospels, Jesus said that His blood was part of the New Covenant and in the Apostolic Scriptures, Paul says that the Gentiles are grafted into Israel.  So this covenant includes us when we are In Messiah.

What are the promises?  In verse 34 God says that He will forgive their iniquity.  He also says that He would write the Torah on their heart and that they would be His people and He would be their God.

Writing the Torah on their heart would enable the people to keep the stipulations, or obligations of the covenant which they could not keep in the flesh.  God made this possible when the Holy Spirit was given at the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost in Acts 2.   There are obligations to obey the covenant.  God gives us the ability to obey.  It is only by His faithfulness that we are able to walk in His ways.

This quote is from a forum I am on and it encouraged me so much when the woman wrote it that I want to share it with you in the hopes that it will encourage you also.   For His Name's Sake.

"Ultimately, however, our faith is a gift from God, and likewise our faithfulness to Him is guaranteed by His faithfulness to complete His work in us.  Even though we must cooperate, if we are truly His we will do so, even though not always perfectly. Thus while I think such a distinction is very important to understand as clearly as possible, ultimately we must rest in His faithfulness to us, and we strive to be faithful to Him because He has given us the heart to do so. To God be the glory!"

We are in the fourth chapter of the book of Romans in my Sunday evening Bible study.   It has taken me quite some time to write about this because I have been mulling over the the concepts of this study for the past several weeks.   It is, at times, difficult to wrap my brain around Paul in his Hebraic context when my 21st century evangelical mind has been taught so differently.   Such is the case in the concept of righteousness.

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1) God takes us from having no ability to seek him, from doing nothing good, and He does the work in me. "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit"(1 Peter 3:18)

What is Righteousness?  " ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:3)  Abraham's faith was credited to his account as righteousness.  Righteousness.......acting in accord with moral law, free from guilt or sin.  This is the idea that we have of righteousness and we think that it means that we have a ticket to heaven.  In one aspect righteousness does mean to act in accord with moral law; to be upright, to do what is right.

If we talk about the righteousness of God.......for example in Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."  In the gospel, the good news of God sending Messiah as He promised, His doing what is right is revealed from faith to faith.  God's righteousness is His doing what is right.  Faith is the idea of faithfulness.  God's faithfulness and our faithfulness which He enables.

Another aspect of righteousness is in the context of a law court.  You see this especially in the book of Psalms where you read of the righteous and the wicked.  God will judge the righteous and the wicked.  The righteous will one day be vindicated.  The wicked will be punished.  "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish. " Psalm 1:5-6

One final way righteousness is used is covenant membership.  In the first few chapters of Romans, Paul is addressing Jews and Gentiles as to who should be covenant members of God's household.  He is using Abraham as an example and the sign of circumcision which was the seal of the covenant.  By the time of the Second Temple period, in which Paul was writing, the Jewish elders had made circumcision a requirement to come into the covenant.  Paul is making a case that this doesn't need to happen.  "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness."(Genesis 15:6) ""And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you."(Genesis 17:11)  God declares Abraham righteous and then makes him a covenant partner.

Now, there are ramifications of being a covenant partner.  Covenant partners have obligations.  If you look back in Genesis 15 there are three things that God promised Abraham that he would do: give him land, give him descendants, and give him a seed that would bless the nations (Messiah) .  But, what were Abraham's obligations to the covenant?  This is where my thoughts have been dwelling these last several days.  Since this post is getting long and I have to do final preparations on the two studies that I am leading today, I will come back to this topic of covenant obligation later.   Please share any thoughts that you have.

For His Name's Sake.

I have never even heard of the word before and now here I am in week three of a class studying, "The Biblical Doctrine of Salvation" with Tim Hegg at Torah Resource. I have learned many things from Mr. Hegg in the last five years and have gone to see him give a lecture on "What's so New about the New Covenant" in St. Paul, Minnesota a few years ago.  There have been many times when I thought that I would like to take one of the classes that he offered online but finances did not permit me to do so.  Well, here I am.  I am really hoping that I am not in over my head.  I am learning so much from the class, but the things that are unnerving me just a bit are the midterm, the final and the 10-12 page research paper that are required should I decide to take the full track of the course.  I have no idea right now what to do the paper on.  Mr. Hegg made a suggestion this week in his lecture for a topic and that topic was to look at the later rabbinic writings on nature of man or the evil inclination and see if they were possibly reacting to the emerging Christian Church.

You see Rabbinic Judiasm believes in the yetzer 'ra (evil inclination) and the yetzer tov (good inclination) and that man was born with the capacity to choose either.  If man has the Torah and studies Torah, this will feed the yetzer tov and man can basically pull himself up by the bootstraps thereby saving himself.

