The Cross: Love Embodied

We have just finished another season of Passover/Unleavened Bread/Firstfruits, remembering the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua our Messiah.  This post has been floating around in my head all week, so it's time to put it down on virtual paper.

The cross. What took place there is the crossroads (pun intended?) of human history.

All the scriptures point to this One Monumental Moment in time. The work of the Messiah on the cross - and His subsequent resurrection - is why the Berean Jews searched the scriptures daily to see if these things were true.

So what is the crux of the cross?

Love.

There is a lot of talk about love today. Love is love. Be kind to everyone. All kinds of love are equally valid.

It all sounds so lovely and good.  And indeed, what did Yeshua say were the two greatest commandments?

1. Love God. In fact, love Him with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. In other words, love Him with all ya got.

2. Love your neighbor as (much as you love) yourself. Scripture goes on to define your neighbor as those like you (friends, brethren) and those not like you (Samaritans, enemies).

Both of these commands sum up the essence of the entire Sinai Covenant, which points toward (and was fulfilled in) Yeshua.

When Yeshua was sacrificed, He gave us a visual picture of that love - the cross itself.

The vertical part, the trunk of the tree so to speak, is the part that points to the heavens. It points to the love of God. We love because He first loved us.

The horizontal part is the snapshot of love to the world. God Himself in human form stretched out His arms to love all of us. In the same way, it is a picture of the love we are to have for humanity.

Notice that the horizontal crossbar of the cross is firmly attached to the vertical bar. It is because of the love of God that we can love others. We love because He first loved us.

Without that vertical stake, there is nothing on which to hang/fix/attach/base that horizontal bar that represents our love for others.

We can try, for a time, to try and love others in our own power. But because of the sinful nature of people (we can all be jerks at times), eventually, without the firm foundation of God’s love, humanistic love will fall flat.

In fact, it is already happening.

I would like to ask those in favor of a godless, humanistic love for your fellow man: where exactly do you think this love comes from?

Are you being honest when you claim that we should just be kind to everyone? Are you kind to those who hold to a biblical faith? Or do you act like you are, but make fun of them being their backs?

Funny how I  don’t see love for the Bible believers showing up much in your claims. In claiming that those people are intolerant fundamentalists, haven’t you just created your own version of intolerant fundamentalism?

(Side rant:  when atheists use the term "freethinkers," what they really mean is people who think like they do.  Wrap your head around that.  All people possess free will, and are therefore free to come to their own conclusions based on the best evidence before them.)

There is nothing new under the sun.

As believers, this shouldn't really surprise us.  Note the words of Yeshua in John 15:18-19...  

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

They just don't like us/Him.

Two groups of people that I see coming up in humanistic love claims, over and over again, are the Muslims and the gays. Why these two groups, in particular?

Does your kindness to Muslims only include the moderate ones? Or are you also kind, loving, and accepting to the ones who fly planes into buildings and behead followers of Yahweh?

Does your kindness and acceptance toward gays include all of them,  including NAMBLA members and pedophiles?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t love all people, including our enemies. We should.  It is a clear command to us, the second most important one. Yeshua saw worth and value in every person, which is why He sacrificed Himself for every single person on the planet. He desires that NONE should perish but that ALL come to repentance and find life in Him.

Yeshua Himself made the claim, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If His claim is true, then eliminating His atoning death on the cross from the conversation is probably the most unkind, unloving thing a person can do.

However, not every person will accept His love offering that was given for them on the cross. 

They will say, "How intolerant of Him to only provide one way.  How dare He?"

As if that one way - the violent and painful murder of God Himself on an execution stake - was simply not good enough.

The Creator established the rules of the world that He created, and as Creator, He was entitled to do so. In Leviticus 17:11, we are clearly told that without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement. It was His innocent blood that provided that atonement - He paid the  penalty that we owe for sin - death.

I will end with a quote from the Master:  Greater love has no one than this, that he lays down His life for his friends.

He then proved it by laying down His life; not only for His friends, but for His enemies as well, as shown in Romans 5:6-8:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us.

Now that is LOVE!

Flying Into Hanukkah

We interrupt our walk through Isaiah to bring you a quick Hanukkah greeting.

We are literally flying right into Hanukkah.  Later today, we will board a plane bound for Tel Aviv.  Hanukkah will probably begin as we are standing in line waiting to get through customs.  Visions of candles will be swirling through my head.  Tea lights are nestled in my luggage, waiting to get lit when we arrive at our first apartment.  (Visions of sufganiyot will also be swirling.  The Israeli bakeries will be full of them!)

Sufganiyot, or Israeli Hanukkah donuts. 
Why do they have to make them so tempting??

I've written about Hanukkah before.  If you want to read any of its history or its current significance to followers of the Messiah today, you can click here to read any of my previous blogs that speak of Hanukkah.  It is a fascinating subject!

