Burning the Bones and Tearing Down the High Places

God's timing makes me smile.  Again.

Last night, my daughter and I were having a conversation about cremation.  I shared with her that I don't believe it's God's first choice for us.  As an example, I talked about the bones of Joseph being carefully brought up from Egypt, and also the imagery of the dry bones in Ezekeil resurrecting and coming to life.  I also mentioned that the remains of King Saul were burned and that the connotation was negative.  Saul's body had been desecrated by the Philistines, and the valiant people of Jabesh Gilead came and burned the body of Saul and his sons because of what had been done to them.

Also, Jewish law requires that the body of a dead person be buried within 24 hours of death.  The remains of cremated individuals are not allowed to be interred in a Jewish cemetery.  Additionally, I was surprised to learn that the traditional Jewish laws of mourning are not observed in orthodoxy if a person's remains were cremated.

Finally, the Shoah (the Jewish term for the Holocaust).  Not only were the Jews tattooed with numbers- which was in itself an affront to what was written in the Torah - but also, the bodies of murdered Jews were burned in crematoriums.  I believe the cruel men who came up with this atrocity knew exactly what they were doing, and knew how this would be such an evil insult to the victims and their families.  Even if the Nazis didn't know it, the demonic beings working in the spiritual realm and influencing their actions certainly knew.

Let me just stop right now and say, if you are reading this and have different convictions on cremation, I am not condemning you.  My mother and stepfather were both cremated, and I believe that God can and will put them back together out of the dust of the earth at the resurrection.  After all, He formed man from the dust of the earth in the first place.  But it's never too late to learn what the Word of God has to say about any given subject.

So anyway, back to God's timing...

My reading today took me to 2 Kings 23, which recorded the major reforms of King Josiah.  He was one of only two kings of Judah who were willing to tear down the high places.  Many kings previous to Josiah had been good kings, but they left the high places alone, not wanting to stir up trouble among people who were so attached to their traditions.

The high places were generally up on hills, and in groves of green trees.  If you have ever studied what went on in these places, you know what an affront they were to the Lord God.  On the high places, all manner of fornication took place under green trees.  If you have ever been to Cesaerea Phillipi in Israel, you can still see remnants of where some of this pagan worship took place.  It is also the location of a giant cave, which in ancient days was known as the Gates of Hades.  How fitting it is that Yeshua was in that very place when Peter declared Him to be Messiah, and Yeshua declared that the Gates of Hades would not prevail against His ekklesia.

The former pagan grove of Banias, temple of Pan, home of the Gates of Hades in Caeserea Philippi

In 2 Kings 23, verse 7 speaks of how the king tore down the houses of the qadeshim that were in the house of the Lord - the temple!  Qadeshim were literally sodomites... male prostitutes.  So you get an idea of how depraved the pagan worship had become, and why Josiah was so diligent to eradicate it.

Verse 10 tells us that King Josiah also wrecked the places in the valley of Hinnom, which is a place in Jerusalem where people would actually sacrifice their children through burning them (known in Greek as Gehenna, which is also translated into the word hell in some versions of the New Covenant),  Perhaps this is another reason why the burning of bodies is such an affront to God.  Here is a link to another blog post in which the writer tells of the process a pagan worshipper had to go through to sacrifice their child to Molech.

The pagan practice of child sacrifice to Molech in the Valley of Hinnom

Josiah was so thorough in tearing down the high places that he even stepped out of his jurisdiction. He went to Samaria, where the first king of the divided kingdom of Israel -  Jeroboam - had established a high place of worship so that his people would not go down to Jerusalem to worship.

In verse 16, we see Josiah taking the bones of those idolaters out of their tombs and burning them on the altar there.  Suddenly, he came to a gravestone that made him stop.  Look at verses 17-18:

Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?” So the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.

My study Bible led me back to 1 Kings 13, where we read of a righteous and unnamed prophet foretelling this very incident, 300 years earlier, even naming King Josiah by name!  This is what it says:

And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’” 

So the bones that Josiah refused to burn were the bones of the very prophet who had prophesied that all the other bones would be burned by someone from the line of David named Josiah!  

Is that mind boggling, or what?

In closing, I just want to say one more thing about the high places, and this one will definitely step on toes.  Consider the connection of pagan worship to the green trees, and all that was associated with that worship.  As I mentioned earlier, only two kings were willing to tear down high places... most were not.  They didn't want to upset the proverbial apple cart among their people.  But consider the words of Jeremiah 10 and ask the Lord if this might be a high place that needs tearing down in your life.

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.

Afikomen, The Hidden Bread

This year's Passover has come and gone and is now part of history, but I still have thoughts in my head that are rattling around, and I feel like they won't be history until I put them in writing.

First of all, I love the Feasts of the Lord.  I am stating this fact for anyone who might be new to my blog.  If you've been around awhile, you know this.  The word for "feast" means appointed time.  In the scriptures, the Lord God has  made an appointment with His people.   And rightfully so, because like everything written in the scriptures, they point clearly and dramatically to the Messiah.

One of the highlights of the Passover meal (called a Seder, which means order) is the presentation, breaking, and hiding of the Afikomen (ah fee KO men). How did this traditional part of the Seder arise?  If you asked Tevye, he might say "I don't know.  But it's tradition!"

Here's the story.  The word Afikomen is Greek, and has the meaning of "He has come, or that which is yet to come."  During the Seder, Jewish people all over the world take three pieces of matzah (unleavened bread which has been striped and pierced), and place them in a three compartment linen cover called a Matzah tosh -  one piece in each section.