Biblically, however, man is born with a sin nature which was imputed to us because of Adam's sin.  The Bible says, beginning in Gen. 6:5 "Then Adonai saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."  To the Hebrew way of thinking the heart is where we think and where we make choices.  In Jeremiah 17:9 it says, "The heart is more deceitful than all else and "anush"(which is what it is in the Hebrew) meaning incurable."  The only possible cure is to get a new heart.

In the New Testament there are many images used to describe the way this is done in our lives: resurrection, new birth, and creation.  Paul says, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins...But God made us alive together with Messiah...." Eph. 2:1-5  "If anyone is in Messiah he is a new creation....."(2 Cor. 5:17)  and Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again (John 3)

There have been so many other things that have been mentioned so far such as the Order of Decrees which is the way the Christian church has been teaching soteriology for the past 2,000 years.   But, this is different than studying Biblical theology.

There are many things to think about: "Did God create evil?", "Did God allow evil?",  "Do we have a sin nature or not?",  "Was Adam's sin imputed to us?",   "Do we have free will?"

Every week has encouraged me and caused me to praise my Creator and my Redeemer.  He is Faithful and He will bring to completion what He began in me.

For His Name's Sake.

Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe, who desires to dwell with Your People.

My Bible study group recently had the opportunity to celebrate the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles together.  This is a picture of the booth that we made together.   Yes, it looks a lot like our sukkah from last year.   I love all of the Biblical Holidays, but this one has a special meaning.  Sukkot is a time of rejoicing and celebrating.  We are commanded to rejoice because God desires to dwell with His people.

The flimsy sukkah is a symbol of the tents in which the Israelites traveled in the wilderness.  It is also a symbol of our temporary dwellings here on earth.  Even though the world would clamor round about us, we can rest securely because through the open roof of the sukkah we can see the heavens and our God is there.  We are safe in His care.  We are His people.  He is in covenant with us.  He is a covenant keeping God.

"You have today declared the LORD to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.        The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken." Deut. 26:17-19

It is a covenant relationship.  He chose us and sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world.  We must choose to walk in His ways, to be set apart for Him.  He gives us the grace to do that.

For His Name's Sake.

(The pictures on this post were taken by my daughter.  You can see more of her pictures here. )

"The Torah of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.
They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them Your servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward." Psalm 19:7-11

Though I have not mentioned it, this week on the Biblical calendar is the Lord's appointed time of the Feast of Booths or Sukkot.  You can read about the Feast of Booths in Leviticus 23:34-36.  But, it is the day that comes shortly after Sukkot that I want to write about today.  This is the day called Simchat Torah or "Rejoicing in the Torah".   Simchat Torah comes on the 23rd of the 7th month of the Hebrew calendar which is the month of Tishrei (the current month) and will be on Friday.  Remember that the Word Torah means "teaching" and it is God's way of showing us the path to Life.  We cannot understand the whole of the Scriptures unless we understand the foundation of the Torah.

I have read, in a number of places, this Nine-fold purpose of the Torah which I want to share here.  God is a wonderful Father and Teacher who wants only the best for those who choose to walk in His ways.

• The Torah reveals the good, holy, just and perfect nature of God and serves as the universal standard of His will for man.  Romans 2:17-18, 7:12; 2 Peter 1:4.
• The Torah gives us the knowledge of sin and reveals the depth of our own sin. Romans 3:20, 4:15, 7:7-12; Luke 20:46-47
• The Torah is our schoolmaster, showing us that we are guilty before God and leading us to Jesus, our Messianic justification. Romans 10:4; Gal. 3:21-24; Romans 3:19
• The Torah is the measure of our deeds toward both God and his fellow man, guiding the way in all matters of life and doctrine.  1 Tim. 8-10; 2 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 3:13; 6:1-12; Rom 2:12-16; Rev. 20: 12-13
• The Torah teaches believers how to serve, worship and please God. Psalms 19: 7-9; Acts 18:13-15.
• The Torah is written in our hearts by the indwelling Spirit of God whose work in us is to cause us to delight in and desire to live in obedience to God's desires.  Jer. 31:33; Rom. 7:6-25; Heb. 10:15-16.
• The Torah teaches believers the true path to happiness and prosperity, spiritually, emotionally, physically, and materially, by explaining the rewards of obedience to the rule and reign of God in our lives and the penalty of disobedience when His Lordship is rejected/ignored. Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3; Luke 12:31-32.
• The Torah teaches us that only by grace and faith in the power of God at work in us do we fulfill its principles and instructions; hence, called the Law of Faith, Romans 3:27, 31.
• Torah teaches us how to treat our fellowman. Lev. 19:18; Gal. 5:4; Gal 6:2

"They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb"

For His Name's Sake