Hanukkah means dedication.  The only place Hanukkah shows up in scripture is John 10:22, when Yeshua was at the Temple during its observation.  It is here that the Judean leaders demanded to know if He was the Messiah.  (They didn't really want to know; they only wanted to trap Him.)

He went on to say that His sheep know His voice (hinting to these leaders that they didn't).  It was a tense moment.  They picked up rocks with which to stone Him, and He slipped away from them unharmed.

Hanukkah is beautiful. The lights remind me of Yeshua, Light in the darkness. I believe this was the time of year that He was conceived. Isaiah 9:2 alludes to the light that Messiah would bear to the world:

The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

I will resume my walk through Isaiah with my next post.

The Hebrew of Judah

Hebrew fascinates me. There is usually so much more going on under the surface of the text, in part because of the deep meanings of the letters. Our English translations simply miss all the amazing nuances and word plays that are going on.

When Jacob blesses his sons in Genesis 49, there is definitely more going on than meets the eye.

Let's look at the blessing he gave Judah in verses 8-11:

Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.

Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

First of all, the word Judah means praise... Literally giving thanks. The prophecy starts out with his brothers doing just that.  Someday, the brothers of Yeshua are going to thank and praise Him for what He did for them.

I have previously written about the connection between the name of God  (Yehovah) and the name of Judah.  You can read it here if you wish.

Shiloh is considered to be a synonym for the Messiah, even by the ancient Jewish scholars.  The meaning of Shiloh is He whose it is.

It is interesting to note that in Jacob's entire prophecy to Judah, every single Hebrew letter can be found, except the zayin.  Every Hebrew letter carries a meaning, and the original meaning of the letter zayin is a sword or sharp weapon.

The zayin even looks like a sword.
Just zayin'

At the time of Yeshua, the Jewish people were looking for a man of war, a mighty Messiah who would deliver them from Rome's oppressive rule. 

Just as the zayin was missing from the prophecy, perhaps this is why so many missed His first coming. They wanted the physical, visible sword!  They did not want the invisible, spiritual sword by which Yeshua conquered sin and death through His suffering.

Yeshua is returning soon. But He is no longer the suffering servant with the invisible sword.  The second time around, He will be arriving with the zayin as a mighty conquering King, and will vanquish His enemies. Are you ready?

Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.
And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron.
He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Revelation 19:15

A Trilogy of Messiah

I was at a conference awhile back that had a bookstore on site.  One of the books featured was the "Jesus-Centered Bible."  I had to chuckle a little... aren't they all?

Maybe the publishers
 ran out of marketing ideas?

The Messiah is evident all throughout the scriptures, from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21.

One of my favorite places in the scriptures is the book of Psalms.  I have been hanging out there this month, just enjoying His presence there.

Did you know that the word salvation appears 63 times throughout the book?  And did you know that the Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua, which also happens to be the name of the Messiah?  The name we English speakers know is Jesus, which is a transliteration of the Greek word Iesous.  (Note:  the letter J didn't show up until the 16th century.  The Hebrew letter is a yod, which sounds like a y).

Anyway, the grammar police in me digresses.  I want to visit a particular section in the psalms that gives us a complete picture of the Messiah.  Throughout history, the Jewish sages have been perplexed at the two very different portrayals of the Messiah.  Some concluded that there were two Messiahs.  Others thought that perhaps there was one Messiah, but He came twice.  These two pictures of the Messiah have names - Messiah ben Yosef (son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant), and Messiah ben David (son of David, the Reigning King).

He is the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah

In Psalm 22, He is portrayed as the Suffering Servant.  When you read it, you see such a clear picture of His death.  When Yeshua spoke the first line of this psalm while He was suffering on the tree, it was His way of calling our attention to the entire psalm.  My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?

The psalm describes the sort of death He would suffer... hundreds of years before crucifixion was even invented by the Romans as a form of execution. It also foretells the division of His garments.
I am poured out like water
And all My bones are out of joint
My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me
They pierced my hands and My feet
They divide My garments among them
And for My clothing they cast lots

During His first advent, the Messiah suffered, died, and rose again in order to atone for the sin which entered the world back in the garden.  He then went back to heaven so that the good news of salvation by His finished work could circle the globe.

Psalm 24 speaks of His glorious return as the King of Kings.  Scripture tells us that He will return to the Mount of Olives and enter Jerusalem.  Today, the Eastern Gate is sealed.  But the psalm tells us,
Lift up your heads, O you gates.
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of Glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The LORD (YHVH), strong and mighty.

The Muslims sealed the gate and put a cemetery in front of it.
This will not stop the Messiah.

This King of Glory is indeed returning soon. 

But let's not forget one of the most famous of the psalms, Psalm 23.  Sandwiched between the Suffering Servant Psalm and the Returning King Psalm is a beautiful passage that comforts us and assures of of His presence while we wait for Him to return.  Additionally, we need our Good Shepherd because like sheep, we are restless, prone to wander, always searching for greener grass, and to often oblivious to danger.

