Under His Wings

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 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.

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, 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 take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations…” (Isaiah 45:5-6).

"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

We are entering again into the time of the Biblical holidays that are called the "Fall Feasts". The Feasts which are celebrated annually in the fall season are that of Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement and Sukkot or The Feast of Tabernacles. You can find a page in my sidebar in which I have written on the Biblical Holidays in the past.

Currently, we are in the Hebrew month of Elul which is used for a time of self-examination and preparation for the High Holidays. It is a time of repentance. I time to get closer to the L-rd.

I have been working through a personal workbook which I found on a website called Torah Family (the link will take you directly to the workbook) Repentance is a turning. It is a turning of my own way and turning back to God. It calls for a change of mind, heart, and behavior.

There are a couple of verses so far that have particularly convicted me as I have been working through this little pamphlet. One of them is found in the book of Numbers chapter 15:38-40 "Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God."

My own heart and my own eyes, my own desires can be a source of idolatry in my life. The tassels on the garments of Israel were to be a reminder of God's commandments and as they lived in community they would see the tassels on the garments of each other. My heart and my eyes are to be focused on the commandments of God and doing His desire, not my own. Otherwise, I fall into harlotry against my God.

Another hard hitting verse is Isaiah 65:2, " I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts," This verse has a Hebrew doublet in it. A doublet is when there are two thoughts which say the same thing. For example, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path". This is two ways of saying that the Word of God shows us the next step to take in our walk with God. In the Isaiah passage, God is saying that He holds out His hands to His people, but they are rebellious. Instead of following His way, they follow their own thoughts.

In 2 Corinthians 10:5 the apostle Paul says, "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ". I have been challenged to be more diligently in the Word and in prayer to know God. I want to know Him. I want to know His thoughts that I might follow Him more closely.

For His Name's Sake.

After Moses died Joshua was given the task of taking the children of Israel into the Promised Land. God made sure that both Joshua and the people knew that the authority had transferred from Moses to Joshua through some very specific ways. Over and over again in the first chapter of the Book of Joshua God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, He even commands this for the Lord will be with him. There is a very striking verse in Revelation regarding those who are not courageous, "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."Rev. 21:8 When we lack courage we are lacking faith in the Faithful God who promises to be with us wherever we go.

But, the Promised Land is not without it's difficulties. Israel had to drive out its enemies. God was at work destroying the enemy enabling Israel to have the victory. God and Israel were working together. In relationship.

There is an interesting story in chapter 7 of the Book of Joshua. God had placed a ban on the items that Israel could take from their enemies. Suddenly, Israel, in the midst of great victories, knew defeat as a result of someone in the camp disobeying God regarding the ban. "Israel has sinned and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. They have even taken some of the things under the ban and have both stolen and deceived. Moreover, they have also put them among their own things." Josh. 7:11

God led Joshua to the man who did this after going through a detailed procedure. The man was Achan. "Then Joshua and all Israel with him, took Achan, the silver, the mantle, the bar of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent and all that belonged to him; and they brought them up to the valley of Achor [trouble]" and they stoned him with stones. Josh. 7:24-25

When I read this chapter a few weeks ago, I was especially struck by verse 12, "Therefore, the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become accursed. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy the things under the ban from your midst." We cannot stand before our enemy when we are disobedient to the Lord. So many, many times today we give a mental ascent to faith and then say that it is grace by which we stand and that God owes us something. We have drastically distorted the Biblical message. God has brought us into a covenant relationship with Himself. We need to be faithful to the covenant if we want Him to be faithful to us.

Another thing I noticed here is how the sin of one man affected the whole community. It was Achan's sin of taking the things under the ban which caused the destruction of the Israelites in battle. We don't want this to happen in our faith communities today.

On a side note, I was having a conversation with a friend last evening and she brought up a question that I am asked over and over again. Why did God demand that all the people in the Old Testament be killed? Men, women, children? Weren't they His children also?