(I asked a Jewish person once what the three pieces stood for, and he wasn't completely sure.  He guessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

At one point in the Seder, the leader removes the middle piece of matzah and breaks it in half.  One of the broken pieces gets wrapped in linen and hidden.  The other piece remains hidden in the middle slot of the Matzah tosh.  After dinner, the children seek the piece hidden by the leader, and the winner returns the piece to the leader to redeem it for a prize.

The clear picture of Yeshua in the Afikomen is astounding to one who knows Him.  He is our unleavened bread - striped and pierced for us - wrapped in linen, and hidden in the ground.  (Note:  leaven in scripture represents sin.  Our Bread of Life, Yeshua, is sinless).  That which was hidden was found and redemption occurs.

This year, however, a friend who joined us for our Seder asked me why the other half remains hidden in the Matzah tosh.  I didn't have a ready answer for her.  However, the next day, as I was researching something else completely, the answer to that question fell into my lap via Google!

Yeshua is still hidden, for the most part, from the Jewish people.  Romans 11:25-27 has this astonishing message:  For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  And so all Israel will be saved,  as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”

How awesome will that day be when He reveals Himself to them and "uncovers the hidden part" of the Afikomen for them, so to speak.

If some of the Jewish people today believe that the three pieces represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I find it interesting that the broken piece would be representative of Isaac, who himself is a foreshadow of Yeshua when nearly sacrificed by his father Abraham.

It seems that the tradition of the Afikomen contains mysteries for both Jew and Gentile.

Crossing the Jordan and Passing the Torch

I know... it's a month later and part two of my previous post is just coming out now.  Passover is over, and the whole time I had blog post material floating around in my head!  Additionally, I just finished the book of Deuteronomy this morning and am about to start Joshua. Time to cross the Jordan for a new beginning!

So anyway, this post is a follow-up to my last post on John the Baptist.  If you missed it, you can read it here.

We are going to go back in history and look at the significance of the Jordan River, and the passing of the torch from Moses to Joshua.

Moses had led his people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the edge of the Jordan River.  Because Moses had not carefully followed the Lord's instructions in the wilderness -  striking the rock instead of speaking to it - he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Was God being unfair?

Of course not.  Every act of God has meaning and purpose.  God used the situation for His own illustrative purposes - for us!

Moses, just like so many other figures in the Hebrew scriptures, is a foreshadow of Messiah.  In fact, Deuteronomy 18:15 promises:  The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

 Look at this list and see if  indeed Yeshua is a prophet like Moses:

• Moses was the first mediator.  Yeshua was the final mediator.
• Both were born as Hebrews
• Both were chosen by God as leaders
• Both were born while Israel was suffering under cruel leaders
• Both were hidden in Egypt as babies from those who wanted to kill them
• Both performed supernatural acts
• Moses turned water into blood.  Yeshua turned water into wine.
• Both communicated directly with God
• Both instituted a new covenant between God and the people
• Both performed miracles
• Moses told the people about the Passover Lamb.  Yeshua became the Passover Lamb.
• Both were hated by the ruling parties
• Both had siblings who misunderstood them
• Both were lawgivers, one on Mt. Sinai, one on the Mount of Beatitudes
• Moses sent out twelve spies; Yeshua sent out twelve disciples
• Moses chose seventy leaders; Yeshua sent out seventy disciples
• Both had followers who strayed from their teachings
• Both fasted 40 days and faced a spiritual crisis on a mountain
• People picked up stones to stone each of them; and in neither case succeeded
• Moses brought living water out of the rock; Yeshua is the Rock, our Living Water
• Moses controlled the Red Sea; Yeshua controlled the Sea of Galilee
• Both faces shone with glory on a mountain
• Moses lifted the serpent up to bring healing; Yeshua was lifted up to bring healing
• Moses was a shepherd; Yeshua is the Good Shepherd
• Both underwent warfare with arms raised and surrounded by two people
• Both fed thousands of people supernaturally with bread
• Each of them were preceded by 400 years of biblical silence before starting their ministry
• Both showed compassion to women at wells
• Both redeemed people from slavery - Slavery in Egypt, slavery to sin
• Both were loved and supported by women named Miriam
• Both chose humble lives of servanthood
• Moses offered his life after the sin of the golden calf.  Yeshua offered His life for the sin of the world.
• Both died on a hill
• Moses was cut off from the Promised Land, Yeshua was cut off from His father
• Both delivered their people with mighty hands and outstretched arms
• Both died so that there could be a new beginning for their people

Moses died and was buried on Mt. Nebo, just across the Jordan River from Jericho.  The torch was passed to Yahoshua (Joshua) son of Nun, and the people prepared to enter the Promised Land. (There are many similarities between Joshua and Yeshua as well... but we will save that for another post). 

What time of year did they cross the Jordan?  

Just before PASSOVER.  

The priests lead the way crossing the Jordan River

At the beginning of the first month of the year, Nisan, the Jordan River parted and the people of Israel walked through on dry land, led by the priests.  For a number of days, they camped just east of Jericho.  At this time, the Israelites were circumcised as they prepared for the new beginning.  Passover began on the 14th of Nissan, and the very next day - the first day of Unleavened Bread - the Israelites began to eat of the produce of the land and the manna stopped.  

It was also the day they began to march around Jericho.  On the final day of Unleavened Bread, the walls of Jericho toppled by the hand of the Lord, and Israel officially entered the Promised Land.

Crossing the Jordan was very significant.  It is a throwback to the Red Sea.  It is a foreshadow of spiritual deliverance by the Messiah.  This is why our high priest Yeshua was immersed in the Jordan before beginning His ministry.  It is the start of something new!

Peter confirms that Yeshua is the prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18 when he says in Acts 3:22, For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

Yeshua wipes away sin and gives new life to those who will trust in Him. Have you crossed the Jordan yet to meet Him?