Let the familiar words wash over you today as you read them.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

This beautiful psalm ends with the prophecy that leads right into His glorious return in Psalm 24.  Forever we will dwell with Him!

Solomon's Temple

The Lord's timing never ceases to amaze me.

My scripture reading has had me in 1 Kings 8 this week. For a few weeks, I have been reading about the time leading up to the building of God's holy temple in Jerusalem. Today, I read Solomon's prayer of dedication over the temple, and it spoke to me in ways like never before.

It is interesting to note that right now, the Jews are in a time of mourning that leads up to Tisha b'Av (9th of Av) on the Hebrew calendar. The three-week mourning period began on the 17th of Tammuz. This year, the corresponding dates on the Gregorian calendar are July 24 to August 14. So what does this have to do with Solomon dedicating the temple?

The 9th of Av was the very day that Solomon's temple was destroyed by Babylon, and the very day that the second temple was destroyed by Rome.  The temple destructions are the main reason of mourning for the Jewish people

Sadly, throughout history, many other terrible things have happened to the Jewish people on Tisha (9th) b'Av. For example:

• The spies returned from Canaan on the 8th of Av. By the 9th, all Israel was mourning.
• The Bar Kochba revolt in Israel was crushed on this day by Rome in 135.
• The Jews of England were expelled on this day in 1290.
• The Jews of Spain were expelled on this day in 1492.
• World War I broke out on the 9th of Av, which of course led to World War 2 and the Holocaust.
• Deportations began on this day from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka in 1942.

No wonder it is a day of mourning for the Jewish people.

A few things jumped out at me today while reading 1 Kings 8.

About 11 months after the temple was completed, the Ark of the Covenant was placed into the temple at the Feast of Tabernacles... the feast that commemorates Yehovah dwelling with His people. As soon as the ark was established, the glory of the LORD filled the place and the priests were so overwhelmed that they could not continue ministering. What an awesome moment that must have been!

In his prayer of dedication, Solomon acknowledged the vastness of Yehovah. The king declared that He is too vast even to be contained in the heavens and the earth, but then he humbly asked the LORD to come and dwell in the temple that he built for His holy name.

Over and over again, Solomon pleaded for the righteousness of the people of Israel. He acknowledged that they would continue to fall into sin and begged the Lord to be merciful.

Solomon then prayed for the foreigners in verses 41-43:
Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for Your name’s sake (for they will hear of Your great name and Your strong hand and Your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name.

Even though I have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel through Yeshua the Messiah, I came to Him as a foreigner.

Ephesians 2:12-13 says this:

...that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Messiah Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.

Hallelujah!  I am forever grateful to God's people Israel, and yearn for the day that Israel is fully restored to the Kingdom of the LORD.

Musings From 2 Samuel

I have read 2 Samuel numerous times, but this time the Lord has seen fit to give me glimpses of the Messiah and of insights that I had not seen before.

It is a very colorful book.  It begins the reign of King David.  He conquers Jerusalem from the Jebusites and dwells in the City of David.

It is interesting to note the Hebrew letter shin created by the three Jerusalem valleys.
A shin is the letter on every mezuzah, and denotes the protection of Almighty God.

The King brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and dances with all his might before the Lord, much to the chagrin of his wife Michal, who is made barren because of her scorn of him.

Immediately after that, the Lord God makes a covenant with David; the covenant that promises no end to King David's reign, through his progeny.  (The human kingship of Israel ended.  This can only mean the everlasting reign of Messiah... a son of David).

It is not long before trouble enters for David.  Most people know the story of Bathsheba and how it causes turmoil to enter David's family.  It leads to the uprising, attempted usurption, and eventual death of his son Absalom.

David's indiscretion had far-reaching consequences.

In the midst of the battle with Absalom is a sweet little account of a man named Ittai. Ittai is a Gittite; a foreign man from Gath who has attached himself to King David.  The king reminds him that he is a foreigner and questions why he is there supporting him.  David goes so far as to tell Ittai to go home, back to his own people.

My mind instantly went to one of my all-time favorites, the Book of Ruth.  See if 2 Samuel 15:21 rings a bell:

Ittai answered the king and said, "As the LORD lives, and as the lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be."

The response from David is thus:

So David said to Ittai, "Go, and cross over."  Then Ittai the Gittite and all his men and all the little ones who were with him crossed over.

Let me interject a couple of Hebrew meanings for you to ponder.

• Absalom - My Father is Peace
• Ittai - With Me
• Eber - Cross Over.  The word for Hebrew - Ivri - comes from this root word... one who has crossed over.

In the same way, we also attach ourselves to God's people Israel when we cross over via the cross and receive the sacrifice of Messiah.  He grafts us into the household of faith.