Yes, God did create all people. However, He made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants. He is jealous for His covenant people the children of Israel and He did not want them to worship idols when they went into the Promised Land. He was trying to wipe out the possibility of idol worship by wiping out the idol worshipers. He always accepts the people whose hearts are toward Him which we see in the examples of Rahab, Ruth, the "mixed multitude" who came out of Egypt, etc. Anyone who wanted to join Israel and worship their God, God allowed to do so.

For His Name's Sake

Yesterday was our last summer ladies' Bible study for another year. We have been meeting with this particular group for five years now and it has been a life changing study for me. Some of these women I only see in this summer Bible study; some of the women were new this year. We come from very different backgrounds and with very different needs. The Lord is always present as we seek Him.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this year we studied the journey of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land. So yesterday we asked the question, "What did God especially teach you this summer?"

I think that I learned above all that in a world that is looking for an experience with God our walk with Him is about relationship. Over and over He states in His Word, directly or indirectly, His desire to dwell with His people. God brought them out of Egypt for His Name's Sake and so that they could serve Him. He led them through the wilderness covering them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, protecting them. He cared for their needs, their shoes never wearing out. He fed them. He desired that they look to Him to meet those needs. When they entered the Land which had been promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob He fought for them so that they could defeat their enemies.

True life is found in a relationship with God. Jesus talked about this. In John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" Not experience, relationship. A knowing, covenant relationship of give and take.

I could talk about this for a long time I guess. It amazes me. And thrills me. This is the Promised Land. To walk with God in this relationship now......and forever. One of the days of our Bible study the question came up of what exactly the Promised Land was. Is it death? Is it heaven? No. I believe it is Now! We can know the joy of walking with the indwelling Messiah now. One day we will see Him face to face, but we can know the reality of that relationship by responding in obedience to Him now. And resting in His faithfulness. I will have to revisit the topic of rest.

Our tradition in summer Bible study is on the last day we have a day of blessing one another. We go from woman to woman and tell each one how she has encouraged us, blessed us and we bless the Lord for her. There are times of tears and laughter, hugs and challenge. It is something we take very seriously and we pray before we arrive so that we are ready for how the Spirit will lead. This year I was going in one direction and the Spirit led me a different direction. I found a wonderful resource here on the Names of God. I was led to pray for each woman and the Lord helped me to pick a Name of Him which I saw Him working in each woman's life. For example, one woman has an autistic daughter and a husband who is disabled. The Name of God which I choose to bless Him with for her was "He who is sufficient for His people." For another woman the Lord led me to pick, "He who gives songs in the night" and it was so evident from the circumstances in the room that it was totally of Him. It was just a wonderful morning and we were challenged to encourage others every day.

For His Name's Sake.

Just before they reached the Promised Land Moses gave the children of Israel some final instructions.  How interesting that just at the time one of my Bible studies is studying this the Torah portions are in the Book of Deuteronomy where Moses gives these final instructions.   During our time of worship at our house fellowship this week some Scriptures were highlighted that I would like to share here.

"The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you." Deuteronomy 7:22   One thing that I noticed in particular is that this battle for the Promised Land is going to be something that the Israelites and God do together.  God says repeatedly that He will destroy the enemy and then they will do it.  But in this verse God says that the job will be done "little by little" and that it will not be done quickly.  Why?  One thing he says is that the wild beasts will become too numerous.  But, I think it is also that living in the Promised Land is a relationship with God that will last for eternity.

The other passage that we noticed is in Deuteronomy 10:12-22, "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the LORD'S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?

Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day.

So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.

For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.

So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.

He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen.

Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven."

This passage shows the awesomeness of God in the highest heavens, yet the mercy of God that he cares for the widow and the orphan.  It shows that God is a Judge who acts justly, not taking a bribe and shows love for the alien.  He is a covenant keeping God.  It talks about cutting the flesh away from our hearts to serve the Lord in purity, keeping the commandments in righteousness before Him.  He has done awesome things for His people.  There is blessing and freedom in obeying Him.

For His Name's Sake.

Our Bible study Celebrated Passover tonight and this is a picture of the third cup, the Cup of Redemption. God said in Exodus 6:6 "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm." As a believer in Messiah, I believe that this was fulfilled when Yeshua hung on the cross to take away the sin of the world.