Moving on... in chapter 16, a man named Shimei begins cursing King David.  What does David do?  Nothing.  He tells the men with him to leave the man be; the LORD'S will shall be carried out.  Shimei then disappears until chapter 19, at which time he comes to King David and bows at his feet and begs forgiveness.  David's nephew Abishai reminds David that the man should be put to death because he cursed the LORD'S anointed.  

David instead forgives Shimei completely, swearing that he shall not die. What an incredible picture of Messiah Yeshua forgiving us our own trespasses against the King of Kings, as we move from death to life!

That Other Kinsman with the Shoe

As I return from the land of Israel, I am marveling at how my daily Bible reading has been matching up with what I just experienced while in the land.

Two things jump out.

First, a visit to Shiloh coincided with my reading of the account of Hannah, Samuel, and Eli the priest.  Having now seen Shiloh - the place where the miskhan (tabernacle) stood for 369 years, the passage has become much more vivid in my mind.  The rise of the prophet Samuel marks the end of the Shiloh tabernacle.

I just want to mention one thing about Shiloh before moving on to the second thing.  The spot where the tabernacle rested is surrounded by low mountains.  Pilgrims would offer their sacrifice and then eat their portion of the sacrifice on one of these hills, while looking at the mishkan.  Their pottery plates, oily from the meal, would then be broken on the site.  If millions of people broke pottery here every year for 369 years, you would expect to see evidence of pottery shards.  

And can we?  Yes!  They were EVERYWHERE on those hills... pottery shards from the time of the Judges.  I only had to stoop down and pick them up.  The crazy thing is, those shards could only be found on the side of the hills that were facing the mishkan.  The back side of those hills?  Not a single shard to be found.

Ancient pottery shards lying on the ground at Shiloh

The second thing to jump out for me is the story of Ruth, which is read in synagogues at Shavuot (which also coincided with our visit and with my own reading of Ruth).  Ruth is one of my favorite books of the Bible, so I happen to write about her often.  You can re-read my first post about Ruth here if you'd like.

There is one thing that has always stumped me in the story of Ruth.  What was with that other kinsman redeemer that was closer to Naomi's line than Boaz?  I had never given it too much thought before, but I was curious this time and asked the Lord to give me wisdom as I read through it.  The Lord did not disappoint... here is what He showed me.  It's quite simple, actually.

Someone else had a legal right to Naomi's family land and to Ruth.  Boaz was willing to be a redeemer, but he had to go through proper channels to ensure that his redemption of Ruth was legal.  

In the same way, all the earth is legally under the rule of the evil one, ever since the Garden of Eden.  The devil is the default.  Our Redeemer Yeshua, however, came and redeemed the world from sin and death legally, in a way that satisfied God's holy law.  He shed His blood for us to fulfill what is written. Leviticus 17:11 and Hebrews 9:22 show us that God's legal way of redemption for us is the blood of atonement.

It is interesting to note the custom of the shoe.  The close relative gave Boaz his sandal to confirm that he was giving up his rights to Ruth and to the land.  There is a custom in the Middle Eastern world regarding shoes.  To throw a shoe at someone is considered the WORST. POSSIBLE. INSULT. EVER. The bottom of the shoe is covered in dirt, and throwing a shoe at someone is like throwing dirt at them.  It is the ultimate in uncleanness.  Is there a connection somehow to that other kinsman?

Shoe-wielding protesters

We really don't relate to the shoe/insult custom here in the West.  But I find it interesting that there is another reference to the shoe in the scriptures.  Note the words of the Lord in Psalm 60 verse 8:

Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe.

Kiss the Son

As I prepare for another trip to the land of Israel, Psalm 2 keeps running through my mind.

It begins like this.

Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, (Messiah) saying,
“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
We surely see this being fulfilled in the world today.  One place in particular that stands out in my mind is the Dome of the Rock, which sits on or near the site of the Temple Mount, where the Temple of Yehovah once (actually, twice) stood.

Built in the early days of Islam, it is an impressive structure.  I have been right up to its tiled walls, but I was shooed away by an Arab man, because only Muslims are now allowed inside.  On close examination, one can see Arabic writing on the tiles along the top perimeter of the structure.

What most people don't know is what it says.  Does it praise Allah, the god of Islam?  No.  This is what it says:  "Jesus, son of Mary was only a messenger of Allah.  Allah has no son.  It is blasphemy to say he has taken a son."

Psalm 2 continues.  

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress them in His deep displeasure:

 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”

 “I will declare the decree:

The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.

 Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

Today, as you walk about the Temple Mount plaza (if you is able to get up there in the first place), one can hear the chanting refrains of the Muslim women who are paid to yell "Allahu akbar" over and over again during visiting hours.  It does not just mean allah is great.  It means allah is greater.  They are trying to proclaim that their god is greater than the One True God.  Methinks they protesteth too much.

So what are we to do about this Son, spoken of in Psalm 2?

The psalm continues.  It tells us exactly what to do:

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Without the Son, you perish.  With the Son, you are blessed.  Trust in the Son!  

Even Islam can't help but focus on the Son.

The Priesthood of John

John the Baptist.  It doesn't sound like a very Jewish name... he sounds more like a Presbyterian.  But who was he, and what did he represent?  I was listening to a recent message by Jonathan Cahn and wanted to share some of his amazing insights.

First, let's go back a bit.

In Genesis 22, Abraham was asked to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.  It was a test, which Abraham passed. Scripture records Abraham declaring that the Lord would provide Himself a lamb.  At the time, the Lord provided a ram (notice, not a lamb - yet).  The ram was caught by its horns in a thicket of thorns.  On that day, one ram was substituted for one man.

(Isaac was probably older than this)

Fast forward to the children of Israel, enslaved in Egypt.  On the night of their escape, we see the sacrificed lambs providing salvation for each family through the blood on the doorpost.  On that night, one lamb provided for one family.

Fast forwarding again, we see the rise of the Levitical priesthood and the tabernacle and temple worship.  The  Levite priests would sacrifice the Passover lamb (and also the Yom Kippur goat, as well as other sacrifices througout the year) on behalf the entire nation.  At Passover, the lamb had to be examined and declared to be an acceptable sacrifice by the priest. On that day every year, one lamb was sacrificed for the nation.

Levites at work in the chamber of lambs

Do you see the progression so far?  So what does John the Baptist have to do with any of this?

John was the miracle child of Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Zechariah, as we know, was a Levite and a priest.  His wife was also of the tribe of Levi.  Any son of theirs would also be a priest according to the law of Moses.

The two of them remained barren for many years, so that the hand of the Lord would be clearly evident when the time came.  Zechariah was visited by Gabriel while offering incense in the temple.  This was a once-in-a-lifetime event for a priest, to be called upon to enter the Holy Place and burn incense, and this was Zechariah's time.  It is no surprise that the Lord used Zechariah's time of major significance to announce another event of major significance.

Zechariah means The Lord Remembers.  Elizabeth means The Oath of the Lord.

The son's name would be Yochanan (John).  It means The Lord is Gracious.

There had been about 400 years of silence from the Lord, and now His hand was moving.   Yehovah had not forgotten His people.  Their names tell the story:  The Lord remembers His oath.  How gracious He is!

Baby John is the first to celebrate the Messiah.  Remember how he leapt in Elizabeth's womb when newly-pregnant Miriam (Mary) arrived at her home?  A prophetic moment for sure.  Yeshua's forerunner - announcing Him even from the womb!

Fast forward many years.  John is immersing repentant people in the Jordan River.

Side note:  Baptism (a Greek word) was nothing new.  Jews had been immersing for years.  It was an outward sign of cleansing, of new birth (and emerging like a newborn), of the start of something new.  Each time they worshipped at the temple, they would first visit a mikveh.  (Hundreds of these mikvot have been excavated all over Israel, including around the Temple Mount and also where the Essenes lived by the Dead Sea, and it is thought that John lived as an Essene for awhile).

So anyway, John the Immerser is going about his business, preparing people for something new. Malachi 3:1 speaks of him:   I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

Suddenly, Yeshua appears at the Jordan River, and what does John say?    John 1:29 records it: “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

John, fulfilling his priestly role, declares the acceptable and final sacrifice.  Not just for one man, not just for one family, and not even just for one nation.  For. The. World.

The oath of the Lord, made in Genesis 3:15, is about to take place.  The head of the serpent is about to be crushed.

There is also great significance to the Jordan River.  But that is another post. Click here to read it.

The Hitchhiker

I recently returned from a journey to Israel, during which I was blessed to observe the three Fall Feasts - a dream come true!  Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.  My heart is still bursting from all I saw and learned.

A soldier adds palms to the roof of his sukkah

Just before I returned home, I went out beyond the green line to a small village in the land of Benjamin in Samaria, to visit a sweet family that I know.  I had asked them if I could come and see their sukkah (a temporary booth, built every year in honor of the seventh Biblical Feast, Sukkot - a memorial of God's presence and provision during the forty years in the wilderness).

We had a wonderful visit that morning and ate lunch together.  After lunch, I needed to return to Jerusalem for the final Sabbath of my visit - the first day of Sukkot.  (During my 21 days in Israel, seven of them were Sabbaths because of the Feasts.  As a Gentile, I confess that I am not used to resting that much!)

As I was about to exit the community for the hour-long trek back to Jerusalem, I came upon an Orthodox Jewish man who was awaiting a ride to the bus stop from anyone who was willing to pick him up.  Since my friend in the village had already explained to me the procedure (and safety) of Israeli hitchhiking, I felt no qualms in offering this man a ride.

For twenty minutes, we had a lively and engaging conversation.  Even though he was born and raised in a rural area of Israel, he was fluent in English, telling me it was due to computer games, computer programming, and Hollywood.

I let him know right away that I had been visiting a family for Sukkot.  A few minutes later in our conversation, I let him know that I was a gentile... a Christian.  His surprise was palpable.  I could pretty much read his thoughts... "We don't get many of your kind way out here.  And Sukkot?  You even know what that is??"

Driving down the mountain, we spoke of Yeshua.  He had questions on how we could possibly worship three Gods.  I told him that I don't believe Christianity has done a great job at explaining who God is and what we believe about His nature.  Yeshua Himself said that He and His Father were one.  I affirmed that it is blasphemy for a man to claim to be God.

But then I posed the question from the other direction:  "But what is to stop GOD from becoming a MAN?"

Yeshua claimed that He was God.  But then He backed up His claim through His miracles, including the three miracles that ancient sages expected the Messiah to perform:  1)  Healing a leper, 2) Casting out a demon from a mute person, and 3) Healing a man who was blind from birth.

Not only did He do these three miracles, but many, many more.  Feeding thousands.  Walking on water.  He even raised his friend Eleazar (Lazarus) from the dead.  And finally the ultimate miracle:  His Own Resurrection. He had kept every single point of the Moses covenant perfectly, and as such, death had no hold over Him.  He was our Perfect Passover Lamb.  Only God could do that!  (Remember Abraham's words in Genesis?  God will provide Himself the Lamb).

Yeshua did not just back up his claim of being God through miracles.  He is the fulfillment of everything written about Him in the Tanakh.  The entire book Hebrew scriptures points to Him.  He fulfilled every single prophecy that was written about Him.  There are hundreds.

The seven Feasts, as outlined in Leviticus 23, are also a foreshadowing of Him.  He fulfilled the four Spring Feasts perfectly at His first coming, when He became the ultimate Sacrifice for all mankind. He was Messiah, son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant.  The Lamb.

He will fulfill the Fall Feasts when He returns, as the Messiah, Son of David, the Conquering King, when He returns to set up His kingdom on Earth.  In Jerusalem.  The Lion.

My new hitchhiking friend did not agree with me, and that is okay.  History is full of forced conversions that were ugly and cruel.   In fact, I apologized for that cruel history; for the way that my people treated his people.

I made another friend in a shop on Ben Yehuda Street, another Orthodox Jewish man.   I kept going back because we had such great conversations.  People have tried over and over to tell him about Yeshua.  But he looked me in the eye and said, "I am not going to believe it unless God Himself reveals it to me."  I wonder if he realizes that he was paraphrasing the truth found in John 6:44 - No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Romans 11 tells us that Israel will be blinded in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  Isaiah 8:17 confirms this:  And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.

So I continue to love my Jewish friends, tell them about Yeshua when the door is opened, and love them unconditionally, whether they choose to follow Yeshua as Messiah or not.  I trust God for the outcome that He has already foretold.

As for me, I believe that Yeshua IS the Messiah that was prophetically foretold in the Hebrew scriptures, otherwise I wouldn't follow Him.  And if He IS the prophesied Messiah, then trusting in Him is the most Jewish thing that a Jewish person can do!  No need to "convert" to a Gentile faith, only a need for teshuvah (repentance, or turning) from sin to the One who paid the price in full.

Under the Fig Tree

I learned something today that suddenly clarified a passage of scripture for me.  I love it when the understanding of a Jewish idiom can make the light bulb go on.

The passage comes from John 1, as Yeshua was building his team of disciples, beginning with verse 43:

On the next day Jesus wanted to set out for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 

Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, "Come and see.”

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 

Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!”

What is going on here?  Obviously, there is something in this dialogue that gives Nathanael a major "aha" moment that Yeshua is the Messiah.  But a surface reading does not really tell us why.  Also, it seems like Yeshua is saying that Nathanael is the righteous one.

Here is a Jewish Roots clue.  The term "under the fig tree" is an ancient Jewish idiom that means studying the messianic prophecies.  The idiom stems from Micah 4:4, in a passage describing the future messianic kingdom: Each of them will sit under his vine, and under his fig tree.

Our first clue to the fact that Nathanael was a scholar of the messianic prophecies is his comment regarding Nazareth.  He knew that scripture clearly taught that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but wasn't so sure about the Nazareth connection.

[The prophecy regarding Nazareth is a bit more hidden (Isaiah 11:1 speaks of the branch, which is netzer in Hebrew, and the town of Nazareth, (netzret in Hebrew), means "branch town").]

When Yeshua first spoke to Nathanael, He was referencing the second part of Isaiah 53:9:
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yeshua was not calling Nathanael righteous. Yeshua was quoting the very prophecy that Nathanael had been studying, in order to emphasize that He Himself was the Messiah.

This is why Nathanael responds with Hey, how in the world did you know that about me??

Yeshua then further confirmed that He knew Nathanael was a studier of the messianic prophecies when He said He saw Nathanael "under the fig tree."

Of course, Nathanael knew that only the Messiah could know that about Him without being told, which is why he acknowledged Yeshua as the Messiah:  Son of God and King of Israel.

The Seven Covenants

Have you ever seen someone shrug and say, "well, that's Old Testament" when discussing the Bible?  I know I have heard that many, many times.

The holy scriptures are usually thought of by most Christians as Old Testament and New Testament.  And many people separate them in their minds, considering the "old" to be obsolete.

But did you know that the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, tell one complete story?  That Yeshua did NOT come to Earth to create a new religion called Christianity?  That He is the fulfillment of all that was foreshadowed about Him in the Hebrew scriptures, from the very first book?

There is a saying that goes like this:  "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."

So many people, who have been taught Replacement Theology (which teaches that the church has replaced Israel in God's kingdom) believe that God is done with Israel because they were disobedient, so therefore all the blessings promised to THEM are now given to the church.  And the Word does say that Israel was kicked out of the land (twice) because of their disobedience.  How do we reconcile this?

Easy.  There is more than just "one old covenant, one new covenant" in the scriptures.

The scriptures actually record SEVEN covenants that the Lord YHVH initiates with man.  Like many other things in scripture that are featured in groupings of seven, the seven covenants reveal a complete picture.  The word for seven in Hebrew, sheva, means complete.  (For quite awhile, I could only find five covenants between God and man, but deep down, I was convinced that there were seven.  As I continued to study the Word, YHVH, blessed be He, showed me the other two).

The Hebrew word for covenant is b'rit.  The meaning of the word is to make a treaty, or alliance with someone, carrying with it the idea of cutting.  Blood was usually shed when a covenant was cut.

(As a kid, did you ever make a pact or become someone's blood brother or sister through cuts in your fingers?  Same idea.)

Let's look at the Biblical seven covenants that YHVH instituted with mankind.

1.  Eden
After Adam and Eve's disobedience brought sin into the world, the Lord God promised a redeemer, and that He would be the Seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15  (Notice that God did not say seed of the man.  This is our first clue that the Redeemer would not have an earthly father.  Nor did it say seeds, thus showing that there would only be one Redeemer).  God then provided animal skins as a covering for them, after they had tried to cover themselves with fig leaves - their own works - which were not acceptable.  Blood had to be shed for proper covering.  This covenant would be fulfilled by the Messiah at His first coming.

2.  Noah
Adam and Eve were forced from the garden so that they would not eat from the Tree of Life and live forever in their fallen state.  The world became a wicked, wicked place.  So wicked in fact, that God chose eight people with whom to start over, and then flooded the entire Earth.  Upon disembarking, Noah sacrificed clean animals to the Lord God, and God added meat to man's diet.  He then sent the rainbow as a sign of His covenant never to destroy the Earth with water again.  This is an everlasting promise.  (Someday, however, the earth will be destroyed with fire and regenerated.)

3.  Abraham
Ah, the Abrahamic covenant.  Probably the most misunderstood by many people.  YHVH made a covenant that was permanent and unconditional.  The covenant included the Land (Israel), the Seed (Yeshua), and the Blessing (Salvation to the nations), according to Genesis 12:1-3.


Genesis 15 and 17 give us further insight to the covenant details.   Genesis 17:7 assures us that the covenant is for good:  And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.  (I just want to interject here that if God can revoke His promises to Israel because of disobedience, then we are all toast).  The covenant was repeated to Isaac (Genesis 26) and to Jacob (aka Israel, Genesis 28), clearly demonstrating that the covenant was for Israel.

4.  Moses
YHVH continues His plan with mankind by instituting a covenant with Moses at Sinai.  The purpose of this covenant and its commandments (mitzvot) was to demonstrate man's complete inability to atone for himself, and to point to a future Redeemer who would one day perfectly keep every precept of the covenant.  Jeremiah 31:31-32 tells us about this future new covenant:  “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt (in other words, the Sinai/Moses covenant would be fulfilled by a future covenant.  Nothing is said about the everlasting Abrahamic covenant).

5.  David
This one sort of sneaks up on us, and was one that I was unaware of until recently. But one day as I was reading 2 Samuel 7, I realized that YHVH had just made another covenant, this time with King David.   David wanted to build a permanent home for YHVH, even though YHVH had not commanded David to do it.  So God actually promised DAVID a house in verse 11 - Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.  Scripture goes on to say “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  Of course, this is another promise of the coming Messiah, who would carry on the line of King David forever.

6.  Yeshua
At a Passover Seder with His disciples, Yeshua said this in Matthew 26:28: For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.   Luke 22 records that this was the cup taken right after dinner.  In the traditional Passover Seder (order), there are four cups of wine to drink; two before dinner and two after dinner.  The cup right after dinner, the third cup, is called the Cup of Redemption.  Before Passover ended, Yeshua fulfilled this by shedding His blood and dying (at the very same moment the national symbolic lamb was slaughtered at the temple).  Even though He obeyed every single precept of the Moses covenant perfectly and was therefore not under the death penalty (see Romans 6:23), He willingly gave up His life for us; thus fulfilling the promise of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31.

7.  Covenant of Peace
For the most part, the nation of Israel rejected the new covenant (even though the early believers were ALL Jewish), so that God in His sovereignty could offer the good news of redemption to the rest of the world.  However, because of the Abrahamic covenant, God HAS to keep His promise to Israel (or else He would be a liar).  In the last days, the nation of Israel will recognize Yeshua as their Messiah according to Romans 11:25, Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 54:8, and other places.  The seventh covenant occurs when Yeshua returns and Israel once again is restored to YHVH.

Look at these promises He made to Israel, which have yet to be fulfilled:

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.   - Ezekiel 34:25

Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. - Ezekiel 37:26

For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”Says the Lord, who has mercy on you. - Isaiah 54:10

Moses: Snapshot of Messiah

While studying Exodus the other morning, I was given yet another foreshadowing, or scripture picture, of our Messiah, as well as our justification and sanctification.

Exodus 18 speaks of Jethro's advice to Moses - Hey, you are doing everything yourself.  Get some peeps to help you, son!

I closed my eyes and thought of Moses as a picture of Yeshua.  The Lord God had used Moses alone to part the Red Sea and lead the Israelites across to dry land.  The fact that Moses stretched out his hand for physical redemption is a foreshadowing of our Messiah stretching out His hand on the cross for our spiritual redemption.

After Moses led the Israelites safely through the Red Sea, it closed up after them - completely destroying the Egyptian army.  The closing of the Red Sea is a foreshadowing of baptism.  The Egyptian Army represents the sin in our life that is completely wiped away by the water.   It is the trip through the Red Sea that represents our justification through the redeeming arm of the Messiah.

So now on the other side, it will no longer be Moses that does everything.  At his father-in-law's urging, Moses divides responsibilities among the people of Israel.  Verse 21 says, Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

In Matthew 25, we read the parable of the talents.  Each servant was put in charge of a different amount.  They were then judged on what they did with what they were given.  Verse 21 says, His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your master.'

Scripture promises that we will reign with Yeshua in the coming kingdom (Rev 20:6).  The Word is telling us that we will have a position in the kingdom that reflects our works here on earth.  We are not working for our salvation; that happened when we accepted the finished work of the Lord on the cross as payment for our sins.  We are working out our salvation  (Philippians 2:12) because of our justification (redemption).  This is where we earn those jewels on our crowns!  Sanctification is a lifelong process.  1 Corinthians 3 gives us a picture of the judgment of our works: 

For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Justification is the work of the Lord.  Sanctification requires our cooperation, and will determine our position in the coming kingdom. 

So what are those works of sanctification?   We are told, firstly, to love the Lord our God with all we've got, and then love our neighbor as ourselves.  Everything we do, to His glory, is considered a work.  Praise, prayer, adoration, serving, using our gifts and talents... the list goes on.  Colossians 3:23 says, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.

Salvation, Salvation, Salvation

Many believers think that all they need to do is "ask Jesus into their heart" and they are saved.  Boom.  Done. End of story.  Party on.

That is way too simplistic.

Let's start with 1 Thessalonians 5:23 - Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This verse is a great picture of the human creature, a whole being made up of three parts.

• Spirit - The Greek word is pneuma, from which we get the word pneumonia.    It literally means breath, or wind, or vital spirit, which is breathed into us by God at birth. The verb form of this word pnein means to blow or breathe.

• Soul - The Greek word is psuche.  Think of the English word psyche.  This is the inner workings of our minds.  Our inner man, so to speak; our very being, our capability of rational thought.

• Body - The Greek word is soma. This is our physical bodies - our flesh.

When man sinned, death entered the world.  Our breath will eventually leave our bodies, our minds are given over to corruption, and our bodies - well, they pretty much start to deteriorate early on in life.

Our salvation is also threefold. 

Our initial salvation happens when we submit our lives to Yeshua and are redeemed through His atonement, or sacrifice on the cross, for our sins. A transaction takes place when we turn to Him in repentance. This is called our justification, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Our spirit becomes alive because of Him!   If you are not sure that you have been redeemed, you probably have not yet done this yet.  He is waiting for you to respond to his invitation!  Confess to Him your sin and receive His forgiveness.  He can do this because He paid our death penalty on the cross, even though He lived a perfect life and did not owe that penalty.

We are also saved through sanctification.  This is the process of becoming more like our Messiah as we live out the rest of our lives by the renewing of our minds.  This happens through focusing on Him, living for Him, and learning more about Him.    Philippians 2:12 tells us to work OUT (not FOR) our salvation with fear and trembling.

Our final salvation is yet to come.  We are saved through glorification.  When Yeshua returns to Earth, we are given a new, immortal body.  This is our ultimate and complete salvation.  1 Corinthians 15:52-53 says the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

This salvation is only made possible through Yeshua.  Matthew 1:21 tells us "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus (the Greek form of Yeshua, which means salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.”